Concise Compendium of the World's Languages - Hardcover

George L Campbell

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 041511392X ISBN 13: 9780415113922

Publisher: Routledge, 1994

Synopsis

From Afrikaans to Zulu, almost 100 languages from the comprehensive Compendium of the World's Languages are featured in this new concise version. Many articles have been revised.

The Concise Compendium presents a detailed comparative study of the major and many of the lesser known languages of the world. Included are representatives of all language families, with samples of Amerindian, such as Navajo and of African languages, such as Fulani and Nama; languages of politically independent groups in the former USSR, like Uzbek and Belorussian; those of political pressure groups, such as Breton and Catalan and significant community/ethnic languages, including Amharic and Vietnamese.

Throughout, the treatment is factual and jargon-free. Articles are ordered alphabetically and each has a standard structure for ease of reference:

* general historical and sociolinguistic introduction
* writing system
* sound system
* grammatical system
A passage from the Gospel of St. John illustrates each language with a written tradition. These scripts are explained in an appendix at the end of the book.
Presents 100 of the world's major languages and representatives of different language groups, politically significant languages and particularly interesting ones.

About this title

Review

"This remarkable work sets a new standard for single source linguistic profiles--Campbell's excellent survey will be an invaluable "vade mecum for the linguist, as well as forming a valuable addition to larger collections." From reviews of the "Compendium of the World's Languages -"Library Association Record "This book will be a lifelong delight." -Anthony Burgess, "The Observer

Synopsis

In this single concise volume, George Campbell describes over 100 languages. The emphasis is on the world's major languages - those with over one million speakers. The articles are ordered alphabetically and each has a standardised structure for ease of reference: General historical and sociolinguistic introduction The writing system The sound system The grammatical system Throughout the book the treatment is simple and factual; technical terminology is used only where necessary, making this the ideal reference for the non-specialist. To illustrate each language, a passage from the Gospel of St. John is appended to the language description.

Edition details

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 1994
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 041511392X
• ISBN 13: 9780415113922
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 684