Why can't everyone speak the same language?
Imagine that, by some linguistic magic, people all over the world suddenly started speaking the same language, say Esperanto. What do you think will happen next? In fact, it is almost certain that in 20 to 30 years there will be local changes in the language, at least with local accents;
In 50 years, there will be clear regional differences;
After 100 years, the differences will continue to increase, and it will be difficult for people in one area to understand the language of another area.
In short, our language is constantly changing.
Linguist Stephen Robert Anderson uses linguistic knowledge to answer a series of questions, such as why pronunciation and grammar keep changing? Are there any rules for language changes? What is the difference between language and dialect?
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Open this book and you will be introduced to linguistics quickly in three hours!
Reader comments
Stephen Anderson is a truly knowledgeable author who answers many language mysteries in an easy-to-understand way. However, I kind of hate the guy who is questioning the numbers in his blog, he is completely unaware of the complexity of linguistics! All in all, this is a good book worth reading.
Have a simplified understanding of the causes, formation, and development of language diversity
Although the book is short in length, it is very rich in content and has many food for thought.
Stephen Anderson is a truly knowledgeable author who answers many language mysteries in an easy-to-understand way. However, I kind of hate the guy who is questioning the numbers in his blog, he is completely unaware of the complexity of linguistics! All in all, this is a good book worth reading.
Have a simplified understanding of the causes, formation, and development of language diversity
Although the book is short in length, it is very rich in content and has many food for thought.