Harrison’s “The Last Speakers” published in Japanese

K. David Harrison’s acclaimed book “The Last Speakers” was recently translated into Japanese and published in Japan, which is home to nearly a million speakers of a dozen endangered languages, such as Ainu, Amami, Kunigami, Miyako, and others.

He was interviewed by National Geographic News Watch about the book:

Q: What do you hope will be the results of having this new translation available?

A: The Last Speakers features personal narratives of “language warriors” from around the world, who are taking heroic measures to save their languages. I hope that the endangered language communities and allies in Japan will find these stories inspiring, and know that they are not alone in their efforts, but are part of a global grassroots movement to save language diversity.

Read the rest of the interview.