Languages of the World
Are you curious to know what all languages have in common and how they differ? Do you want to find out how language can be used to trace different peoples and their past? Now in its fourth edition, this fascinating book guides beginners through the rich diversity of the world's languages. It presupposes no background in linguistics, and introduces key concepts with the help of problem sets, end-of-chapter exercises and an extensive bibliography. It is illustrated with detailed maps and charts of language families throughout, and engaging sidebars and 'food for thought' boxes contextualise and bring the languages to life with demographic, social, historical, and geographical facts. This edition has been extensively updated with a new section on the languages of the Caribbean, new problem sets, and an updated glossary and index. Supplementary online materials includes links to all websites mentioned, and answers to the exercises for instructors.
- All terminology introduced in the book is defined in the text and in the updated glossary at the end of the book
- Chapters have been revised and updated, with additional material on Sign Languages, Creole genesis, deciphering Mayan writing and the languages of Northern Eurasia, and a new section on the languages of the Caribbean
- Fully illustrated throughout with maps showing the locations of the languages described
- Each chapter contains several problem sets designed to teach students with no background in linguistics to analyze data from unfamiliar languages, with numerous new sets added to this edition
Reviews & endorsements
'A fine panoramic view of the rich variety of the world's languages.' Greville G. Corbett, Distinguished Professor of Linguistics, Surrey Morphology Group, University of Surrey
'Reading this book reminds me of why I became a linguist. Pereltsvaig provides a fascinating overview of human languages, exploring their diversity, commonalities, and history. This book is accessible to anyone who is curious about language but is also detailed and extensive enough to be a valuable resource for linguistic scholars, teachers, and students.' Diane Massam, Professor Emeritus, University of Toronto
Product details
December 2023Hardback
9781009338660
600 pages
251 × 176 × 29 mm
1.13kg
Available
Table of Contents
- Prologue
- 1. Introduction
- 2. Languages of Europe
- 3. Languages of Iran and South Asia
- 4. Languages of Northern Eurasia
- 5. Languages of the Caucasus
- 6. Languages of the greater Middle East
- 7. Languages of sub-Saharan Africa
- 8. Languages of eastern Asia
- 9. Languages of the Pacific
- 10. Aboriginal languages of New Guinea and Australia
- 11. Indigenous languages of Canada and the US
- 12. Indigenous languages of Latin America
- Epilogue
- Glossary
- Bibliography
- Index of Languages
- Index of Terms.