Available Spring 2012:
In the United States, our languages are as varied as our origins. There’s Basque in Nevada, Crow in Montana, Gullah in South Carolina. We speak European, Asian, and Native American languages; we speak creoles, jargons, and pidgins. But for most Americans, these languages are the stuff of history museums and heritage days—not a part of everyday life.
While living in Queens, among the most ethnically, culturally, and linguistically diverse places on Earth, Elizabeth Little heard more languages spoken each day than most people do in a lifetime. As she watched her neighbors navigate the linguistic shoals of immigrant life, she began to think for the first time about the American experience and how language has shaped it. Are we a nation of stubborn monolinguals? A country in flux between English and Spanish? A polyglot paradise? Eventually she decided the only way to find answers to these questions was to hit the road.
In Trip of the Tongue, Elizabeth Little acts as our witty and endearing guide on an expedition to discover what our nation’s cultures and languages say about who we are as individuals and as a society. This book is a celebration of American multiculturalism and a reflection on what we value, what we fight for, and what we allow ourselves to forget.