The World's Major Languages

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 1040 pages
• Published by: Oxford University Press, USA June 28, 1990
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0195065115
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0195065114
• Book Dimensions: 9.2 x 5.9 x 2 inches
• Weighs: 3.2 pounds

From Library Journal
This is a treasury of authoritative yet concise information about major languages and language families. The emphasis is on Indo-European, over half the book being devoted to that family. Each of the 50 chapters is written by an expert in that field. Phonology, morphology, and syntax are discussed, and, where appropriate, the writing system. Some chapters, such as that on Chinese, are very lucid and accessible to the non-expert; others are more difficult. This is not a book for beginners, and specialists will have more detailed treatments at their disposal. Its best use would seem to be in an academic reference collection, for the scholar to dip into to refresh his or her memory of a language once studied, or to get a birds-eye view of a language not studied. Includes a language index and bibliographies. Catherine V. von Schon, SUNY at Stonybrook Lib.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Review

"A awesome piece of scholarship and editorical assembling, at--considering what books cost today--a surprisingly low price."--R.M.R. Hall, Queens College, CUNY
"This is the most thorough survey of languages and language families that I have seen which is suitable for undergraduate courses. The scholarship offers models to emulate while the selection of language groups and contributors can only serve to broaden multi-cultural awareness in students."--Patricia S. Burton, Northeast Missouri State University
"The best extant survey on the subject. It would be an great text for a course on world languages, or even one in general linguistics."--William E. McMahon, University of Akron
"The amount and quality of historical, sociological, and linguistic information presented in typical chapters dealing with a given language are amazing. Most chapters also include extensive descriptions of the phonological and graphic systems, morphology, word-formation, syntactic patterns, and characteristic features of the lexicon. For inflected languages, detailed and synoptic charts of major declension and conjugation classes are provided.This unique work is an important and reliable source of extensive knowledge about particular languages and their families."--American Reference Books Annual
"This impressive volume supersedes similar onesin its treatment of families of languages and individual idioms."--Language Problems and Language Planning
"An great survey.The volume is recommended as a standard reference for all institutional libraries and for general readers."--Choice
"A treasury of authoritative yet concise information about major languages and language families."--Library Journal
"A substantial resource on modern languages.Recommended for all academic and large public libraries."--The Reference Book Review


Reader Reviews
One of the best books on languages, "The World's Major Languages," is a must have for all those who want to undertand the complexity and origins of many of the world's major languages. As the title reads, the book discusses the world's major languages in order by their origin groups (e.g. Teutonic/Germanic, Romance, Slavic, etc...) and Comrie in my opinion is the best author when it comes to distinguishing languages. At 1,025 pages, this book gives an extensive history and study of most of the major languages. While one reviewer on this forum was upset that Native American languages weren't cover, I feel that Mr. Comrie did his best in discussing only those languages with over ten million present-day speakers. I feel it would be important for many interested in cultural politics where language places a major role in dividing a nation or region (e.g. Canada/Quebec, Flemish & Walloons in Belgium, Puerto Rico & U.S., Spain's central government and Catalans and Basques) to read this book. I feel that the only lanaguage that wasn;t covered but should have been was Catalan, seeing that over 13 million people speak it and it is the 7th most spoken in the European Union (although it is not officially recognized by the organization). Besides this omission, this is one of the nest books I have read in years! A must-read for anyone interested in languages and culture.