Rare Tongues is an enthralling tour around the rarest languages in the world, bringing a different eye to an often Anglocentric topic. It explores how globally, language and culture is becoming increasingly homogenous - with a resulting loss of different viewpoints and ways of living.
In Rare Tongues, linguist and writer Lorna Gibb will explore the history of these languages, the cultures they belong to, the tales they tell, while offering a glimpse into what we can learn from each of them. From Australia to Finland, from India to the Canary Islands, from Namibia to the United States, from Scotland to Paraguay, the book will guide the reader through contrasting stories of languages under threat and languages in resurgence. We'll learn about the different systems of whistles, clicks, vowels, consonants and tones that carry information about our planet, about medicine, about indigenous culture and tradition, even the history of all of mankind.
At once entertaining and informative, Lorna Gibb makes a compelling case for the preservation of the rich linguistic diversity of our world, and expertly shows why it matter for us all.
An enthralling tour aroudn the rarest languages in the world.
From the whistling languages of La Gomera in the Canary Islands and the Hmong people in East and Southeast Asia, to the wars and clashes in Sri Linka and the conservation effots in Hawaii and New Zealand, Rare Tongues draws attention to how language and culture are becoming increasingly homogenous, and what we risk losing as a result.
In Rare Tongues, linguist and writer Lorna Gibb explores the history of these lnaguages, the cultures they belong to and the tales they tell. The languages, and the efforst being made to preserve them, offer us a glimpse into what we can learn from each of them, and what they teach us about our planet, about medicine, about indigenous cutlure and tradition, even the history of all mankind.
At once entertainig and informative, Lorna Givv makes a compelling case for the preservation of the rich linguistic diversity of our world, and expertly shows why it matters for us all.
