Product Description

An essential guide to the languages of the world; includes information on over 600 languages.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #255038 in Books
• Published on: 2002-03-21
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 400 pages

Review
'All will delight in the extensive linguistic buffet presented in The Languages of the World.-Times Literary Supplement 'The Languages of the World offers excellent aid not only to linguists, to whom its importance is obvious, but also to anyone interested in international affairs or curious about other inhabitants of the planet.' - Charles Berlitz - 'A reference tool for all linguists as well as a collector's item for those in allied fields, enabling even an amateur to identify foreign scripts with ease and satisfaction....to be recommended.' Modern Language Review - 'A wholly fascinating mini-kaleidoscope indicating the largely diverse variety of the world's main languages and their scripts and of their cultures.' The Good Book Guide -

Concise facts and figures on the main families of the world's many thousands of languages are followed by short extracts from 200 of those most widely used. The passages, accompanied by notes on each language's main characteristics, range from 'the verses of Vermana', written in the decorative script of Telugu, a language of the state of Andhra Pradesh in southeast India, to part of the Sermon on the Mount in Esperanto. The result is a wholly fascinating mini-kaleidoscope indicating the largely diverse variety of the world's main languages and their scripts and of their cultures. (Kirkus UK)

Review
'All will delight in the extensive linguistic buffet presented in The Languages of the World.' - Times Literary Supplement

Synopsis
This Third Edition of Kenneth Katzner's best-selling guide to languages is essential reading for language enthusiasts everywhere. Written with the non-specialist in mind, its user-friendly style and layout, delightful original passages and exotic scripts will continue to fascinate reader. This new edition has been thoroughly revised to include more languages, more countries and up-to-date data on populations. Features include: information on nearly 600 languages individual descriptions of 200 languages, with sample passages and English translations concise notes on where each language is spoken, its history, alphabet and pronunciation coverage of every country in the world, its main language and speaker numbers English borrowings from other languages an introduction to language families

Customer Reviews

Extremely superficial guide to some writing systems
This book ought to have a different name, as it doesn't actually tell you much about the languages, but rather about which letters do and do not exist in each language, which is rather irrelevant information. For a linguist, the text is nearly completely useless. The one good thing to say about this work is that it supplies examples from a lot of languages, something which is otherwise hard to find in one or few books. It would be extremely more useful for me as a linguist if there was a translitteration and if possible a quasi-translation under each line of the texts, as a text written in an asian script you have never heard of gives you nothing more than a superficial impression of how it looks - it certainly has nothing to do with the language that it is used to write.

Excellent overview of the world's languages
I really enjoyed reading this book. The problem that the author faces is that each of us would probably have chosen a different selection of languages according to our own personal identity and interests. I found languages which I had never before come across such as Chukchi in Siberia. I like the way the book gives an example of the written language, a translation and then goes on to write about the main chosen languages. Many more are mentioned, and there is a nice table of language families, which acts as a very nice and accurate reference for amateur linguists like myself. As a bilingual speaker of Scottish Gaelic (and of course English), I would have liked to see more on our fascinating language, not least because our language is going through a crucial phase, with the number of speakers dangerously low, but the development in recent years of schooling through the language and an iminent bill set to go through the Scottish Parliament giving Scottish Gaelic for the first time ever secure status. Maybe there would be an interest for such a book as this to be written on a selection of minority languages for more general reading. Joshua Shipman has written excellent books on the subject of minority languages in terms of expert analysis. In short, I would recommend this book, Languages of the World as an interesting overview of languages of the world. I was delighted to see the inclusion of such languages as Bushman, Aranda and Tok Pigin. It would be better if all the scripts had been transliterated underneath into roman script.

Mar sin, chòrd an leabhar seo rium math dha-rìribh. Ged a tha beàrnan an a thaobh Gàidhlig, bha mi air leth toilichte cànanan fhaicinn mar Bhreatonais, Bascais agus cànanan tùsanach bho cheann a tuath Amaireaga, Afraca agus Àisia. Mholainn gu pearsanta gun ceannaich sibh e! Tha aon leasachadh a mholainn ged-tà airson an leabhair, gum biodh e nas fheàrr nan robh a h-uile sìon air a sgrìobhadh anns an aibidil laideann a bharrachd air an sgriopt aca fhèin.

Very nice book
I thought that this book gave a very good introduction to the amateur linguist like myself to the better known and some of the lesser known languages of the world. I also enjoyed looking at the scripts of the different languages. So to anyone with a passion for languages I would recommend this book. It is my belief that had we each been asked to write such a book on a given number of languages that we could come up with a different selection according to our own identity and interests.

Coming from the perspective of a speaker of Scottish Gaelic, I must admit that I was a bit disappointed in the way our language was put as a subscript after Irish. Whereas it is certainly true that we are trying to strengthen links between us, it would be inaccurate in any way to portray that Scottish Gaelic is a mere dialect of Irish, for despite being a fluent speaker of Scottish Gaelic, I struggle to understand the beautiful Irish language.

I enjoy greatly reading about such languages as Chukchi and Tok Pijin, which leave me fascinated when I browse through the book. In these days of globalisation it is important to maintain and indeed strengthen our self-identity, and language is possibly the greatest scense of self-identity that we behold. To learn about others is a great interest of mine, and this book has provided enjoyable reading.

(Summary in Scottish Gaelic:)

Mar sin, chòrd an leabhar seo rium gu mòr agus ma tha ùidh agad air cànanan, mholainn gun ceannaich sibh e. Tha e a' sealltainn eisimpleir den cànan air a sgrìobhadh còmhla ri eadar-theangachadh aig a' bhonn agus an uair sin, beagan gearr-chunntas air eachdraidh agus coir a' chànain.