The Power of Babel : A Natural History of Language (9780060520854)

There are approximately six thousand languages on Earth today, each a descendant of the tongue first spoken by Homo sapiens some 150,000 years ago. While laying out how languages mix and mutate over time, linguistics professor John McWhorter reminds us of the variety within the species that speaks them, and argues that, contrary to popular perception, language is not immutable and hidebound, but a living, dynamic entity that adapts itself to an ever-changing human environment.

Full of humor and imaginative insight, The Power of Babel draws its illustrative examples from languages around the world, including pidgins, Creoles, and nonstandard dialects.

Product details

• Format Paperback | 352 pages
• Dimensions 135 x 204 x 23mm | 263g
• Publication date 07 Jan 2003
• Publisher HarperCollins Publishers Inc
• Imprint HarperCollins Publishers
• Publication City/Country New York, NY, United States
• Language English
• Edition Statement Reprint
• Illustrations note Illustrations; Illustrations
• ISBN10 006052085X
• ISBN13 9780060520854
• Bestsellers rank 13,343

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