Language in the Modern World

by Simeon Potter

paperback book

Genres: Nonfiction, Linguistics, Language

221 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1960

Reviews

[Nick Davies · Rating 4 out of 5]

A mixture, but a satisfying one. Potter here (published in 1960 as it was) aims to bring together a broad range of aspects of the field of linguistics, and does so successfully - as a layperson this was easy to understand in the main, and provided a superb introduction to the area.

There were certainly many quirky little aspects which I found interesting. I also enjoyed (perhaps for the wrong reasons) the insight given in to the views of academics half a century or so ago, post-colonial pre-globalisation, this was a historical snapshot in places.

That said, for all that it wasn't a long book, sections were in places a little repetitive - there is only so many ways in which similar linguistic aspects can be discussed where they have evolved independently and at times I uncharitably wondered "so what?" upon reading about a certain word derivation or a certain quirk of one language placing the subject of a phrase in a different order to another.

For all this, I did find it an interesting read - especially as it isn't the kind of non-fiction I often pick up.

[Mar Escribano · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book if you are interested in languages