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(as of Nov 28, 2024 22:43:58 UTC – Details)
A “monumental” account of the rise and fall of languages, with “many fresh insights, useful historical anecdotes, and charming linguistic oddities” (Chicago Tribune).
Nicholas Ostler’s Empires of the Word is the first history of the world’s great tongues, gloriously celebrating the wonder of words that bind communities together and make possible both the living of a common history and the telling of it. From the uncanny resilience of Chinese through twenty centuries of invasions to the engaging self-regard of Greek to the struggles that gave birth to the languages of modern Europe, these epic achievements and more are brilliantly explored, as are the fascinating failures of once “universal” languages. A splendid, authoritative, and remarkable work, it demonstrates how the language history of the world eloquently reveals the real character of our planet’s diverse peoples and prepares us for a linguistic future full of surprises.
“Readers learn how languages ancient and modern spread and how they dwindle. . . . Few books bring more intellectual excitement to the study of language.” —Booklist (starred review)
“Sparkles with arcane knowledge, shrewd perceptions, and fresh ideas…The sheer sweep of his analysis is breathtaking.” —Times Literary Supplement
“Ambitious and accessible . . . Ostler stresses the role of culture, commerce and conquest in the rise and fall of languages, whether Spanish, Portuguese and French in the Americas or Dutch in Asia and Africa.” —Publishers Weekly
“A marvelous book.” —National Review
ASIN : B003XDUCE0
Publisher : HarperCollins e-books; Reprint edition (March 22, 2011)
Publication date : March 22, 2011
Language : English
File size : 3349 KB
Text-to-Speech : Enabled
Screen Reader : Supported
Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
X-Ray : Not Enabled
Word Wise : Not Enabled
Print length : 643 pages
Customers say
Customers find the book rich in information, clear, and concise. They describe it as fascinating and serious. Readers also mention the scope is wide and expansive. Opinions are mixed on the writing quality, with some finding it well-written and densely elaborated, while others say it’s difficult to read and clunky.
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