Babel Around the World in 20 Languages

One of the most poorly written books I've had the misfortune of reading.

Each chapter seems disconnected, no semblance of cohesion. Poorly researched as well. I can point out several instances in the Korean, Tamil and Hindi/Urdu chapters where the language and the culture has been misrepresented.

It feel like the book was written with a strong white lens, and it reflects in the almost degrading way he talks about the Asian languages.

I had a look at some do the references he has used for the chapters, and it seems that for most of the Asian languages, the references are quite dated (1997/99 or even early 2000s) and if it happens to be from the same decade as when the book was written, it isn't from a native speaker. It's also questionable that the references don't all seem to be academic texts.

I can go on about how poor this book is. I wish I could erase the memory of having read this book.

If I could, I would give this book negative 5 stars. I would settle for zero stars as well. But 1 will have to suffice.

I was taking notes at first. Then, I was running out of time on my loan from the library and had to get creative with my reading time. This book was interesting and made me appreciate some of these languages more. Though it was entertaining, there were parts where it felt like the author was birdwalking to the point I forgot what language I was reading about. I may read it again at a later date when I finally have a firm grasp on my second (or third) language.