Learn world history from a linguistic perspective

Launched in 2005 and receiving many compliments from readers as well as many prestigious newspapers, the book "Empires of Words" by author Nicholas Ostler has now been translated and published in Vietnam by Omega+.

The book "Empire of Words".

The book is one of the few works that discusses the comprehensive history of the world's languages, thereby helping readers visualize human history from the perspective of language. The book examines the major languages of the world, languages that have the ability to spread strongly and have been used over large areas.

The book was first published in 2005 in the UK and has received praise from prestigious newspapers such as The Independent, The Guardian, Kirkus Review, Washington Post, Boston magazine, Chicago Tribune, and Los Angeles Times Book Review.

Author Nicholas Ostler has degrees in linguistics from Oxford University and MIT and has extensively researched a total of 26 languages around the world.

The book consists of 4 parts, 14 chapters, with 2 main contents: Drawing a map of the languages currently used around the world, pointing out their origins and relationships; Talking about the "rise" and "decline" of common languages (lingua francas), such as Greek, Latin, and the causes of those ups and downs.

Ostler argues that linguistic features do make a difference, with the aim of explaining why a language becomes important, can spread far and last long. At the same time, he discusses the relationship between language and politics , religion, commerce, society, culture, etc. He compares languages at a macro level based on historical aspects rather than going into details of the polity of language such as grammar or phonology.

In the book, the author considers Akkadian, Aramaic, and Arabic, the West Semitic languages that succeeded each other in the civilizations and empires of the Middle East, and considers Chinese and Egyptian, as vehicles of great cultural traditions. In addition, the book also discusses Sanskrit, Greek, Celtic, Roman, German, Slavic, etc.

In addition, the author also mentions the first and second demise of Latin when it was no longer exclusive in Europe in academia and when it only remained in scriptures, not used in everyday communication.

In the modern period, the author discusses Spanish in the New World, Portuguese, Dutch, French, and Russian, as a contrast to the history of English.

The book concludes with a survey of the top 20 languages, and a summary of past, present, and potential future factors influencing the spread of languages.

This is a great book. After reading it, you will never think about language the same way again - and you will probably think about the world and its future, quite differently.
The Guardian

The book's interest lies in its discussion of the history of human language from a broader perspective, including the specific history of individual languages and the relationships between languages, as well as the connection between language and human history.

The book is very suitable for readers who want to have an overview of the history of development and ups and downs of major languages around the world, or want to know about the origin - "family" relationship of popular languages such as English - Chinese - Spanish.

Ostler aimed to open up a new path of historical analysis, where "language dynamics" became a tool for social research.
The Independent

The book cover uses the image of the Tower of Babel, a biblical legend, to explain the language differences between peoples around the world.

Nicolas Ostler (born 1952) graduated with a degree in Latin, Greek, philosophy and economics from Balliol College, Oxford, and then received a PhD in linguistics and Sanskrit from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology under the guidance of linguist Noam Chomsky. He is currently the President of the Foundation for Endangered Languages, UK, and the author of many valuable books such as Ad Infinitum (2007), The Last Lingua Franca (2010), Password to Paradise (2016)...

Reviewing the book, The Guardian wrote: “There are many ways to tell world history – through the rise and fall of civilisations, the fortunes of nations, economic and social systems and models, the development of technology or the chronology of war and military power. This book tells the story through the rise and fall of language. It is a great book. After reading it, you will never think about language in the same way again – and you will probably think about the world, and its future, quite differently.”

The Independent newspaper said that Ostler aimed to open up a new path of historical analysis, where "linguistic dynamics" became a tool for social research.

According to nhandan.vn

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