Tom Wolfe takes us on an eye-opening journey that is sure to arouse widespread debate. THE KINGDOM OF SPEECH is a captivating, paradigm-shifting argument that speech--not evolution--is responsible for humanity's complex societies and achievements. From Alfred Russel Wallace, the Englishman who beat Darwin to the theory of natural selection but later renounced it, and through the controversial work of modern-day anthropologist Daniel Everett, who defies...

"Language is a wild thing. It is vague and anarchic. Style, meaning, and usage are continually on the move. Throughout history, for every mutation, idiosyncrasy, and ubiquitous mistake, there have been countervailing rules, pronouncements and systems making some attempt to bring language to heel. From the utopian language-builder to the stereotypical grammatical stickler to the programmer trying to teach a computer to translate, Lane Greene takes...

Look into the lives of children all over the world with this book that celebrates one of humanity's greatest achievements: written and verbal language. Including fully illustrated word charts, featuring children depicted in their home country, doing ordinary things, this book features more than 100 languages, from well-known and lesser known indigenous languages that introduce us to some of the world's most remote communities. With foreword by ethnobotanist...

Did you know that there are nearly 7,000 languages spoken around the world? This book introduces you to a wide variety of different languages to start you off on your language-learning journey. Find out where languages come from and where they are spoken. From Arabic to Zulu, Morse code to whale song, this book is packed with language facts and phrases to help you communicate all around the world. It includes: basic vocabulary and short dialogues...

"Think about the game charades. Its rules are simple: no talking, of course, and little else. Each time we play with a new group, we have to figure each other out, with our different styles, backgrounds, and senses of the world, as we struggle to connect how we would act out something (say, Christopher Columbus crossing the Atlantic) with how other people might understand it. But as we play, a lingo can develop-with time, an upheld hand, bobbing along,...

"Romelie's family communicates in English and American Sign Language, but what languages do her friends and neighbors use?"--

"No matter what country you clink glasses in, everyone has a word for cheers. In Cheers! Around the World in 80 Toasts, Brandon Cook takes readers on a whirlwind trip through languages from Estonian to Elvish and everywhere in between. Need to know how to toast in Tagalog? Say bottoms up in Basque? Down the hatch in Hungarian? Cook teaches readers how to toast in 80 languages and includes drinking traditions, historical facts, and strange linguistic...

Meyer discusses the power of words and provides a guide to 'smart talk' that can change your life.

"This illustrated riddle introduces children to language's impact on human culture and history"--