| The Fall of Language in the Age of English Contributor(s): Mizumura, Minae (Author), Yoshihara, Mari (Translator), Carpenter, Juliet Winters (Translator) |
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ISBN: 0231163037 ISBN-13: 9780231163033 Publisher: Columbia University Press OUR PRICE: $25.74 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: February 2017 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Literary Criticism | Asian - Japanese - Literary Criticism | European - French - Language Arts & Disciplines | Linguistics - General |
| Dewey: 495.609 |
| Physical Information: 0.6" H x 6" W x 8.9" (0.75 lbs) 240 pages |
| Themes: - Cultural Region - French - Cultural Region - Japanese |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: 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. |
Contributor Bio(s): Mizumura, Minae: - Minae Mizumura was born in Tokyo, moved to New York at the age of twelve, and studied French literature at Yale University. Acclaimed for her audacious experimentation and skillful storytelling, Mizumura has won major literary awards for all of her novels. Her English translations include A True Novel (Other Press, 2013), The Fall of Language in the Age of English (Columbia, 2014), and Inheritance from Mother (Other Press, 2017). She lives in Tokyo.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. |