This tribute to the work of Yasir Suleiman illustrates the ways in which his work emerges as a ‘black box’ of human social and political journeys, of Arabic languages in particular, but also in relation to other languages. The editors’ note that his work creates a powerful story of languages and the worlds that make them, and that his perspective is that of the ordinary in everyday life—of the myriad little things that build overall to a deep and intricate reservoir of knowledge regarding the study of language and society. Suleiman's study of little things includes such things as road signs—the practical elements that guide our everyday journeys, the ways in which we talk using metaphors and slang, and how we learn language in the first place. His work reveals many aspects of the mutual influence of language and society and makes clear the linkages between language, ideology, and power. Mendel & AlNajjar's book is a fitting tribute to Suleiman's work.

The editors’ introduction sums up the raison d'etre of Suleiman's work: ‘Language perhaps more than any other human interaction, is both the message and the messenger, both the self and the collective, both the dream and the reality, and uniquely can tell a story that is greater than the sum of its parts’ (7). The first part of the book discusses research focused more on Arabic in general, while studies focusing on language and society in the Middle East comprise the second part. Chapter 1 by John E. Joseph draws on Derrida's term hauntology in highlighting the intimate connection between language and identity that share the same memory, and Joseph notes the analytical value of hauntology in analysing the emotive component of identity. Karin Christina Ryding in chapter 2 points to neglect of the sociolinguistics of Arabic despite increased interest in the language within the American education system, and she identifies the distinctively diglossic nature of Arabic as a particular challenge in its teaching. Chaoqun Lian's contribution (chapter 3) provides fascinating insights into the recurrence of organic metaphors in Arabic metalanguage discourse. By associating the form and situation of Arabic to nonlinguistic entities and activities, these bring to life the sense of Arabic and its varieties as living organisms. Lian's work provides a basis for a more nuanced understanding of the links between language perception and sociopolitical circumstances in the Arabic-speaking world. In chapter 4, Eirlys Davis identifies the impact of technology on Arabic language communication in the Middle East. She notes that mobile phones and the internet have led to a blurring of the centuries-old differences between Colloquial Arabic dialects and Modern Standard Arabic, and in particular, the use of Latin letters instead of Arabic in SMS, emails, and social media in Morocco. The last chapter in Part 1 moves closer to the links between language and the extra linguistic world of identity politics and power. Ashraf Abdelhay & Sinfree Makoni show how in situations of conflict people can and do utilise the symbolism of language in articulating political and social issues.

Part 2 is the more case-study-focussed part of the book, beginning with two chapters set in Egypt. In chapter 6, ‘Code choice, place and identity in Egypt: Evidence from two novels’, Reem Bassiouney analyses the role of code choice between modern standard Arabic and Egyptian colloquial Arabic in two Egyptian novels. She argues that the authors’ use of code-switching in these two novels reflects the different stances they hold towards their protagonists. Chapter 7 examines the new wave of Egyptian nationalism following the 2013 overthrow of President Mohammed Morsi. Here Mariam Aboelezz follows Suleiman in studying the role of language as proxy in identity politics, and she identifies the processes of distanciation, differentiation, and identification as establishing a link between language and identity. Chapter 8, by Rana Issa, focuses on the more peaceful subject of writing style, in particular, a debate over ‘correct’ writing style, which Issa identifies as an argument between two competing ideologies regarding Standard Arabic. Sonia Shiri's work (chapter 9) also focuses on a situation that demonstrates the powerful links between language and identity. In the 2011 Tunisian revolution protesters successfully utilised multimodal strategies in their peaceful protest to bring about political change. Shiri identifies the ways in which the slogans and pictures of one particular demonstration lead to the eventual flight of President Zine Al-Abidine Ben Ali. The last two chapters focus on Palestine and Israel. Maisalon Dallashi in chapter 10 illustrates the impact of the political situation in this region through comparative analysis of the command of Arabic by Arab Jews and non-Arab Jews living in Israel. The results of this study—the first of its kind—show the language representing conflicting values and being used to promote on the one hand a discourse of connection, and on the other, a discourse of segregation in which Palestinians are orientalised as the ultimate ‘primitive other’. Muhammad Amara's chapter moves even more deeply into the Arab Israeli conflict with the analysis of the names given in Arabic and Hebrew to the many wars that have taken place there. It illustrates how this naming both reflects the political events in the conflict and shapes the realities of the two peoples. It also draws attention to the political power of naming on perceptions of spaces, places, and events. Amara notes the united view of Arab scholars, that the Palestinian Nakba and the catastrophe of the Jews are deeply intertwined, and that the former is both a direct and an indirect consequence of the latter.

The editors, both students of Suleiman, note that his work ‘found meaning in pamphlets, personal correspondence, signs in shop windows, a country's linguistic curricula, language policy and official language status, and that his work reveals the worlds that make languages and the languages that make worlds’ (1). The book and the powerful work of the scholar it honours shows language and social interaction as a cultural activity accomplished through linguistic and other symbolic means. The book is not only interesting but accessible and will be of interest and value to graduate students and scholars of the intersection between Arabic and English languages and the cultures they represent, as well as to students of political discourse through its analysis of Arabic perspectives on a challenging political context.