The Life and Death of Languages

Catalog description

The history of language development, spread and contraction as well as thinking on where language may be going in the future. Discusses how languages differentiate and become new languages, how they mix with each other and how the development of writing can change this process. Maintains a focus on the ways speakers from different language communities have found to communicate through pidgin languages, bilingualism and languages of wider communication. Moreover, discusses the invention of new varieties and languages by people who feel their current choices do not fit their needs. Lastly, in considering what might be needed in the future, addresses issues such as machine translation, brain-to-brain communication, aspects of intergalactic communication posed in science fiction and interspecies communication.