Memory Speaks

“At once an eloquent memoir, a wide-ranging commentary on cultural diversity, and an expert distillation of the research on language learning, loss, and recovery.”—The Economist [01/29/22]

“Engrossing and poignant.”—Irina Dumitrescu, Times Literary Supplement

“Engagingly describes the disorienting and sometimes shattering experience of feeling one’s native language atrophy as a new language takes hold… [A] beautifully written book… Sedivy elegantly captures why the language(s) we use are so dear to us and how they play a central role in our identities. If we believe multilingualism is valuable, then we must work to preserve language contexts while embracing linguistic diversity.”—Fernanda Ferreira, Science

“As a child trying to fit in with her new surroundings, Sedivy quickly forgot much of her Czech… Relearning Czech as an adult offered redemption, and Sedivy’s book is in part an account of how through that act of learning she has found ways to bind disparate aspects of her identity… Beyond the striking anecdotes from her own biography, Sedivy’s book is at its best when she brings insights from psycholinguistics to the page.”—Gavin Francis, New York Review of Books

“Fascinating… In a panoramic vista of how we inhabit language and how it inhabits us, with openness and curiosity, Sedivy studies the process of losing one’s language and also provides several paths to reviving and reclaiming one’s lost self.”—Aqsa Ijaz, Dawn

“Beautifully told. It is also packed with a tour of the science on bilingualism, in which [Sedivy] is an expert, as well as the controversial topic of how one’s native language influences thought. As if that were not enough for this fascinating book, she…illuminates what is lost when a language dies.”—The Economist [06/10/22]

“A graceful blend of personal memoir with the author’s scholarly field of psycholinguistics, Memory Speaks offers generalist readers an opportunity to appreciate the marvelous complexity of human language—an ancient technology that our digital age’s most hyped AI, telematics and algorithms have yet to match. You don’t need to be an academic linguaphile—or even an everyday Wordle enthusiast—to reap rewards from this provocative book.”—Christine Wiesenthal, Alberta Views

“With implications for communities and identities, Memory Speaks is an astute linguistic investigation, showing that language is something both in people and of them.”—Foreword Reviews (starred review)

“[A] moving and deeply personal account… Sedivy also makes a case for saving endangered languages… The connection between language and memory is…beautifully rendered… An astute, thoughtful volume.”—Publishers Weekly

“In this insightful and informative analysis, Julie Sedivy examines what happens to memory, dreams, and even the sense of self when you enter another language. It is a book which speaks to the condition of countless people who have changed language and culture in our globalized world.”—Eva Hoffman, author of Lost in Translation: A Life in a New Language

“Julie Sedivy’s book is not just a study of what it means to cradle more than one language or more than one culture, perhaps even more than one identity—it is a profound elegy to memories that endure despite displacement and the many time zones that define our lives.”—André Aciman, author of Homo Irrealis: Essays

“One of the finest books I have ever read about language: a wise and humane amalgam of poetry and scientific rigor, rooted in Julie Sedivy’s deeply-felt personal experience. Full of compassion and sharp-edged insights, Memory Speaks will touch all of us who care about the tongues we speak and about the countless tongues now falling into oblivion.”—Mark Abley, author of Spoken Here: Travels among Threatened Languages

“At last, a go-to book on bilingualism and why it matters. One part science and one part personal history, Sedivy’s book guides us through the eternal question of how we handle two or more languages. It leaves us monolinguals looking deprived rather than as the default.”—John H. McWhorter, author of Nine Nasty Words: English in the Gutter—Then, Now, and Forever