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The Power of Babel

by John H. McWhorter

Format: Hardback

Condition: Standard Secondhand — £2.73

Standard Secondhand — £2.73

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"There can be few subjects of such widespread interest and fascination to anyone who reads as the strange ways of languages. In this wonderfully entertaining and fascinating book, John McWhorter shares his expertise as a linguist (in both senses: he both teaches linguistics at UC Berkeley and speaks half-a-dozen languages fluently) to introduce us to 'the natural history of language': to Russonorsk, a creole of Russian and Norwegian once spoken by trading fur trappers, the ways in which Yiddish - a dialect of German - has been influenced by the grammar of Polish and an Australian Aboriginal language which only has three verbs. Along the way we learn how English absorbed French at two stages of its history, giving us the Norman French 'warranty' and the standard French 'guarantee', that Japanese has been infused with Chinese vocabulary at four distinct periods, and why Danish, Norwegian and Swedish are best regarded as three dialects of Scandinavian. itty, brilliant and authoritative, this book is a must for anyone who is interested in language, as sheerly enjoyable as non-fiction gets.

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Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines, Linguistics
Format: Hardback
Published: 2002
Pages: 327
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 9780434007899

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Condition Descriptions

Our conditions mean the following:

New - a brand new book
Almost New - appears new but is actually secondhand.
Very Good - only minor imperfections such as minor scuffs to edge or cover or a price written in pencil or shop sticker.
Standard Secondhand - Clearly been read before, but not too bad. We do not recommend these for gifting. Spines usually creased. Could also include creases or folds to cover, some writing such as in the cover or elsewhere, underlining or highlighting, but might not do. Possibly some stains or marks. Similar in general to books in any secondhand shop or charity shop.
Poor Condition - Usually this will have a specific problem such as writing inside, water damage, missing dust jacket, heavy staining, large creases or cuts. These are readable copies but not nice ones. On other websites this condition is called 'Acceptable' or 'Fair' , but we want to be more honest.

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