Language City

1. What’s Language City: The Fight to Preserve Endangered Mother Tongues in New York by Ross Perlin about?

• Exploration of endangered languages: The book investigates the survival, adaptation, and loss of endangered mother tongues in New York City, the most linguistically diverse city in history.
• Personal and community stories: It centers on six speakers from Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Americas, weaving their personal histories with broader sociopolitical and cultural contexts.
• Urban linguistic ecology: Perlin examines how migration, community networks, and technology shape language vitality in a metropolis, highlighting both challenges and opportunities for preservation.
• Interdisciplinary approach: The narrative combines linguistics, anthropology, activism, and history to document the fight for linguistic diversity and justice.

2. Why should I read Language City by Ross Perlin?

• Unique urban perspective: The book offers an unprecedented look at endangered languages within a global city, challenging the assumption that cities only accelerate language loss.
• Humanizing language preservation: Through compelling personal stories, it reveals the emotional, social, and practical realities of language survival and revitalization.
• Broader social relevance: The book connects language preservation to issues of migration, social justice, cultural heritage, and political power, making it relevant for readers interested in linguistics, urban studies, and activism.
• Accessible and engaging: Perlin’s firsthand fieldwork and collaboration with speakers provide authentic, accessible insights into complex linguistic issues.

3. What are the key takeaways from Language City by Ross Perlin?

• Languages as unique worldviews: Every language encodes a distinct way of seeing and living in the world; their loss diminishes human knowledge and cultural richness.
• Cities as linguistic refuges: Urban centers like New York can serve as critical sites for endangered languages to survive and even thrive, especially with community and activist support.
• Activism and documentation matter: Grassroots organizations and speaker-driven projects are vital for recording, supporting, and revitalizing endangered languages.
• Complex social dynamics: Language survival is deeply intertwined with identity, migration, power, and historical trauma, requiring nuanced understanding and support.

4. Who are the six featured speakers in Language City and why are their stories important?

• Rasmina (Seke): A young speaker of a Himalayan language from Nepal, her story illustrates the challenges of maintaining a small, endangered language in Brooklyn’s “vertical villages.”
• Husniya (Wakhi): A Pamiri language speaker from Tajikistan, she exemplifies the complexities of multilingualism, migration, and cultural preservation in diaspora.
• Boris (Yiddish): A post-Holocaust Yiddish writer in Brooklyn, his efforts highlight literary survival and the tension between secular and Hasidic Yiddish communities.
• Ibrahima (N’ko): A language activist from Guinea, he demonstrates the power of a written script and technology in unifying and revitalizing West African languages.
• Irwin (Nahuatl) & Karen (Lenape): Irwin reconnects with Indigenous Mexican languages in Queens, while Karen works to reclaim Lenape, the original language of New York, both representing cultural revival and resilience.

5. How does Ross Perlin define and explain the importance of linguistic diversity in Language City?

• Radical linguistic equality: All languages are cognitively and communicatively equal, each a natural experiment in human expression, with no inherent hierarchy.
• Cultural and cognitive benefits: Maintaining mother tongues supports education, health, and preserves unique knowledge, wisdom, and art embedded in languages.
• Social justice perspective: Language endangerment is a result of oppression and power imbalances, not a natural process; revitalization is linked to liberation and healing.
• Linguistic diversity as biodiversity: The book draws parallels between language loss and biodiversity loss, emphasizing the urgency of preserving both for global sustainability.

6. What is the Endangered Language Alliance (ELA) and what role does it play in Language City?

• Urban linguistic focus: ELA is the only organization dedicated to the linguistic diversity of cities, especially endangered, Indigenous, and primarily oral languages.
• Community-driven projects: Most initiatives are started by speakers and activists, emphasizing collaboration, respect, and practical support for community needs.
• Bridging academia and activism: ELA operates independently of academic bureaucracy, focusing on documentation, teaching, translation, and public health outreach.
• Crisis response: The organization played a crucial role during the COVID-19 pandemic by translating health information into minority languages, demonstrating the life-saving importance of language access.

7. What are “vertical villages” and how do they support endangered languages in New York, according to Language City?

• Definition and function: Vertical villages are residential buildings densely inhabited by speakers of a particular endangered language or ethnic group, serving as communal hubs for cultural and linguistic survival.
• Social and economic support: These buildings enable mutual aid, cultural events, childcare, and economic cooperation, such as informal rotating credit associations (dhikuti).
• Vulnerability to change: Vertical villages face threats from gentrification, rising rents, and community dispersal, which can undermine the concentrated environments needed for language maintenance.
• Microcosms of homeland: They recreate aspects of the original homeland, fostering strong kinship ties and daily use of endangered languages.

8. How does Language City describe the challenges and strategies of language documentation and revitalization?

• Urgency of documentation: Linguists and communities race to record endangered languages through dictionaries, grammars, and oral histories, often under time pressure.
• Community involvement: Successful revitalization depends on active participation by speakers, with linguists acting as facilitators and materials tailored to community needs.
• Technological transformation: Digital tools and platforms are revolutionizing documentation, enabling wider dissemination and virtual community building.
• Emotional and identity challenges: Reviving a language involves overcoming feelings of isolation and uncertainty, especially when few others use the language in daily life.

9. What is the significance of the N’ko script and movement as presented in Language City by Ross Perlin?

• Invented African script: N’ko, created in 1949, is a right-to-left alphabet for Manding languages, symbolizing African linguistic identity and autonomy.
• Cultural and political unity: The script standardizes diverse dialects, fostering unity across borders and challenging colonial language policies.
• Diaspora activism: In New York, N’ko USA Inc. teaches and spreads the script, promoting literacy, religious reform, and cultural pride despite political and technological challenges.
• Standardization vs. diversity: The movement grapples with balancing a unified script and the rich diversity of spoken dialects.

10. What are “Ramaluk” and other hybrid language phenomena described in Language City?

• Definition of Ramaluk: Ramaluk is a mixed language or code-switching blend of Tibetan, Nepali, Hindi, English, and endangered mother tongues, common among Himalayan New Yorkers.
• Sociolinguistic significance: It reflects the fluid, hybrid identities of diaspora communities, where speakers combine elements from multiple languages for communication and belonging.
• Cultural concerns: While linguists find such mixing fascinating, many community members worry it signals cultural loss and may replace more “pure” forms of their heritage languages.
• Urban linguistic creativity: The book notes the rise of mixed languages, translanguaging, and multiethnolects in cities, showcasing dynamic linguistic adaptation.

11. How does Language City address the impact of immigration, policy, and urban change on linguistic diversity?

• Immigration as diversity source: New York’s linguistic richness is rooted in waves of global migration, shaping language communities and their vitality.
• Political threats: Restrictive immigration laws, anti-immigrant policies, and deportations threaten the presence and transmission of minority languages.
• Urban challenges: Gentrification and rising housing costs displace immigrant communities, risking language loss; public services often lack adequate language access.
• Call for policy reform: The book advocates for linguistic infrastructure, education, and public services in all mother tongues to support multilingualism and language rights.

12. What are the best quotes from Language City by Ross Perlin and what do they mean?

• On indigenous literacy: “If writing is honey in terms of sweetness, then writing one’s own language is ambrosia…” (Souleymane Kanté) – This metaphor highlights the profound value and joy of reading and writing in one’s mother tongue.
• On language loss: “Not having writing, we can say our language is endangered even if we don’t know it’s endangered.” (Ibrahima) – This reflects the invisibility and vulnerability of oral languages without written forms.
• On urban diversity: “Every place you ever go, you leave something of yourself, however small or intangible... In this map, Manhattan is a black hole.” – This quote evokes New York’s dense, layered cultural and linguistic history.
• On language as a gift: “I believe that Glen has passed us messages in the spirit world... our language is a gift.” (Karen) – This illustrates the spiritual and emotional dimensions of language reclamation and heritage.