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Edited by Jane Gary and Carl Rubino
The product of seven years of compilation from the work
of nearly two hundred world-renowned scholars in linguistics. The volume
explores the structure, history and culture of 191 languages worldwide,
with the aim of providing both the general public and linguistics experts
with an authoritative source of rich, structured data on the world's major
ethnolinguistic groups.
As a general rule, Facts About the World's Languages covers languages
spoken by two million or more people. The volume does, however, make
exceptions: such noteworthy ancient languages as Latin, Ancient Greek,
Classical Chinese, Akkadian, Tocharian, Sumerian, Coptic, Ge'ez, Punic,
Etruscan, Biblical Hebrew, Pali, and Sanskrit are included for their
importance in early linguistic scholarship and in the development of many
other languages. Additionally, some languages with smaller populations are
featured to represent less frequently described language families and to
give a broader typological perspective: Nivkh, Creek, Navajo, Cherokee,
Eskimo, Warlpiri, and Arapesh among them.
Though linguistics is a highly technical discipline, the volume describes
each language in words a student or layperson can comprehend. Technical
terms that are indispensable to a thorough understanding of the subject
are defined in the volume's glossary.
Each of 191 chapters – all written by one or more recognized experts – is
devoted to a single language and follows a consistent structure. Headings
include:
Chapters also include a section on Efforts to Preserve,
Protect, and Promote the Language, detailing the history and legacy of
preservation programs for "endangered" and state-repressed languages.
Three indexes accompany the text: Index of Languages by Country, Index of
Languages by Family, and Index of Languages and Alternate Names.
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896 pp.
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2001
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ISBN 0-8242-0970-2
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$200
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$215 (outside U.S. and Canada) |
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