Are Some Languages Better Than Others?

by R.M.W. Dixon

Book Overview

This book sets out to answer a question that many linguists have been hesitant to ask: are some languages better than others? Can we say, for instance, that because German has three genders and French only two, German is a better language in this respect? Jarawara, spoken in the Amazonian jungle, has two ways of showing possession: one for a part (e.g. 'Father's foot') and the other for something which is owned and can be given away or sold (e.g...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0198766815
• ISBN13: 9780198766810
• Release Date: May 2016
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.6" x 8.6"