The Fall of Language in the Age of English

Minae Mizumura

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Winner of the Kobayashi Hideo Award, The Fall of Language in the Age of English lays bare the struggle to retain the brilliance of one's own language in this period of English-language dominance. Born in Tokyo but raised and educated in the United States, Minae Mizumura acknowledges the value of a universal language in the pursuit of knowledge yet also embraces the different ways of understanding offered by multiple tongues. She warns against losing this precious diversity.

Universal languages have always played a pivotal role in advancing human societies, Mizumura shows, but in the globalized world of the Internet, English is fast becoming the sole common language of humanity. The process is unstoppable, and striving for total language equality is delusional--and yet, particular kinds of knowledge can be gained only through writings in specific languages.

Mizumura calls these writings "texts" and their ultimate form "literature." Only through literature and, more fundamentally, through the diverse languages that give birth to a variety of literatures, can we nurture and enrich humanity. Incorporating her own experiences as a writer and a lover of language and embedding a parallel history of Japanese, Mizumura offers an intimate look at the phenomena of individual and national expression.

Book Details

Publisher: Columbia University Press
Publish Date: Feb 21st, 2017
Pages: 240
Language: English
Edition: undefined - undefined
Dimensions: 8.90in - 6.00in - 0.60in - 0.75lb
EAN: 9780231163033
Categories: • Asian - Japanese• European - French• Linguistics - General

About the Author

Carpenter, Juliet Winters: - Juliet Winters Carpenter studied Japanese literature at the University of Michigan and the Inter-University Center for Japanese Language Studies in Tokyo. In 1980, Carpenter's translation of Abe Kobo's novel Secret Rendezvous (Mikkai) won the Japan-United States Friendship Commission Prize for the Translation of Japanese Literature. She is the translator of all of Mizumura's English-language translations.

Praise for this book

A dazzling rumination on the decline of local languages, most particularly Japanese, in a world overshadowed by English. Moving effortlessly between theory and personal reflection, Minae Mizumura's lament--linguistic and social in equal measure--is broadly informed, closely reasoned, and--in a manner that recalls her beloved Jane Austen--at once earnest and full of mischief.--John Nathan, translator of Light and Dark: A Novel by Natsume Soseki

A stirring call to consciousness about the role of language.... For English speakers, the book presents an important opportunity to walk in someone else's shoes.-- "Publishers Weekly"

A call to arms for everyone: for all non-native English speakers to embrace and champion literature in their own languages, and for English speakers to be that little less arrogant in their use of their mother tongue, which just happens to have become the world's universal language.--Sophie Knight "The Japan Times"

Mizumura traces how the myth of the 'national language, ' a pure upwelling of political character, coincided with the flowering of the nation-state--and, even more fascinatingly, of the novel itself.... 'Language' may be in the book's title, but Mizumura has really crafted a conservationist's plea for literature.--Katy Waldman "Slate"

Rigorous and wide-ranging.... This book is a cracker.--Peter Gordon "Asian Review of Books"

An eye-opening call to consciousness about the role of language.-- "Publishers Weekly Tip Sheet"

There is incredibly smart stuff in here... Mizumura's ability to weave together so many strands of history (lingual, academic, economic, geopolitical) paints a clear picture of the evolution of Japanese literature, with commentary on the rest of the globe being a pleasant byproduct.--Graham Oliver "The Rumpus"

[A] highly charged book.--Eric Banks "The Chronicle Of Higher Education"

Persuasive, elegantly written.... [The Fall of Language in the Age of English] is highly deserving of attention, from English and Japanese speakers alike, as well as from anyone concerned about literature's past and future.--Rebecca Hussey "The Quarterly Conversation"

The Fall of Language in the Age of English deserves wider coverage (and debate).-- "Flavorwire"

Mizumura has crafted a book that stimulates thought, excites passions, and encourages debate. For these alone, it is well worth a read.--Erik R. Lofgren "World Literature Today"

Translators Juliet Winter Carpenter and Mari Yoshihara have done a superb job of rendering [the text] into clear, readable English.-- "Japanese Studies"

This powerful, insightful work analyzes the predicament of world languages and literatures in an age when English has become the universal language of science and the default language of the internet.... Rich, profound meditation on language and literature.-- "Claremont Review of Books"

In The Fall Of Language in the Age of English, Minae Mizumura shows, better than anyone ever has, how English is wrecking other languages -- reducing even great literary languages, including Japanese and French, to local dialects -- and makes a vigorous case for the superiority of the written over the spoken word.--Benjamin Moser "New York Times Book Review"

[Mizumura's] book is a 'text to read' in the 'universal library, ' to use her terms.--Selma K. Sonntag "Journal of Asian Studies"

Skillfully translated.--Harou Shirane "Public Books"

The care with which Mizumura has crafted this book... [makes] the reading of it a pleasure, allowing for wit and personality to shine.-- "Full Stop"