Grammar of Loss: A Study in Liminal Linguistics [Hardcover]

1. Introduction? 2. Extractivism? 3. Levitating backwards? 4. Ghosts? 5. Roasted chicken and the motorpark? 6. Nothing is numerous or few in itself? 7. Confucianists? 8. You and me? 9. Wandering? 10.What can no longer be known? 11. Crackles and glitches? 12. Colonialism

This book explores how language and linguistic knowledge can be encountered through walks, shared meals, conversations, and daily life rather than being written about in the style and genre of western academic grammar. Appealing to academics in liminality studies and those interested in alternative approaches to language documentation.

'This innovative book offers a deeply human and refreshingly honest approach to linguistic scholarship. Its focus on the largely defunct Nigerian Hone language and blends rigorous research with storytelling techniques. The books structure defies traditional grammar formats, instead presenting a logical, accessible, and emotionally resonant journey through language, culture, and identity. The author challenges Western academic norms by foregrounding indigenous spirituality, lived experience, and the realities of her own fieldwork experience. Rich in interdisciplinary insight, Anne Storch writes with compassion and scholarly precision and crafts both a critical academic contribution and a powerful act of cultural preservation. The Grammar of Loss provides valuable insight for researchers, educators, and students across disciplines and is a must-read for anyone interested in the transformative power of language.'

Sally J. Delgado, University of Puerto Rico at Cayey

A vivid and poignant account of a disappearing language, which captures how language is situated in a place and embedded in a community of speakers, rather than treating it as data to be extracted for academic analysis and dissection.??