Lingo: A Language Spotter's Guide to Europe

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Welcome to Europe as you ve never known it before, seen through the peculiarities of its languages and dialects Combining linguistics and cultural history, Gaston Dorren takes us on an intriguing tour of the continent, from Proto Indo European the common ancestor of most European languages to the rise and rise of English, via the complexities of Welsh plurals and Czech pronunciation Along the way we learn why Esperanto will never catch on, how the language of William the Conqueror lives on in the Channel Islands and why Finnish is the easiest European language.Surprising, witty and full of extraordinary facts, this book will change the way you think about the languages around you Polyglot Gaston Dorren might even persuade you that English is like Chinese. Read Lingo: A Language Spotter's Guide to Europe – kino-fada.fr This was a kind of whirlwind tour of the history of the languages of Europe How they began, developed and spread or died I ve been reading quite a few linguistics books recently and this kind of rounds them out in a very light and entertaining way Countries are often very fierce about their national language as it is the main, defining point of their nationhood There are many examples from Basque to Monagasque One closer to home for me is Irish Gaelic was just about extinct and no one This was a kind of whirlwind tour of the history of the languages of Europe How they began, developed and spread or died I ve been reading quite a few linguistics books recently and this kind of rounds them out in a very light and entertaining way Countries are often very fierce about their national language as it is the main, defining point of their nationhood There are many examples from Basque to Monagasque One closer to home for me is Irish Gaelic was just about extinct and no one speaks it as their first language, yet it is an official EU language and so everything must be translated into it and also translators must be on hand for simultaneous translation of the language in debates etc Every single Irishman speaks English, this is a total waste of money In Scotland they are planning the same, in case of independence they will need their own language Glasgow already does Glaswe...Anyone who likes languages will like this book If you aren t a linguist, I am sure there is much in here to interest you, too Okay, some of it is a little basic, and on other occasions there is waaaay too much detail But this is fun It is interesting I like the short chapters you learn a few facts about a particular language, then move on If I wanted a complete history I certainly would have looked elsewhere This book will keep you entertained and you will learn a few tings along the Anyone who likes languages will like this book If you aren t a linguist, I am sure there is much in here to interest you, too Okay, some of it is a little basic, and on oth...The information provided here is VERY basic, even for a layman like me.An overview of European languages, including several either dead, dying, or spoken as distinct minority languages in their countries Easy to pick up and put down without losing any continuity folks looking for somethingin depth migh...I was expectingsomething different I knew from the cover description that this would not be an in depth treatise, but I was still surprised at just how superficial most of the discussion in this book was Just when I d think the author was gearing up to dig into something juicy or interesting nope Chapter s over.And some of the chapters just seemed kind of pointless The entirety of the two pages on Danish could be summed up as, Danish used to be spoken over a very large area Then there I was expectingsomething different I knew from the cover description that this would not be an in depth treatise, but I was still surprised at just how superficial most of the discussion in this book was Just when I d think the author was gearing up to dig into something juicy or interesting nope Chapter s over.And some of the chapters just seemed kind of pointless The entirety of the two pages on Danish could be summed up as, Danish used to be spoken over a very large area Then there were some wars and that area shrank Then there were some other conflicts and it shrank again Now its area is much smaller okay Cool That really could have been explained in a shor...A fun, humorous and broadly accessible look at the language landscape of Europe For the various languages featured some European languages are omitted, but the major ones are covered along with some unusual lesser known tongues the author alternately delves into interesting or dismaying features, such as spelling or grammar quirks history, evolution, spread retreat, or death revival links or contrasts with related or nearby languages dialects notable linguists who helped shape certain A fun, humorous and broadly accessible look at the language landscape of Europe For the various languages featured some European languages are omitted, but the major ones are covered along with some unusual lesser known tongues the author alternately delves into interesting or dismaying features, such as spelling or grammar quirks history, evolution, spread retreat, or death revival links or contrasts with related or nearby languages dialects notable linguists who helped shape certain languages and much .The book avoids getting bogged down in linguistics jargon or dry theory and facts, but nevertheless remains very informative And even if ...A fast reading, broad sweep of European languages Just enough information to whet one s appetite to learnabout the development of many of the languages of Europe I would think this book would be great for a High School library Chapters are short and focus on a single ...I don t think I can truly express how much I loved this book It really surprised me I don t recall why I downloaded it, probably some Kindle deal day, but it must ve sat there unread for a year or so, I actually put it in my Holiday Reads folder twice, but when it came to the actual holiday thought it would be too much hard work Silly me.It s a witty and interesting whirlwind tour through European languages since the Greeks Where they came from, how they evolved, languages that died out, I don t think I can truly express how much I loved this book It really surprised me I don t recall why I downloaded it, probably some Kindle deal day,...An enjoyable book of language trivia You ll learn why French has all those silent letters, if it s reallytrue that Spanish is spoken faster than other languages or if it just sounds that way, and whether that oft referenced language Sami really does have 20 unique words for snow.I really liked the end of each chapter which included words from each language that are loanwords in English, many of which migrated through one or even multiple other lan...Really that s it Too sketchy

Lingo: A Language Spotter's Guide to Europe
  • English
  • 10 January 2017
  • Kindle Edition
  • 304 pages
  • Gaston Dorren
  • Lingo: A Language Spotter's Guide to Europe