The The Concise Compendium of the World's Languages provides clear snapshots of over one hundred languages. Drawn from the more comprehensive two volume Compendium of the World's Languages, the articles selected for this volume discuss most languages spoken today by populations of at least five to ten million people, as well as minor languages that figure prominently in the contemporary socio-political context. This combination allows little-known languages, such as Akan, Navajo, Basque and Zulu, to figure prominently alongside the mainstream languages such as Arabic, French, Chinese and Russian. Each entry considers the phonological, morphological and lexical features of the language it discusses. Written for language buffs who want to know-in broad outline-how lots of languages work, this terrific book compiles loads of information in one affordable volume.
George Campbell is a former BBC World Service Linguist and translator.