Product Description: This is a book of two parts. The first six chapters are relatively general. They describe something of the history of English spelling and the factors that have brought so many irregularities to our language. The author argues that the irregular spelling of English is one factor in the disgracefully high rate of illiteracy in the English speaking world, and he describes attempts to reform the spelling of other languages...read more

Traces language back to its earliest origins among our distant ape-like forbears several million years ago. This book examines the qualities of mind and brain needed to support the operations of language; investigates the first links between signs, sounds, and meanings; explores the beginnings and prehistories of vocabulary and grammar; and more.

Product Description: Learning a language is a major undertaking, but it does not have to be a daunting task. This concise, practical guide is written for motivated individuals planning to live among people who speak a different language, where there are no classes, textbooks, or trained teachers...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)

Product Description: Hill Farms and Padi Fields portrays the peoples of Southeast Asia their long, rich history and their ways of life today. Exploring the cultures of these peoples, the author, Robbins Burling, considers their varied ideas of family and community; their religions and economics; and, their languages, moral codes and social outlooks...read more

Product Description: A comprehensive advanced introduction to linguistics unique in its integration of variation and change with the more structural or synchronic topics. It includes chapters on variation and change in lexicon, phonology, and syntax. It also covers the topics of pidgins and creoles, on first and second language acquisition, on the development of language in the human species, and on the growth of writing, printing in information technology and how these have affected, and continue to affect, language...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)