★Linguistics
When Languages Die 豆瓣
作者:
K David Harrison
出版社:
Oxford University Press, USA
2008
- 7
It is commonly agreed by linguists and anthropologists that the majority of languages spoken now around the globe will likely disappear within our lifetime. The phenomenon known as language death has started to accelerate as the world has grown smaller. This extinction of languages, and the knowledge therein, has no parallel in human history. K. David Harrison's book is the first to focus on the essential question, what is lost when a language dies? What forms of knowledge are embedded in a language's structure and vocabulary? And how harmful is it to humanity that such knowledge is lost forever? Harrison spans the globe from Siberia, to North America, to the Himalayas and elsewhere, to look at the human knowledge that is slowly being lost as the languages that express it fade from sight. He uses fascinating anecdotes and portraits of some of these languages' last remaining speakers, in order to demonstrate that this knowledge about ourselves and the world is inherently precious and once gone, will be lost forever. This knowledge is not only our cultural heritage (oral histories, poetry, stories, etc.) but very useful knowledge about plants, animals, the seasons, and other aspects of the natural world--not to mention our understanding of the capacities of the human mind.Harrison's book is a testament not only to the pressing issue of language death, but to the remarkable span of human knowledge and ingenuity. It will fascinate linguists, anthropologists, and general readers.
Atlas of the World's Languages 豆瓣
作者:
Asher, R. E. (EDT)/ Moseley, Christopher (EDT)
出版社:
Routledge
2006
Before the first appearance of the "Atlas of the World's Languages" in 1993, all the world's languages had never been accurately and completely mapped. The "Atlas" depicts the location of every known living language, including languages on the point of extinction. This fully revised edition of the "Atlas" offers: up-to-date research, some from fieldwork in early 2006; a general linguistic history of each section; an overview of the genetic relations of the languages in each section; statistical and sociolinguistic information; a large number of new or completely updated maps; further reading and a bibliography for each section; and, a cross-referenced language index of over 6,000 languages. Presenting contributions from international scholars, covering over 6,000 languages and containing over 150 full-colour maps, the "Atlas of the World's Languages" is the definitive reference resource for every linguistic and reference library.
Nationalism and Language Reform in China 豆瓣
作者:
John DeFrancis
出版社:
Octagon Books
1975
- 3
Examines the political problems arising from the movement for reform of the Chinese written language
The Origin and Early Development of the Chinese Writing System 豆瓣
作者:
William Boltz
出版社:
American Oriental Society
1994
- 8
Mandarin Chinese 豆瓣
作者:
Charles N. Li
/
Sandra A. Thompson
出版社:
University of California Press
1989
- 4
This reference grammar provides, for the first time, a description of the grammar of "Mandarin Chinese", the official spoken language of China's mainland and Taiwan, in functional terms, focusing on the role and meanings of word-level and sentence-level structures in actual conversations.