Memory Speaks - 9780674980280

Harvard University Press

Memory SpeaksOn Losing and Reclaiming Language and Self\nAuthor(s): Julie Sedivy\nFormat: Hardback\nPublisher: Harvard University Press, United States\nImprint: Harvard University Press\nISBN-13: 9780674980280, 978-0674980280\nSynopsis\nFrom an award-winning writer and linguist, a scientific and personal meditation on the phenomenon of language loss and the possibility of renewal.\n\nAs a child Julie Sedivy left Czechoslovakia for Canada, and English soon took over her life. By early adulthood she spoke Czech rarely and badly, and when her father died unexpectedly, she lost not only a beloved parent but also her firmest point of connection to her native language. As Sedivy realized, more is at stake here than the loss of language: there is also the loss of identity.\n\nLanguage is an important part of adaptation to a new culture, and immigrants everywhere face pressure to assimilate. Recognizing this tension, Sedivy set out to understand the science of language loss and the potential.