The Linguist

26 The Linguist Vol/61 No/4 2022 thelinguist.uberflip.com REVIEWS UÉÉ~á One in eight languages (about 700 worldwide) is severely or critically endangered and faces extinction within 30-60 years. Most will die along with their last living speaker without audio recordings, documentation or published vocabularies and grammars as legacies. Why does language loss matter? Fairness and justice: it may occur because of land grabs and ongoing mistreatment of Indigenous peoples in the developing world. Culture: folklore, proverbs and oral history will die with its people. Botany, zoology and Linguist on the Loose Lyle Campbell Edinburgh University Press, 2022 304 pp; ISBN 9781474494151 Paperback £14.99 The Babel Message Keith Kahn-Harris Icon Books, 2021 336 pp; ISBN 9781785787379 Hardback £12.99 Army officer. At her death in 2007, she was the last remaining great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria. Two of King George I's sons married French princesses. The inscription on the tomb of Marie Bonaparte, Napoleon's great- grand-niece, is in French, Greek and Danish. Instead of a biblical excerpt, it includes lines from a poem by the Parnassian poet Leconte de Lisle: Et toi, divine mort, où tout rentre et s'efface, Accueille tes enfants dans ton sein étoilé; Affranchis-nous du temps, du nombre et de l'espace, Et rends-nous le repos que la vie a troublé. Tatoi was originally an intimate family cemetery on a privately owned estate, and its multilingual epitaphs were not designed for public display. They reflect the status and intertwining lineages of those buried here, and hint at the unique stories and histories of their lives. Yet there is one unifying thread: Greek. The word for king (Ancient Greek βᾰσῐλεύς) and its derivatives stand out in particular: βασίλισσα ('queen'; unchanged from Ancient Greek), βασιλεύς (Katharevousa 'king'), βασιλόπαις (Katharevousa 'prince', 'princess'; lit. 'king-child') and βασιλοπούλα (Modern Greek 'princess'). This is, indeed, a unique resting place. To wend one's way through its glades is to take a journey back in time through layers of history and layers of language. Caroline Makropoulos MCIL CL For a longer article about the Royal Cemetery of Tatoi, see ciol.org.uk/news/The-Linguist The Babel Message: A love letter to language is a book about language which does not presuppose any knowledge of linguistics. However, the author – sociologist and polymath Keith Kahn-Harris – does presume that his readers will know a Kinder Surprise when they see one. And, he hopes, they might have noticed that the toy hidden inside is accompanied by a scrap of paper with minuscule writing on it. This document – a health warning measuring 12cm by 5cm – is the Babel Message. Remarkably, perhaps ludicrously, but very entertainingly, Kahn-Harris has constructed an introduction to the science of language based on this message stating that the toy is not suitable for under 3-year-olds. Kinder Eggs are marketed around the globe, so the warning has to be drafted in local languages using local writing. The slip of paper contains 37 languages in 8 scripts and provides the author with a launching pad for an exploration of linguistic diversity that covers language death, and revival, linguistic imperialism, language change, conlangs and numerous other topics. In addition to generous doses of good- natured humour, what distinguishes The Babel Message from other books on language for the general reader is its focus on written scripts. Forms of written language tend to be ignored in such books, presumably because hardly anyone will understand them. For Kahn-Harris, however, comprehension doesn't matter. He regards himself as a 'language fan' and this includes a love of poring over unknown symbols (from ancient Ugaritic to Tuareg Tifinagh) without understanding a word. Indeed, an absence of semantic appreciation leaves the reader free to enjoy the beauty of the world's writing systems, which are amply represented here. On a more serious note, the author delves into questions of linguistic dominance and oppression, asking why certain languages are included and others aren't, why some were originally admitted and then suppressed. The threat posed by the global hegemony of English is also analysed. Purists might quibble about one or two of Kahn-Harris's assertions or omissions, but overall this is an intelligent, original and extremely readable work. Ross Smith MCIL A CALM OASIS The entrance to Tatoi before a fire destroyed most of its pine and cypress forest in 2021

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