The Future Is Female: What We Lose When Language Is Lost

Every two weeks, somewhere in the world, a language falls silent. And when it does, we lose more than words. We lose histories, identities, and entire ways of seeing the world. To mark the United Nations International Mother Language Day on 21st February, this episode of #TheFutureIsFemale Melisa Idris speaks with Professor Dr Stefanie Shamila Pillai, Professor at Universiti Malaya’s Faculty of Languages & Linguistics, and one of Malaysia’s leading scholars on Malaysian-English and endangered languages. Her pioneering work documenting Melaka Portuguese has helped preserve a language at risk of being lost, and earned her the UM Academic Icon award, which is its highest individual honour. She was also recently named one of the top research scientists in the country by Akedami Sains Negara.