Empires of the Word: A Language History of the World

An unusual and authoritative 'natural history of languages' that narrates the ways in which one language has superseded or outlasted another at different times in history. The story of the world in the last five thousand years is above all the story of its languages. Some shared language is what binds any community together, and makes possible both the living of a common history and the telling of it. Yet the history of the world's great languages has rarely been examined. 'Empires of the Word' is the ... Read More

An unusual and authoritative 'natural history of languages' that narrates the ways in which one language has superseded or outlasted another at different times in history. The story of the world in the last five thousand years is above all the story of its languages. Some shared language is what binds any community together, and makes possible both the living of a common history and the telling of it. Yet the history of the world's great languages has rarely been examined. 'Empires of the Word' is the first to bring together the tales in all their glorious variety: the amazing innovations - in education, culture and diplomacy - devised by speakers in the Middle East; the uncanny resilience of Chinese throughout twenty centuries of invasions; the progress of Sanskrit from north India to Java and Japan; the struggle that gave birth to the languages of modern Europe; and the global spread of English. Besides these epic achievements, language failures are equally fascinating: why did Germany get left behind? Why did Egyptian, which had survived foreign takeovers for three millennia, succumb to Mohammed's Arabic? Why is Dutch unknown in modern Indonesia, given that the Netherlands had ruled the East Indies for as long as the British ruled India? As this book engagingly reveals, the language history of the world shows eloquently the real characters of peoples; it also shows that the language of the future will, like the languages of the past, be full of surprises. Read Less

• All from $1.43
• New Books from $13.88
• Used Books from $1.43
• eBook from $4.50

• • eBook Details

  	This is a digital edition of this title. Rent eBook (5 Options) 30 Day Rental: $4.50 (Expires Oct 04, 2025) 60 Day Rental: $5.40 (Expires Nov 03, 2025) 120 Day Rental: $6.30 (Expires Jan 02, 2026) 180 Day Rental: $9.00 (Expires Mar 03, 2026) 365 Day Rental: $14.40 (Expires Sep 04, 2026) Buy eBook Lifetime Access: $17.99 Title: Empires of the Word by Nicholas Ostler Publisher: Independent Publishers Group (Chicago Review Press) Print ISBN: 9780060935726, 0060935723 eText ISBN: 9780062047359 Edition: 2006 Format: EPUB eBook	$4.50 Rent eBook This is a digital eBook Nothing will be shipped to you Works with web browsers and the VitalSource app on all Windows, Mac, Chromebook, Kindle Fire, iOS, and Android devices Most eBooks are returnable within 14 days of purchase Questions? See our eBook FAQ