Status Update

Zoe is on page 204 of 304

“Hebrew is unrelenting in its survival, resisting a fate that has dispersed and killed many other languages in a similar position. Some would call it divine intervention. I’d call it the very human drive to create and to destroy.”

When I saw this book has a chapter on Israel’s revitalisation of Hebrew, I was very worried I’d accidentally rec’d a Zionist book to my book club. Happy to report I did not!

— Oct 01, 2026 11:26PM

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

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Zoe’s Previous Updates

Zoe is on page 229 of 304

Latest chapter was on Dagbani, a language in Ghana. Dove into how the climate crisis has contributed to the loss of language through forced immigration, and the role of the internet (specifically Wikipedia and AI) in amplifying languages. Super interesting!!!

— Oct 02, 2026 06:58AM

Zoe is on page 176 of 304

Another excellent chapter, this one on Kichwa, a language in Ecuador. Dove into the idea of linguistic asphyxiation due to shame, and how revitalisation efforts can start literally within the womb (some interesting articles cited about accent differences in < week old babies!).

— Sep 25, 2026 08:37AM

Zoe is on page 154 of 304

Chapter on Kurdish is done! Love that the author delved into the relationship between translation and literature here. Also another dose of history, which of course I loved.

— Sep 14, 2026 05:45AM

Zoe is on page 130 of 304

Just got a look at language rejuvenation in North African through the language of Karuk! Love seeing how people combat language extinction

— Sep 12, 2026 06:23AM

Zoe is on page 110 of 304

Chapter on Ladino is done. We’ve had A LOT of Israel mentions so far… had me a little worried the author is a Zionist and I’ve picked this as the book club book without realising what I was promoting. But, I have been assured that this isn’t the case, so onwards we go!

This chapter was very interesting (I did not know about the stolen Ladino headstones), and I like that we get history alongside linguistics

— Sep 07, 2026 05:51AM