Fills a long-present gap in the literature of Indo-European studies.Designed for use in courses, with exercises and suggestions for further reading included in each chapter.Discusses linguistic and cultural developments for each branch of the Indo-European language family.Provides an overview of Proto-Indo-European culture, society, and language.

    Martin West investigates their traditional mythologies, religions, and poetries, and points to elements of common heritage. In The East Face of Helicon (1997), West showed the extent to which Homeric and other early Greek poetry was influenced by Near Eastern traditions, mainly non-Indo-European. His new book presents a foil to that work by identifying elements of more ancient, Indo-European heritage in the Greek material. Topics covered include the status of poets and poetry in Indo-European societies; metre, style, and diction; gods and other supernatural beings, from Father Sky and Mother Earth to the Sun-god and his beautiful daughter, the Thunder-god and other elemental deities, and earthly orders such as Nymphs and Elves; the forms of hymns, prayers, and incantations; conceptions about the world, its origin, mankind, death, and fate; the ideology of fame and of immortalization through poetry; the typology of the king and the hero; the hero as warrior, and the conventions of battle narrative.

    And yet, as historian and linguist Nicholas Ostler persuasively argues, English will not only be displaced as the world's language in the not-distant future, it will be the last lingua franca, not replaced by another.Empire, commerce, and religion have been the primary raisons d'etre for lingua francas--Greek, Latin, Arabic have all held the position--and Ostler explores each through the lens of civilizations spanning the globe and history, from China and India to Russia and Europe. Three trends emerge that suggest the ultimate decline of English and other lingua francas. Movements throughout the world towards equality in society will downgrade the status of elites--and since elites are the prime users of non-native English, the language will gradually retreat to its native-speaking territories. The rising wealth of Brazil, Russia, India, and China will challenge the dominance of native-English-speaking nations--thereby shrinking the international preference for English. Simultaneously, new technologies will allow instant translation among major languages, enhacing the status of mother tongues and lessening the necessity for any future lingua franca.Ostler predicts a soft landing for English: It will still be widely spoken, if no longer worldwide, sustained by America's continued power on the world stage. But its decline will be both symbolic and significant, evidence of grand shifts in the cultural effects of empire. The Last Lingua Franca is both an insightful examination of the trajectory of our own mother tongue and a fascinating lens through which to view the sweep of history.

    The main theoretical and technical concepts of historical linguistics are also explained. Charles Barber uses familiar texts, including the English of King Alfred, Chaucer, Shakespeare, and Addison, to illustrate the state of the English language through time. This is a fascinating book for anyone with an interest in language.

    Learn the Alphabet and pronunciation as well as useful phrases in 8 categories, such as greetings, travel and directions, making friends to business and emergencies. Download, read and enjoy your vacation like never before.

    

    David Wilton debunks the most persistently wrong word histories, and gives, to the best of our actual knowledge, the real stories behind these perennially mis-etymologized words. In addition, he explains why these wrong stories are created, disseminated, and persist, even after being corrected time and time again. What makes us cling to these stories, when the truth behind these words and phrases is available, for the most part, at any library or on the Internet? Arranged by chapters, this book avoids a dry A-Z format. Chapters separate misetymologies by kind, including The Perils of Political Correctness (picnics have nothing to do with lynchings), Posh, Phat Pommies (the problems of bacronyming--the desire to make every word into an acronym), and CANOE (which stands for the Conspiracy to Attribute Nautical Origins to Everything). Word Myths corrects long-held and far-flung examples of wrong etymologies, without taking the fun out of etymology itself. It's the best of both worlds: not only do you learn the many wrong stories behind these words, you also learn why and how they are created--and what the real story is.

    An archaeological and linguistic monograph on the origins and expansion of the Indo-European

    This seems to have been the case even from the first recognition of the Neanderthals as a species. The first Neanderthal fossil discovery was that of a child’s skull in Belgium in 1829, but it was badly damaged. Another would be discovered in 1856 in a limestone mine of the Neanderthal region of what is present-day Germany, and a skull with differing distinct traits (indicating a different species than the Neanderthals) would be discovered just over a decade later in southwestern France. The latter specimen would come to be recognized as an example of the species Homo Sapiens, and these anatomically modern humans arrived in Europe between 45,000 and 43,000 years ago, around the time the Neanderthals are believed to started going extinct. The Neanderthals are a member of the genus Homo just like Homo sapiens and share roughly 99.7% of their DNA with modern humans (Reynolds and Gallagher 2012). Both species even lived briefly during the same time in Eurasia. However, the Neanderthals evolved separately in Europe, away from modern humans, who evolved in Africa. Physically, the Neanderthal skeleton was much more robust, suggesting that there was more room for muscle attachment. However, while Neanderthals were stronger than modern humans, the average height of the Neanderthal male was shorter, standing at only about 5’5 tall. Other physical characteristics that set the Neanderthals apart from modern humans were certain skull traits. The skull in general was low and elongated, featuring a sloping forehead with an occipital bun (a bone projection at the back of the skull), whereas modern humans have a more vertical forehead with no occipital bun. The cranial capacity of the Neanderthal skull was also greater than the modern human at 1,500–1,740 cc, and it lacked a chin and had more circular eye orbits, in contrast to Homo sapiens, which have a chin and tend to feature more rectangular eye orbits (Wolpoff 1999). Despite these differences, the Neanderthals may have been recognizable enough to interact with Homo sapiens or even blend in with Homo sapiens for the thousands of years they lived together in Europe. The Neanderthals lived in Europe and Asia for nearly 200,000 years and thrived in these regions, but they went extinct between 40,000 and 30,000 years ago, around the same time that modern humans began arriving in Europe. This has prompted much speculation as to the nature of the interactions between Neanderthals and Homo sapiens, especially since some researchers believe they interacted with each other for over 5,000 years before the Neanderthals began going extinct at different times across Europe. One hypothesis is that Homo sapiens displaced the Neanderthals and were better suited for the environment, and it is obviously possible if not likely that these two groups had become competitors for food and other resources, with Homo sapiens being more successful in the end. If such close interactions were taking place, there is also a possibility that the relatively new-to-Europe Homo sapiens brought pathogens from Africa with them that were unknown to the Neanderthal’s immune system. A more recent example of this type of resulting interaction is the European expansion into the Americas, which brought diseases like smallpox that the natives of America had never experienced before, especially diseases resulting from the domestication of animals. It is possible that the domestication of the dog by Homo sapiens may have contributed in spreading foreign diseases among the Neanderthals.

    Even people who have tried other books without success have learned to read Hebrew using this book. Here's what makes it different: * Fun memory tricks make it super simple to remember the sounds of the letters * Pace - The book is divided into 12 simple lessons. Two a week for 6 weeks. * The cheerful style of the book is great for adults and children alike. * From week one you are given words you can read from the Hebrew Bible! * The charming illustrations make learning Hebrew a pleasure. At the end of six weeks you WILL be able to read from the original Hebrew Bible, Psalms or the Siddur (Jewish prayer book) and you will have taken the first big step towards learning the Hebrew Language!

    This e-book is a completely new way to learn Brazilian Portuguese vocabulary fast - and for free! Start speaking Brazilian Portuguese in minutes with the powerful learning methods you will master in this book.The vocabulary words you’ll find in Learn BrazilianPortuguese - Word Power 101 were hand selected by our Brazilian Portuguese language teachers as the top 101 most frequently used words in the Brazilian Portuguese language. With each entry, you’ll see the word and a vibrant image to help remember the meaning. You’ll hear the word (separate free download) to master the pronunciation. Then you’ll see how the word is actually used in everyday speech with sample sentences and phrases. Learning Brazilian Portuguese vocabulary has never been easier!In this book, you’ll get: - 101 of the most frequently used Brazilian Portuguese vocabulary words - Audio with authentic native Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation *Supplementary mp3 audio files are a separate download - Vibrant photos and images to help memorization - Useful and practical sample sentences and phrases Purchase Learn BrazilianPortuguese - Word Power 101 today to start mastering Brazilian Portuguese vocabulary in the fastest, easiest and most fun way possible!

    These are the men and women who commit heinous acts with a gruesome disregard for human life.

    This book tells the stories of those crimes that the police have worked so hard to solve and yet have not come up with enough evidence to close the case.

    Drawing on the knowledge and passion of Lonely Planet's staff, authors, and online community, it presents a year's worth of inspiration to take travelers out of the ordinary and into the unforgettable - firmly setting the travel agenda for 2018.As self-confessed travel geeks, our staff collectively rack up hundreds of thousands of miles each year, exploring almost every destination on the planet. And every year, we ask ourselves: Where are the best places in the world to visit right now? It's a very hotly contested topic at Lonely Planet and dominates more discussion than any other. Best in Travel 2018 is our definitive answer.Now in a larger, hardback format, it makes for the perfect gift!Inside, you'll discover the:Top ten countries, regions and citiesBest value destinationsBest culture trips for familiesBest new openings and experiencesBest new places to stayTop destination races, from walks and marathons to cycles and swimsTop vegetarian and vegan destinationsTop small-ship expedition cruisesBest places for cross-generational family tripsBest private islands that everyone can useAbout Lonely Planet: Lonely Planet is a leading travel media company and the world's number one travel guidebook brand, providing both inspiring and trustworthy information for every kind of traveler since 1973. Over the past four decades, we've printed over 145 million guidebooks and grown a dedicated, passionate global community of travelers. Lonely Planet content can be found online, on mobile, video, and in 14 languages, 12 international magazines, armchair and lifestyle books, ebooks and more.TripAdvisor Travelers' Choice Awards 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 winner in Favorite Travel Guide category 'Lonely Planet guides are, quite simply, like no other.' - New York Times 'Lonely Planet. It's on everyone's bookshelves; it's in every traveller's hands. It's on mobile phones. It's on the Internet. It's everywhere, and it's telling entire generations of people how to travel the world.' - Fairfax Media (Australia) 0207This annual bestseller ranks the hottest, must-visit countries, regions and cities for 2018. Drawing on the knowledge and passion of Lonely Planet's staff, authors and online community, it presents a year's worth of inspiration to take travelers out of the ordinary and into the unforgettable - firmly setting the travel agenda for the year ahead.0802"Where to go? What to do? Why do it? All good questions, and all the answers are in this guidebook from the travel media company Lonely Planet, which clues you in on all the “must-visit” countries, regions and cities for the upcoming year. Lonely Planet’s staff of travel experts puts you on the trail of hidden-jewel journeys and offers tips on subjects such as best values, cultural trips, new accommodations, vegetarian and vegan eateries, value cruises and island resorts."Las Vegas Review Journal2017100401http://media.lonelyplanet.com/onix-fe... Planet0101GOODREPRUSLonely Planet Global Limitedhttp://www.lonelyplanet.comIE08201710... AI AR AW BB BL BM BO BR BS BZ CA CL CO CR CU DM DO EC FK GD GF GL GP GT GY HN HT JM KN KY LC MF MQ MS MX NI PA PE PM PR PY SR SV TC TT US UY VC VE VG VI018.27in026.71in030.73in081.235lb01210mm02170.5mm0318.5mm08.56kg03159781786571151BBLONELY PLANET (AMERICAS)US41160102Lonely PlanetTrade17.99USDUSZ

    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.