An Introduction to the Languages of the World / Edition 1

by Anatole V. Lyovin

Overview

The only textbook of its kind, An Introduction to the Languages of the World is designed to introduce beginning linguistics students, who now typically start their study with little background in languages, to the variety of the languages of the world. It is ideal for use in courses where students have mastered the basic principles of linguistics but lack background in the broad range of language phenomena found in the world's languages, such as vowel harmony and ergative constructions. It offers students an opportunity to explore, at various levels, structures of very different, highly interesting languages without necessarily possessing a speaking or reading knowledge of these languages.
Lyovin explains the classification of languages, discussing not only genetic classification but typological and sociolinguistic classification as well. He follows this with an explication of writing systems. A chapter is devoted to each of the world's continents, with in-depth analyses of representative languages of Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceania, and America, and a separate chapter covers pidgins and creoles. Helpful features include an appendix of nineteen maps, student exercises, and suggestions for further reading.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780195081169
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	03/06/1997
Edition description:	Older Edition
Pages:	512
Product dimensions:	9.16(w) x 6.12(h) x 1.25(d)

About the Author

University of Hawaii at Manoa

Table of Contents

1. Classification of Languages2. Classification of Writing Systems3. Languages of Europe4. Languages of Asia5. Languages of Africa6. Languages of Oceania7. Native Languages of the Americas8. Pidgins and CreolesAppendices: MapsGeneral Bibliography

Editorial Reviews

"The author succeeds in covering a broad range of important and interesting information, and I am not aware of any other work that could serve as an all-round textbook for a course on the Languages of the World."—Bernard Comrie, University of Southern California, author of The World's Major Languages

"...clearly exhibits the author's very considerable erudition in several language areas."—Joseph Grimes, Cornell University

From the Publisher