I read this book in dribs and drabs over the course of a year — Rare Tongues: The Secret Stories of Hidden Languages by Lorna Gibb. 📚
From the whistling languages of La Gomera in the Canary Islands and the Hmong people in East and Southeast Asia, to the wars and clashes in Sri Lanka and the conservation efforts in Hawaii and New Zealand, Rare Tongues draws attention to how language and culture are becoming increasingly homogenous, and what we risk losing as a result.
There were many interesting tidbits, such as:
State control is easier when you can control the words people use.
And this, which echoes word for word statements made in Aotearoa about bilingual road signs:
… those in Scotland who are angered by Gaelic on road signs. ‘Why should the majority have to put up with it? It’s a tiny group of speakers who all know English anyway’ is a common lament. ‘Why are we paying for this extra signage?’
