Gorgeous...Perlin builds a compelling case for why preserving [languages] matters not just for the speakers, but for humanity itself * New York Times Book Review *
Superb...Wonderfully rich, Language City is in part an introduction to the diverse ways different languages work * Wall Street Journal *
Exuberant, radical...His evocation of New York's gorgeous, messy, imperfect diversity made me long for someone to do the same for London * Spectator *
A welcome reminder of the importance and vibrancy of the crisscross of languages at work in a multicultural city * Glasgow Herald *
Enthralling . . .Readers will be engrossed * Publishers Weekly (starred review) *
A spirited celebration of a polyglot city...A convincing argument for linguistic multiplicity * Kirkus Reviews *
This is a guidebook to a secret New York in hundreds of languages, a map of the world written in the conversations of immigrants from places you've never heard of, a manifesto in defense of the value and beauty of the smallest language groups, a portrait of six particular speakers, and a celebration of what language is and these languages are. It's also a joyful, exciting narrative, and though Ross Perlin has wandered through so many languages, he writes this one, English, with vivid grace. Language City is a celebration of one city and all humanity, and you should read it -- Rebecca Solnit, author of ORWELL'S ROSES
A work of sweeping ambition that succeeds on every level: reportorial, explanatory, stylistic, political -- Margalit Fox, author of THE CONFIDENCE MEN
What a rich and explosively vital book. Now to all New York's other superlatives we can add "the most linguistically diverse city in the history of the world." -- Russell Shorto, author of THE ISLAND AT THE CENTRE OF THE WORLD
Language City is a treasure. Each page brims with fascinating historical details that somehow manage to give New York more meaning and importance than it already had -- Alejandro Varela, author of THE TOWN OF BABYLON

Contents: Preface: The Limits of My Language I: Thousands of Natural Experiments 1: A Room on Eighteenth Street 2: A Home in Queens 3: A Snapshot of Babel 4: A Brief Guide to Radical Linguistics II: Past 1: Minority Port 2: Survivor City 3: Indigenous Metropolis 4: Global Microcosm III: Present 1: Rasmina (Seke) 2: Husniya (Wakhi) 3: Boris (Yiddish) 4: Ibrahima (N'ko) 5: Irwin (Nahuatl) 6: Karen (Lunaape / Lenape) IV: Future

Author Biography: Ross Perlin is a linguist, writer and translator. He has written for the New York Times, the Guardian, Harper's and n+1 and the Endangered Language Alliance has been covered by the New York Times, the New Yorker, BBC, NPR and many others. He is also the author of Intern Nation.