Linguistics & Semiotics - General & Miscellaneous
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Overview
There are some 6,500 different languages in the world, belonging to around 250 distinct families and conforming to numerous grammatical types. This book explains why. Given that the biological mechanisms underlying language are the same in all normal human beings, would we not be a more successful species if we spoke one language? Daniel Nettle considers how this extraordinary and rich diversity arose, how it relates to the origins and evolution of language, cognition, and culture, and how it is linked with the main patterns of human geography and history. Linguistic Diversity draws on work in anthropology, linguistics, geography, archaeology, and evolutionary science to provide a comprehensive account of the patterns of linguistic diversity. It is written in a clear, lively, and accessible style, and will appeal broadly across the natural and human sciences, as well as to the informed general reader.Synopsis
There are some 6,500 different languages in the world. This book investigates why diversity arose, how it relates to the origins and evolution of language and culture, and whether the uneven distribution of human languages may be linked with patterns of human geography and history. Daniel Nettle draws on work in anthropology, linguistics, geography, archeology, and evolutionary science to explain linguistic diversity.
Book Details
Published
July 1, 1999
Publisher
Oxford University Press, USA
Pages
180
Format
Paperback
ISBN
9780198238577