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Ross Perlin

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American linguist

Ross Perlin is an American linguist and co-director of the Endangered Language Alliance. He has made significant contributions to the Languages of New York City map.

Early life and education

Perlin grew up in New York City.

Perlin has a BA from Stanford University, an M.Phil. from the University of Cambridge, an MA from the University of London (SOAS), and a PhD in Linguistics from the University of Bern.

Career

As part of his linguistics PhD, Perlin studied and published a dictionary for Trung, a language spoken in the eastern Himalayas. Perlin researched the languages of the Pamir region of Tajikistan for National Geographic.

Perlin contributed to the English translation of Bullets and Opium: Real-Life Stories of China After the Tiananmen Square Massacre (2020) by Liao Yiwu and Chen Guangcheng's The Barefoot Lawyer (2015).

In 2024, Perlin published Language City, an exploration of the least-known languages in New York City. In this, he places a focus on trauma as the source for linguistic diversity in New York, especially that of immigrants fleeing persecution, violence, and famine. An excerpt from the book was published in The Atlantic, highlighting the likelihood that many endangered languages will die out in the near future. He wrote, "Threats to immigration and immigrant lives, language loss in the homelands, and the gentrification of cities appear to be accelerating the cycle.

Some journalists have speculated that a New York Times article highlighting Perlin's work may have inspired an anti-immigrant comment by former President Donald Trump.

Books

  • Intern Nation: How to Earn Nothing and Learn Little in the Brave New Economy (Verso Books, 2012)
  • Language City: The Fight to Preserve Endangered Mother Tongues in New York (Atlantic Monthly Press, 2024)

References

  1. ^ "Ross Perlin | Department of Slavic Languages". slavic.columbia.edu.
  2. Carp, Alex (2024-02-22). "The World Capital of Endangered Languages". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-03-12.
  3. Perlin, Ross (2013-07-25). "Days of Wine and Rosaries: How to read the dictionary of an endangered language". Harper's Magazine. ISSN 0017-789X. Retrieved 2024-02-25.
  4. "Explorer Home". explorers.nationalgeographic.org. Retrieved 2024-03-12.
  5. Yiwu, Liao (2020). Bullets and Opium: Real-Life Stories of China After the Tiananmen Square Massacre (9781982126650 ed.). Atria/One Signal Publishers.
  6. Guangcheng, Chen (2015). The Barefoot Lawyer: A Blind Man's Fight for Justice and Freedom in China. Henry Holt and Co. ISBN 0805098054.
  7. Mask, Dierdre (February 19, 2024). "How to Speak New York". The New York Times. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
  8. Mask, Deirdre (2024-02-19). "How to Speak New York". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-03-12.
  9. Perlin, Ross (2024-02-26). "The Last, Improbable Refuge for the World's Endangered Languages". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2024-03-12.
  10. Grisar, P. J. (2024-03-01). "Did this pro-immigrant linguist inspire Donald Trump's latest anti-immigrant rant?". The Forward. Retrieved 2024-03-12.
  11. "Intern Nation: How to Earn Nothing and Learn Little in the Brave New Economy by Ross Perlin". www.publishersweekly.com. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
  12. "INTERN NATION | Kirkus Reviews" – via www.kirkusreviews.com.
  13. http://www.cpreview.org/blog/2011/05/this-is-your-life
  14. Mask, Deirdre (February 19, 2024). "How to Speak New York" – via NYTimes.com.
  15. "Language City: The Fight to Preserve Endangered Mother Tongues in New York by Ross Perlin". www.publishersweekly.com. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
  16. "LANGUAGE CITY | Kirkus Reviews" – via www.kirkusreviews.com.

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