Atlas of the World's Languages

Never before have all the world's languages been accurately and completely mapped. This unique Atlas depicts the location of every known living language and even includes languages on the point of extinction. Presenting contributions from international scholars, covering over 4,000 languages and containing over 135 full-colour maps, the Atlas of the World's Languages is the definitive reference resource for every linguistic and reference library. The Atlas is divided into 8 sections, each of which has been edited by a leading authority in their field. 1) The Americas 2) Australasia and the Pacific 3) East and South-East Asia 4) South Asia 5) North Asia and Eastern Europe 6) Western Europe 7) Middle East and North Africa 8) Sub-Saharan Africa Each section begins with an extensive explanatory text which sets the languages of that region in context. This includes a general linguistic history of the area detailing the genetic relations of the languages and their characteristic features. Sociolinguistic and statistical data (including population figures) are given - often shown in tabular form for ease of use. This is followed by bibliographies of both classic and new publications, directing the reader to additional sources for further research. Detailed colour maps for the final part of each section and begin with a key map which shows at a glance how the region is divided. Unique time-of-contact maps for Australia and the Americas show the effect, over time, of contact with Western civilization on the linguistic profile of these regions. Concluding the work is the alphaetically arranged language index of over 4,000 languages, which lists both map number and language number for ease of access. The Atlas is an essential resource for all students, teachers and researchers in language and linguistics. In addition, it will be a valuable source for other areas of study, such as ethnography, cultural history, anthropology and geography.Mosley, Christopher is the author of 'Atlas of the World's Languages' with ISBN 9780415019255 and ISBN 0415019257.