Language Families of the World
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Language Families of the World
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Narrated by:
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John McWhorter
About this listen
Language, in its seemingly infinite varieties, tells us who we are and where we come from. Many linguists believe that all of the world’s languages - over 7,000 currently - emerged from a single prehistoric source. While experts have not yet been able to reproduce this proto-language, most of the world’s current languages can be traced to various language families that have branched and divided, spreading across the globe with migrating humans and evolving over time.
The ability to communicate with the spoken word is so prevelant that we have yet to discover a civilization that does not speak. The fitful preservation of human remains throughout history has made tracing the ultimate origin of sophisticated human cultures difficult, but it is assumed that language is at least 300,000 years old. With so much time comes immense change - including the development of the written word. There’s no doubt that over centuries, numerous languages have been born, thrived, and died. So how did we get here, and how do we trace the many language branches back to the root?
In Language Families of the World, Professor John McWhorter of Columbia University takes you back through time and around the world, following the linguistic trails left by generations of humans that lead back to the beginnings of language. Utilizing historical theories and cutting-edge research, these 34 astonishing lectures will introduce you to the major language families of the world and their many offspring, including a variety of languages that are no longer spoken but provide vital links between past and present.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2019 The Great Courses (P)2019 The Teaching Company, LLCWhat listeners say about Language Families of the World
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 18-01-2021
more please
I would listen to 10 more of these in a heartbeat. would love an intro to linguistics course by John McWhorter. He's so engaging!
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 29-07-2020
I can't give this series enough praise.
Public consumption of academic knowledge is hit and miss. John McWhorter does a brilliant job of articulating concepts that would otherwise be too difficult to consume. Stnapon!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 15-03-2019
Awesome
John McWhorter should be on stage doing stand up. He's hilarious. Whatsmore he's fascinating to listen to and passionate to a degree rarely encountered. I've listened to all of his courses and read his book and always come away with the sense that I've encountered true dedication. I look forward to his next course.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Rick Nunes-Vaz
- 28-04-2021
Comprehensive, thorough and entertaining
It does a great job of introducing a vast topic, and it prompted me to want more detail from more sources.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anand Manu
- 18-02-2019
An amazing set of lecturea
A great set of lessons on language. Professor McWhorter is one of the best lecturers I've ever heard. This series is very highly recommended.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Joseph Azize
- 22-04-2021
some good material but presentation poor
The presenter has some good ideas, and the subject is great, but while some humour is good, he overdoes it with silly noises, whistling, unfunny jokes, and pointless self-indulgent asides. By the last three hours I had to speed it up it was so painful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Kindle Customer
- 19-06-2021
Lots of mistakes in Indonesian .
pronunciation way wrong...'c' perfect example. Grammar...what about 'ber', 'pe' or 'pen'. There's a lot more....Basically, yes Indonesian is very easy....but it is easy to speak poorly.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Timothy Mcardle
- 02-04-2021
Extremely short on content
There's about 15 minutes of decent info in this book which I can read directly from Wikipedia. The rest of this book is goofy anecdotes and impressions of long gone languages. I've tried and tried but i find the narrator particularly annoying to listen to. The majority of the content is the narrator attempting to speak a few words to illustrate the given language in a characturised, indistinct, foreign sounding accent. I don't find this informative at all. I'm interested in the origins and development of languages. I did not find this book provided that so I returned it to audible for a refund.
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2 people found this helpful