On the Death and Life of Languages (An Editions Odile Jacob Book) Review

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On the Death and Life of Languages (An Editions Odile Jacob Book) ReviewHagege claims that a language that is no longer spoken does not necessarily cease to exist. There are major flaws with this argument. First, this supposes that complete records of the phonics, grammar, and syntax of the language exist, written and ideally recorded. Second, simply translating word for word does not guarantee authenticity. For example, "translating word for word" in Chinese would be "one word one word chase word capsize." Vast gaps of expression loom between languages. Third, languages have their habitual means of expression, including not only cultural, historical, and social references, but also ways of speaking with other people. In English, I would rarely ask someone, Where are you going? unless that person were leaving, and it is not common in Mandarin, but in Tayal, that is the proper way to greet a person. Chinese has adopted `ni hao ma?' from the English `how are you?' and Tayal has `blaq su ga?' but Tayal speakers are apt to say `blaq su ga?' halfway through a conversation, and end a conversation by saying, Lokah su! = You are fine, rather than beginning in English fashion by asking How are you? The Tsou often say Aveoveoyu at the beginning and end of a conversation, as well as to say Thank you.
So if one were to study all the literature of a moribund language such as Pazeh, one might be able to speak after a fashion, but it would hardly be the same language as was used by the original speakers. This sort of resurrection inspires little faith.
I finished the book a couple months ago, wrote the first two paragraphs of this review, and left it. Perhaps what bothers me about this book is that it is very bloodless, very detached. I speak some Tayal, and am learning Tzou, two ancient Austronesian languages that are dying out, so for me, I am more interested in understanding and preserving languages that are still living, rather than a very distant examination of arcane points of logic that could interest only a French intellectual.
If you have read Vanishing Voices and Spoken Here and want to learn more, you might find this interesting, but those two very definitely take precedence over this book.
On the Death and Life of Languages (An Editions Odile Jacob Book) OverviewTwenty-five languages die each year; at this pace, half the world's five thousand languages will disappear within the next century. In this timely book, Claude Hagège seeks to make clear the magnitude of the cultural loss represented by the crisis of language death.
By focusing on the relationship of language to culture and the world of ideas, Hagège shows how languages are themselves crucial repositories of culture; the traditions, proverbs, and knowledge of our ancestors reside in the language we use. His wide-ranging examination covers all continents and language families to uncover not only how languages die, but also how they can be revitalized—for example in the remarkable case of Hebrew. In a striking metaphor, Hagège likens languages to bonfires of social behavior that leave behind sparks even after they die; from these sparks languages can be rekindled and made to live again.

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