:the definitive reference to more than 400 languages
First Statement of Responsibility
/ [by] Andrew Dalby
.PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION, ETC
Place of Publication, Distribution, etc.
London
Date of Publication, Distribution, etc.
, 2004.
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
Specific Material Designation and Extent of Item
xvi, 734 p.
Other Physical Details
: ill., maps
NOTES PERTAINING TO PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION, ETC.
Text of Note
Print
INTERNAL BIBLIOGRAPHIES/INDEXES NOTE
Text of Note
Includes bibliographical references and index
CONTENTS NOTE
Text of Note
"More than 400 living and extinct languages are detailed in this information-packed reference. Each article covers the political, social, and historical background of the language by stating the number of speakers; the countries where it is spoken; how many dialects it spawned; its origins, characteristics, and examples of both words and the alphabet; and pronunciations. Anecdotes, literary quotations, and charts of script and numerals appear in sidebars to illustrate the cultures connected to the languages. This is an essential guide to the languages of the world."----"Outstanding reference sources 2000", American Libraries, May 2000. Comp. by the Reference Sources Committee, RUSA, ALA.