As someone who grew up in multilingual surrounding, I have always been interested in languages and everything related to them. And I mean literally everything. I have been reading everything from articles with random facts about languages to academic papers on attitudes toward different accents. On Monday morning, I just wanted to share with you the three most captivating books about language.
The Prodigal Tongue: The Love-Hate Relationship Between American and British English was written by an American linguist Lynette Murphy back in 2018. With great humor, Murphy explores the special relationship between British and American English and explains why and how these two variants ended up being so different. Will Yanks and Brits ever really understand each other?
In short, Is That a Fish in Your Ear?: Translation and the Meaning of Everything is a witty description of our communication and comprehension. Like it or not we have no choice but use translated texts to cope with the diversity of languages in today’s world. Professor of French studies David Bellos asks questions such as how to translate jokes and how to make sure that we really understand each other in our own or a totally another language. In his book, Bellos shows us why translation is at the heart of what we do.
Have you ever considered creating your very own secret language to chat with your best friend? I bet you did, at least in elementary school. The Art of Language Invention: From Horse-Lords to Dark Elves to Sand Worms, the Words Behind World-Building will guide you through the history and the art of language creation. David J. Peterson provides the essential tools for inventing and evolving newly constructed languages. And, of course, colorful examples from Star Wars and Tolkien are included.