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

An urgent, globe-spanning exploration of languages at risk, from Kichwa to Ukrainian, that asks: What do we lose—culturally, politically, and personally—when a language is silenced?

“Fascinating . . . Galer casts a bright light on the massive linguistic diversity that the world seems set to lose.”—John McWhorter, The New York Times

Languages can be killed in many ways: war, the climate crisis, nationalism, and even quiet choices made at the dinner table. Around the world, an unprecedented shi...