29.1241, Books: Are Some Languages Better than Others?: Dixon

Tue Mar 20 20:42:24 UTC 2018

LINGUIST List: Vol-29-1241. Tue Mar 20 2018. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 29.1241, Books: Are Some Languages Better than Others?: Dixon

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Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2018 16:42:18
From: Celine Aenlle-Rocha [Celine.Aenlle-Rocha at oup.com]
Subject: Are Some Languages Better than Others?: Dixon

Title: Are Some Languages Better than Others? 
Publication Year: 2018 
Publisher: Oxford University Press
	   http://www.oup.com/us

Book URL: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/are-some-languages-better-than-others-9780198817833 

Author: R. M. W. Dixon

Paperback: ISBN:  9780198817833 Pages: 288 Price: U.S. $ 21.95

Abstract:

This book sets out to answer a question that many linguists have been hesitant
to ask: are some languages better than others? Can we say, for instance, that
because German has three genders and French only two, German is a better
language in this respect? Jarawara, spoken in the Amazonian jungle, has two
ways of showing possession: one for a part (e.g. 'Father's foot') and the
other for something which is owned and can be given away or sold (e.g.
'Father's knife'); is it thus a better language, in this respect, than
English, which marks all possession in the same way?

R. M. W. Dixon begins by outlining what he feels are the essential components
of any language, such as the ability to pose questions, command actions, and
provide statements. He then discusses desirable features including gender
agreement, tenses, and articles, before concluding with his view of what the
ideal language would look like - and an explanation of why it does not and
probably never will exist. Written in the author's usual accessible and
engaging style, and full of personal anecdotes and unusual linguistic
phenomena, the book will be of interest to all general language enthusiasts as
well as to a linguistics student audience, and particularly to anyone with an
interest in linguistic typology.

Linguistic Field(s): General Linguistics
                     Typology

Written In: English  (eng)

See this book announcement on our website: 
http://linguistlist.org/pubs/books/get-book.cfm?BookID=124520

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