Dictionary of Languages - Softcover

Andrew Dalby

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0747531188 ISBN 13: 9780747531180

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, 1999

Synopsis

An A-Z guide to the languages of the world, detailing over 400 languages. This volume covers the political, social and historical background, offering insight into human culture and communication. The text is highlighted by maps, charts of scripts, proverbs, anecdotes and quotations.

About this title

Review

'A welcome paperback edition of a wonderfully readable book which transcends its own limits as a super-specialised reference work to become a joyously accessible celebration of the sheer diversity of humankind.' The Scotsman 'Splendid guidebook an endlessly fascinating achievement.' The Guardian 'A delight, a cornucopia of information, of easy reference, and of rich enjoyment.' The Linguist 'The linguistic waterfront it covers is concomitantly spacious an astonishing quantity of information certainly a candidate for any language fan's wishlist.' The Evening Standard

From the Back Cover

Covering the political, social and historical background of each language, Dictionary of Languages offers a unique insight into human culture and communication. Every language that has official status is included, as well as all those that have a written literature and 175 'minor' languages with special historical or anthropological interest. Both living and dead languages are covered and we see how, with the rapidly increasing uniformity of our culture as media's influence spreads, more languages have become extinct or are under threat of extinction. The text is highlighted by maps and charts of scripts, while proverbs, anecdotes and quotations reveal the features that make a language unique.

Edition details

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0747531188
• ISBN 13: 9780747531180
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 734