Languages And Literature

摘要

Printed in China on glossy paper of many hues, with 550 illustrations (400 of them in colour), this is a modestly priced, truly attractive, and trustworthy introduction to comparative study of languages, likely to prove both popular as a gift book for students and teachers alike. Its editor, Peter K. Austin, is Maerk Rausing Professor of Field Linguistics and Director of the Endangered Languages Academic Programme at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. He has mobilised 13 professional linguists and area specialists, of acknowledged authority, in the daunting task of presenting a current awareness report on the status of 1,000 of the world's 6,900 or so spoken languages, together with a synopsis of the origins and history of each, and of some characteristic features.rn1,000 Languages takes the reader on a linguistic guided tour of the world, giving two pages to each of 11 "global languages", those used well beyond their place of origin.