Languages In The World

Julie Tetel Andresen is Professor of English and former Chair of Linguistic at Duke University. A linguistic historiographer focusing on French, German, British, and American theories of language from the eighteenth to the twenty-first centuries, she is the author of Linguistics and Evolution: A Developmental Approach (2013) and Linguistics in America 1769-1924: A Critical History (1996).

This innovative introduction outlines the structure and distribution of the world's languages, charting their evolution over the past 200,000 years.
* Balances linguistic analysis with socio-historical and political context, offering a cohesive picture of the relationship between language and society
* Provides an interdisciplinary introduction to the study of language by drawing not only on the diverse fields of linguistics (structural, linguist anthropology, historical, sociolinguistics), but also on history, biology, genetics, sociology, and more
* Includes nine detailed language profiles on Kurdish, Arabic, Tibetan, Hawaiian, Vietnamese, Tamil, !Xóõ (Taa), Mongolian, and Quiché
* A companion website offers a host of supplementary materials including, sound files, further exercises, and detailed introductory information for students new to linguistics

This innovative introduction outlines the structure and distribution of the world's languages, charting their evolution over the past 200,000 years.

Map 0.1 World map with language families xi
 
Figure 0.1 IPA consonants xii
 
Figure 0.2 IPA vowels xii
 
About the Website xiii
 
List of Maps and Figures xv
 
Preface xvii
 
Part I Linguistic Preliminaries: Approach and Theory
 
Introductory Note: On Language 1
 
1 All Languages Were Once Spanglish 3
 
The Mexican State of Coahuila y Tejas 3
 
What Is Language? 4
 
How Many Languages Are There? 6
 
How and When Did Language Get Started? 9
 
The Structure of Spanglish 13
 
Final Note: The Encounter of Spanish and English on Television in the United States 17
 
Exercises 18
 
Discussion Questions 20
 
Notes 20
 
References 21
 
Further Reading 21
 
2 The Language Loop 22
 
The Australian Walkabout 22
 
Introducing the Language Loop 23
 
Language and Cognition 26
 
Language, the World, and Culture 28
 
Language and Linguistic Structure 31
 
Language, Discourse, and Ideology 32
 
On Major and Minor Languages 33
 
Final Note: The Contingencies of Time, Place, and Biology 35
 
Exercises 37
 
Discussion Questions 37
 
Notes 38
 
References 38
 
Further Reading 39
 
3 Linguistics and Classification 40
 
The Role of Sanskrit in Philology 40
 
Of Linguistics, Philology, Linguists, and Grammarians 42
 
Genetic Classification 46
 
Areal Classification 48
 
Typological Classification 51
 
Functional Classification 55
 
Final Note: The Role of Sanskrit in India Today 57
 
Exercises 58
 
Discussion Questions 59
 
Notes 60
 
References 60
 
Further Reading 61
 
Part II Effects of Power
 
Introductory Note: On Power 63
 
4 Effects of the Nation-State and the Possibility of Kurdistan 65
 
Lines Are Drawn in the Sand 65
 
The Status of Language on the Eve of the Nation-State 66
 
The Epistemology of the Nation-State 69
 
The French Revolution, German Romanticism, and Print Capitalism 71
 
Standardization and the Instilling of Vergonha 75
 
Language and Individual Identity 76
 
What's Race Got to Do with It? 78
 
The Problematic Race-Nation-Language Triad 79
 
Final Note: The Kurds Today - Different Places, Different Outcomes 84
 
Language Profile: Kurdî / [Kurdish (Indo-European)] 85
 
Exercises 90
 
Discussion Questions 91
 
Notes 91
 
References 92
 
Further Reading 93
 
5 The Development of Writing in the Litmus of Religion and Politics 94
 
The Story of the Qur'an 94
 
Magico-Religious Interpretations of the Origins of Writing 95
 
Steps Toward the Representation of Speech 97
 
Types of Writing Systems 100
 
Religion and the Spread of Writing Systems 105
 
The Always Already Intervention of Politics 108
 
Orality and Literacy 111
 
Final Note: Azerbaijan Achieves Alphabetic Autonomy 114
 
Language Profile: [Arabic (Afro-Asiatic)] 114
 
Exercises 119
 
Discussion Questions 122
 
Notes 123
 
References 124
 
Further Reading 124
 
6 Language Planning and Language Law: Shaping the Right to Speak 125
 
Melting Snow and Protests at the Top of the World 125
 
Language Academies: The First Enforcers 127
 
Another Look at Prescriptivism 129
 
Making Language Official: A Tale of Three Patterns 131
 
Language Policy and Education: A