Bernard Comrie

A comparative dictionary from the center of the world. One of the major tools for understanding language. These Words are reminiscent of the revenant spirits of the Silk Road -- in its day, the thriving towns with the largest middle class in the world. Referencing the Buck model of a comparative dictionary, and using the expanded 1300 entries developed by the Intercontinental Dictionary Series, this volume "is composed on the semantic principle, and each headword is provided with show more correspondences of 92 languages and dialects" in the Caucasian region. An appendix contains the indexes of entries in Russian and English.

"This speaks to the unity of all the peoples on earth." {Page 8} Language divides us, but linguistics unites us. As we developed vocabulary, we created a virtual reality that expanded our interconnectedness. Now, one more tool for understanding each other, even reaching the last frontiers of isolation and villages long forgotten.

Contains color plate of the Caspian coast showing the Northern Caucasus region from which the 93 languages and dialects of this comparative dictionary are drawn.

There may be "errors" or controversies over some of the forms. These issues reflect the difficult circumstances of the gathering work. show less

This was a good introduction to the history of the world's languages. I would have liked to have learned more about certain languages but there are always other books. The last chapter on writing crammed in too much information for me in such a short section that I skimmed it. Normally, I would have been fascinated.

What you see (in the title) is what you get. This book consists of 50 essays. about 50 major languages and language groups, examining their history, phonology, morphology, syntax and grammer. Most readers would probably find this dull, at least once they got beyond languages that they speak. For real language mavens, however, this is as much fun as a box of candy, and will last lots longer.

I seem to have a talent for selecting books that can only be read in small pieces; this was another of them. It was an interesting overview of the various languages and writing systems both past and present with numerous illustrations and maps. However, the text assumed a greater knowledge of linguistics than I have and that slowed me down. Also the book itself suffered from poorly constructed map keys, etc. that made it more difficult to understand. Overall this book is only average.