A tour of the world's twenty most-spoken languages explores the history, geography, linguistics, and cultures that have been shaped by languages and their customs

George Steiner's essential tome on linguistics, hailed by the New York Times as a "dazzling inquiry into the possibility of translation" In his classic work, literary critic and scholar George Steiner tackles what he considers the Babel "problem": Why, over the course of history, have humans developed thousands of different languages when the social, material, and economic advantages of a single tongue are obvious? Steiner argues that different cultures'...

We use language all day, every day - probably without thinking much about it. But if you stop and consider it, language is not only extremely important, it's fascinating too! Use of language is one of the key things distinguishing humans from other animals, and nearly 7,000 languages are spoken around the world. Without it, we'd be hard pressed to communicate, express ourselves, or understand others. The Book of Languages begins with an introduction...

From the publisher. Nicholas Ostler's Empires of the Word is the first history of the world's great tongues, gloriously celebrating the wonder of words that binds communities together and makes 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 and to the struggles that gave birth to the languages of modern Europe, these...

"This illustrated riddle introduces children to language's impact on human culture and history"-- Provided by publisher.

John L. Austin was one of the leading philosophers of the twentieth century. The William James Lectures presented Austin's conclusions in the field to which he directed his main efforts on a wide variety of philosophical problems. These talks became the classic How to Do Things with Words. For this second edition, the editors have returned to Austin's original lecture notes, amending the printed text where it seemed necessary. Students will find the...

The authors examine issues of leadership and management in education before turning to look at the roles of a SALL manager, and suggest how these roles are changing and what the future may hold for managing SALL. Case studies are used to illustrate how SALL is managed in different universities as a way of contextualising the issues discussed in the book.

What do the phrases "pro-life," "intelligent design," and "the war on terror" have in common? Each of them is a name for something that smuggles in a highly charged political opinion. Words and phrases that function in this special way go by many names. Some writers call them "evaluative-descriptive terms." Others talk of "terministic screens" or discuss the way debates are "framed." Author Steven Poole calls them Unspeak. Unspeak represents an attempt...

Considering studying languages at university? Wondering whether a languages degree will get you a good job, and what you might earn? Want to know what it's actually like to study languages at degree level? This book tells you what you need to know. Studying any subject at degree level is an investment in the future that involves significant cost. Now more than ever, students and their parents need to weigh up the potential benefits of university courses....