LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 14:9 September 2014
ISSN 1930-2940

Managing Editor: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.
Editors: B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. A. Sharada, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         Lakhan Gusain, Ph.D.
         Jennifer Marie Bayer, Ph.D.
         S. M. Ravichandran, Ph.D.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         L. Ramamoorthy, Ph.D.
         C. Subburaman, Ph.D. (Economics)
Assistant Managing Editor: Swarna Thirumalai, M.A.

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Review of The History of Languages: An Introduction

Amitabh Vikram Dwivedi, Ph.D.

Abstract

A review of Tore Janson’s The History of Languages: An Introduction is presented in this paper. This book is an adaptation and modification of his earlier work Speak (2002) presented in the form of a textbook. There are six thematic sections. One of the aims of Janson’s book is to bridge the gap between the separate practitioners of sociolinguistics, social historians, and linguists alike and this is achieved and the readers including researchers will find the book not only readable but also insightful. The main focus is on how languages arise, change and vanish, why languages have different destinies, and “what happens to the people who use the languages” (p. xii). Technical terminology has been generally eschewed and only employed when it is unavoidable. Rather than focusing on English in the third world countries substantively, Janson introduces us with “English in China” (p. 233) in detail, consequently the future of English as a second language in the World gives an impression of being neglected.

Key words: history of language, humanity and language, English in China, sociolinguistics

A General History of Language

In his book, Janson provides a general history of language, an adaptation and modification of his earlier work Speak (2002), in the form of a textbook (which is an introduction to the history of languages) where “linguistic and historical developments” are closely interlinked such as “the role of languages in history” becomes the subject matter of the book, and thus “history is affected by languages, and languages are a part of history” becomes a catch-phrase (p. xii).

Bridging the Gap between Sociolinguistics, Social History and Linguistics

The appearances and disappearances of languages and societies have been observed through a temporal lens of past, present, and future, and the book offers one preaching “human beings became human when they started to speak” (p 258). One of the most important aims of Janson’s book is to bridge the gap between the separate practitioners of sociolinguistics, social historians, and linguists alike. This work is “meant to be accessible to the readers of history, linguistics, and languages,” he said (p. xii). The history of languages alarms us that the number of languages is not increasing.

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

Amitabh Vikram Dwivedi, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor (Linguistics)
School of Languages & Literature
Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University
Katra
Jammu 182 320
Jammu and Kashmir
India
amitabhvikram@yahoo.co.in
amitabh.vikram@smvdu.ac.in
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