Ross Perlin Wins British Academy Prize for Book on Endangered Languages

American writer Ross Perlin wins the British Academy Prize for his book "Language City," highlighting the fight to preserve endangered languages.

on Oct 23, 2024

Ross Perlin Wins British Academy Prize for Book on Endangered Languages | Frontlist

American writer Ross Perlin has been awarded the £25,000 British Academy Book Prize for Global Cultural Understanding for his book Language City: The Fight to Preserve Endangered Mother Tongues (Atlantic Books).

Professor Charles Tripp FBA, the chair of the judges, announced the winner at an event at the British Academy on October 22nd.

Perlin, a linguist and co-director of the Endangered Language Alliance, is based in Manhattan and is dedicated to reporting endangered languages and supporting linguistic diversity.

In Language City, Perlin explores the history of migration into New York and its effect on the original Lenape speakers. The book also follows the personal stories of six speakers of endangered languages, showcasing their strength and the richness of their languages.

Additionally, Perlin is the writer of Intern Nation: How to Earn Nothing and Learn Little in the Brave New Economy and has contributed to publications such as the New York Times, Guardian, Harper’s, and n+1.

Professor Tripp, conveying the judges, characterized Language City as a fascinating social history and a modern linguistic portrayal of New York City. He spotlighted the book's focus on the exposure and strength of migrants and their languages in the 21st century.

Professor Julia Black, the head of the British Academy, commended Language City for its expert description of social history, highlighting how it illustrates the human connections enabled by languages.

Each of the shortlisted authors will receive £1,000. Other contenders included

Material World: A Substantial Story of Our Past and Future (Ebury) by Ed Conway

Smoke and Ashes: Opium’s Hidden Histories (John Murray) by Amitav Ghosh

The Secret Lives of Numbers: A Global History of Mathematics & Its Unsung Trailblazers (Penguin Books) by Kate Kitagawa and Timothy Revell

The Tame and the Wild: People and Animals after 1492 (Harvard University Press) by Marcy Norton

Divided: Racism, Medicine and Why We Need to Decolonise Healthcare (Profile Books) by Annabel Sowemimo.

The shortlist was selected from 263 proposals published between 1st April 2023 and 31st March 2024.

The 2024 judging panel included Rebecca Earle, a food historian and professor of history at the University of Warwick, former BBC foreign correspondent Bridget Kendall Hon, journalist and broadcaster Ritula Shah, and Chakravarthi Ram-Prasad FBA, a professor of comparative religion and philosophy at Lancaster University.

The award, established in 2013, aims to identify and celebrate outstanding non-fiction that demonstrates rigor and originality while contributing to public understanding of world cultures and their interaction. This international prize is open to authors of any nationality.

In 2023, Nandini Das also won Courting India: England, Mughal India, and the Origins of Empire.