{"product_id":"how-to-kill-a-language-power-resistance-and-the-race-to-save-our-words-9780008723729","title":"How to Kill a Language: Power, Resistance and the Race to Save Our Words","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e             \u003cstrong\u003e'Moving, beautiful and important' \u003cem\u003eFINANCIAL TIMES, BEST SUMMER BOOKS 2026\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e           \u003c\/p\u003e           \u003cp\u003e             \u003cstrong\u003e'Punchy and persuasive' \u003cem\u003eSUNDAY TIMES\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e           \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e'Moving, beautiful and important' \u003cem\u003eFINANCIAL TIMES, BEST SUMMER BOOKS 2026\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e'Punchy and persuasive' \u003cem\u003eSUNDAY TIMES\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cp\u003eAs Sophia Smith Galer’s Nonna lay dying, she realised it wasn’t just a beloved grandmother she was losing – it was the language she spoke, too. From Northern Italy, she spoke a dialët that Sophia, like so many children and grandchildren of migrants, can understand but can’t speak. With the death of the language, Sophia would lose a culture, a history, an inheritance – a whole world.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis tragedy reaches far beyond her family. Globally we are witnessing an unprecedented mass extinction event. By the end of this century half of the world’s 7000 languages will be gone, killed by war, climate breakdown, migration, nationalism or neglect, along with the vital knowledge that they have sustained for centuries.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAward-winning journalist Smith Galer has journeyed across continents and generations to report from this disappearing world. From Ghana to Greece, Ecuador to Oman, California to the UK, she meets people experiencing this loss at first hand – but also campaigners and linguists who prove that a multilingual future is still possible. Her travels ultimately lead her back to where she began: to Italy, and the tiny mountainside village where the church bells still ring out for her Nonna.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eHow to Kill a Language\u003c\/em\u003e is an impassioned investigation into a hidden global crisis, and a call to speak, read and write the languages of our world, before it’s too late.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e'An extremely moving, passionate plea' CAL FLYN\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e'Everyone should read this book' OLIA HERCULES\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch4\u003eDetails\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003cp\u003eISBN13: 9780008723729\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFormat: Hardback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNumber of Pages: 304\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eEdition: \u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublication Date: 01 Sep 2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublisher: HarperCollins Publishers\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublication City, Country: London, United Kingdom\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDimensions (cm): 24(H)x15.9(L)x3(W)500\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWeight (gm): 500\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch4\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h4\u003eSophia is a reporter, writer and documentary maker with the BBC World Service, specialising in religion and digital culture. She is the first BBC journalist to be on TikTok and has accrued over 200,000 followers across social media. She was named as a 'Voice of Change' in the TikTok 100 best of 2020 and sits as an inaugural member of the TikTok Creator Council. She was also selected as a One to Watch by the Edinburgh Television Festival in 2020 and has a Webby in Social Media for Arts and Culture. This will be her first book.\u003ch4\u003eReviews\u003c\/h4\u003e'Punchy and persuasive … speaking an endangered language is an act of defiance and connection – of love' \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eSUNDAY TIMES\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘Moving, beautiful and important … The narrative grips from the outset … The driving spirit of \u003cem\u003eHow to Kill a Language\u003c\/em\u003e is, despite its title, not death, but life’ \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eFINANCIAL TIMES\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘\u003cstrong\u003eA rallying cry against linguistic extinction\u003c\/strong\u003e … This is a necessary book, with a message that English speakers need to hear’ \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eNEW STATESMAN\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘Urgent and timely … what animates it above all is the curiosity and pleasure of language learning – \u003cstrong\u003ea curiosity that is its own form of hope\u003c\/strong\u003e’ \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eTHE TELEGRAPH\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'An essential voice' \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eTHE GUARDIAN\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e'\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003eGaler casts a bright light on the massive linguistic diversity that the world seems set to lose … Every language that dies takes with it such fascinating stories' \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eNEW YORK TIMES\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'[A] deep dive into 10 of the 7,000 languages predicted to be extinct by the turn of the century … a fascinating account\u003cstrong\u003e' \u003cem\u003eTHE i PAPER\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Everyone should read this book. Impressively researched, full of empathy and a page-turner to boot' \u003cstrong\u003eOLIA HERCULES\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘An extremely moving, passionate plea. This fascinating book digs down into what it really means to translate, conserve, comprehend, colonise’ \u003cstrong\u003eCAL FLYN, author of \u003cem\u003eIslands of Abandonment \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘I have long marvelled at the work of Sophia Smith Galer … she is a passionate advocate for language diversity – most recently in her fascinating new book’ \u003cstrong\u003ePANDORA SYKES\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Beautiful, thought-provoking and compelling' \u003cstrong\u003eSUSIE DENT\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Erudite, heart-wrenching … a spirited reconsideration' \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003ePUBLISHERS WEEKLY\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘Shines an intimate light on a pressing issue … revealing the powerfully human stakes behind language death and revitalization’ \u003cstrong\u003eADAM ALEKSIC, author of \u003cem\u003eAlgospeak\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Hits the intersection of language and power as few other books have' \u003cstrong\u003eROSS PERLIN, author of \u003cem\u003eLanguage City\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘This is the best book on language endangerment I have ever read. A love letter to languages … both intellectually rigorous and yet profoundly moving’ \u003cstrong\u003eDAVID CRYSTAL, author of \u003cem\u003eLanguage Death\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e","brand":"Sophia Smith Galer","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49077110210777,"sku":"9780008723729","price":50.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0502\/9530\/8441\/files\/9780008723729.jpg?v=1786457176","url":"https:\/\/www.arielbooks.com.au\/products\/how-to-kill-a-language-power-resistance-and-the-race-to-save-our-words-9780008723729","provider":"Ariel","version":"1.0","type":"link"}