How to Kill a Language
Power, Resistance, and the Race to Save Our Words

Quotes

“Punchy and persuasive . . . [with] many moments of linguistic joy.”—The Times (UK)

“Smith Galer writes powerfully about the experiences of Kichwa speakers in the Ecuadorian highlands. . . . More boldly, [her] story of linguicide encompasses her own loss of the Emilian dialect. . . . The idea that we have a special duty to prevent the death of languages is instantly compelling to anyone who loves languages.”—The New Yorker

“[A] moving, beautiful and important book . . . The narrative grips from the outset. . . . The story she tells is profound and often tragic.”—Financial Times

“What do we lose, the author asks, when a language dies? The answers she found are powerful.”—Los Angeles Times

“It’s Smith Galer’s affection for her Nonna that serves as the spine of this engaging work of memoir, reporting, and cultural analysis. . . . She considers a fascinating range of examples—from the Kremlin’s war on Ukrainian to the plight of a remarkably compact language called Śḥerɛ̄t spoken in the mountains of southern Oman.”—Ron Charles (via Substack)

“How to Kill a Language paints a vivid, hopeful portrait of how people around the world are staying connected to their linguistic roots against the odds. Sophia Smith Galer deftly balances the human detail with the bigger linguistic picture. Marvelously done.”—Gretchen McCulloch, author of Because Internet

“A rallying cry against linguistic extinction . . . This is a necessary book, with a message that English speakers need to hear.”—The New Statesman

“How to Kill a Language tours the world with a personal touch, revealing the powerfully human stakes behind language death and revitalization.”—Adam Aleksic, author of Algospeak

“Urgent and timely . . . what animates it above all is the curiosity and pleasure of language learning—a curiosity that is its own form of hope.”—The Telegraph

“An extremely moving, passionate plea to protect linguistic diversity. A language is more than a dictionary or a system of grammar: It is an archive, a culture, a symbol, and a mode of being. Sophia Smith Galer’s fascinating book digs down into what it really means to translate, document, conserve, comprehend, and colonize.”—Cal Flyn, author of Islands of Abandonment

“How to Kill a Language hits the intersection of language and power as few other books have, with vivid reporting of how ‘linguicide’s broad scythe’ is cutting through communities worldwide.”—Ross Perlin, author of Language City

“A love letter to languages. These ten stories locate their languages in a context of personal heritage, identity, and culture in a way that is both intellectually rigorous and yet profoundly moving.”—David Crystal, author of How Language Works

“Beautiful, thought-provoking, and compelling.”—Susie Dent, author of Guilty by Definition

“I’m so glad this book exists: Language preservation and revitalization are causes sorely in need of a champion.”—David Peterson, author of The Art of Language Invention

“Essential . . . A relevant, necessary call to action.” —Library Journal, starred review

“A fascinating peek into the possible future of many languages . . . Eminently readable and well-researched.” —Shelf Awareness, starred review

“Heart-wrenching . . . a spirited reconsideration of language as a natural resource that must be protected.”—Publishers Weekly