General language book recommendation

[peter]

I would like to read more about the 'languages of the world'. I keep seeing names of languages mentioned in this forum which I don't even recognise as languages, and I know next to nothing about languages outside of a small area of Europe and India. So, I would like to read something about languages across the world, to get an overview. Dealing with writing/script would be a nice bonus, but not essential. Does anyone know of a good book?

I have found the following on Amazon, which look promising:

• "The World's Major Languages", edited by Bernand Comrie, 1990.
• "Languages of the World: An Introduction", by Asya Pereltsvaig, updated 2017.
• "An Introduction to the Languages of the World" by Anatole Lyovin, updated 2017.

Has anyone read these? Or know of a good book on this subject?

[aokoye]

The book from Pereltsvaig was what I was going to suggest. I read it years ago for what was essentially a, "linguistics for non linguists" course and remember finding it interesting.

[IronMike]

• "The World's Major Languages", edited by Bernand Comrie, 1990.
• "Languages of the World: An Introduction", by Asya Pereltsvaig, updated 2017.
• "An Introduction to the Languages of the World" by Anatole Lyovin, updated 2017.

Has anyone read these? Or know of a good book on this subject?

I can give two thumbs up for the first two. You might be able to find Comrie cheap used.

For a fun intro to the world's languages, esp. if you like history, I wholeheartedly recommend Empires of the Word by Ostler.

[DaveBee]

I remember liking Anthony Burgess' "A mouthful of Air", but I can't remember much of what was in it!

[Josquin]

I second the recommendation for Comrie. The book is great!

I can't comment on the other two, unfortunately, but thanks for bringing them to my attention!

[aravinda]

I have the last two and have glanced through the first one. Comrie describes some fifty languages in detail whereas the last two describe languages by geographical area and genetically, choosing few languages from each region and describing important/interesting linguistic features of those languages. Both books might appear to cover the same ground but I think they actually complement each other. As noted, Comrie is quite expensive and I wasn't able to find a good copy for a reasonable price when I searched last. There will be a new edition of Comrie in April, this year. It's difficult to choose one book to recommend because all three books are good and also because they are different in their approach and content. But if you wish to have one book, I would recommend the last book.
P.S. A basic knowledge of Linguistics would come handy (maybe even necessary) when reading these books.

[peter]

Thankyou all for your observations and recommendations. By vote, the second one seems a popular choice, but I'll take a closer look before buying.

[Doitsujin]

@Peter: For some additional book recommendations also see the Books about languages thread.

I recommended the following books in that thread:

• John McWhorter - The Power of Babel: A Natural History of Language
• John McWhorter - The Language Hoax: Why the World Looks the Same in Any Language
• David Bellos - Is That a Fish in Your Ear?: Translation and the Meaning of Everything
• Nataly Kelly- Found in Translation: How Language Shapes Our Lives and Transforms the World
• Kató Lomb - How I learn languages (free PDF book)
• Frederick Bodmer & Lancelot Thomas Hogben - The Loom of Language

[IronMike]

Two thumbs up for those McWhorter books, as well as his Lexicon Valley podcast.

Be careful of the Loom of Language book. It is quite dated.