ENGLISH

Speak: A Short History of Languages

By Tore Janson

Book information

Publisher
Oxford University Press, USA
Year
2002
ISBN
0198299788, 9781423767398, 9780198299783
LCC
P140 .J36 2002
Open Library ID
OL3585251M
Language
english
Format
PDF
Filesize
1 MB (1448632 bytes)
Edition
1St Edition
Pages
316\310
Topic
History
Time added
2011-04-20 14:05:05

Description

How does a language come into being and when does it disappear? What actually happened to Latin? When was English created? Will all people on Earth speak English or Chinese in 200 years? These are a few of the fascinating questions discussed in A Short History of Languages. It is about how historical conditions shape languages and how languages influence the course of history. The book starts with a discussion of the period of hunters and gatherers, when there was a huge number of languages. It moves on to Greek and Latin, to French and Italian, and naturally a full discussion of English. Many other languages are treated, from Setswana in southern Africa to the Creole language of Nevis in the West Indies. Hanson presents languages and cultures in a lively way, with concrete examples and, often, small samples from literary works. Although no knowledge of foreign languages is required, the book provides astonishing insights into many cultures and their languages. At the same time, it identifies long terms trends in history that may allow us to make predictions about the future.

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