Ad Infinitum: A Biography of Latin

<p>An in-depth biography of the Latin language from its very beginnings to the present day from the widely acclaimed author of ‘Empires of the Word’.The Latin language has been a constant in the cultural history of the West for over two millennia. It has shaped the way we think of ourselves and of our (central) place in the world. It has formed and united us as Europeans, has been the foundation of our education for centuries and defined the way in which we express our thoughts, our faith and our knowledge of the workings of the world. And yet, Latin began life as the cumbersome dialect of a small southern Italian city-state.Its active use lasted three times as long as Rome's Empire and its use echoes on in the law codes of half the world, in terminologies of biology and medicine, and until forty years ago in the litany of the Catholic Church, the most populous form of Christianity.In ‘Ad Infinitum’, Nicholas Ostler examines the reasons why Latin made such a long-lasting impact on language, and how it managed to stay alive for two millennia despite the cultural superiority of Greek. He will look at how Latin's sturdy roots remained untouched while empires rose and fell, the influence of religion, war and the ways it has progressed through medieval times right up until the present day.</p>

Reference

Nicholas Ostler

Words, Language & Grammar

Walker Publishing

Proceedings of the Second FEL Conference (25-27 September 1998) in Edinburgh, Scotland: Endangered Languages: What Role for the Specialist?

Endangered Languages: What Role for the Specialist?: Proceedings of the Second FEL Conference

Politics & Social Sciences

Social Sciences

Foundation for Endangered Languages

Proceedings of the Third Conference of the Foundation for Endangered Languages, held at St Patrick's College, Maynooth, National University of Ireland in 1999. A collection of papers on the role of education, and educational institutions, in the learning of languages by the next generation, especially in small language communities, including papers on languages from every continent.

Endangered Languages and Education Proceedings of the Third Fel Conference

Eoundation for Endagnered languages

Vital Voices - Endangered Languages and Multilingualism

Foreign Language Study & Reference

Endangered Languages and Language Learning (Proceedings)

Tjeerd de Graaf

Reinier Salverda

Reversing Language Shift: How to Re-awaken a Language Tradition: Proceedings of the Conference FEL Xiv, 13-15 September 2010, Carmarthen Wales ... Languages) (English and Welsh Edition)

The Music of Endangered Languages: Fel XIX - Nola 2015: Proceedings of the 19th Fel Conference 19 (Proceedings of the Foundation for Endangered Languages)

In this provocative and persuasive new book, Nicholas Ostler challenges our assumption that English will continue to dominate as the global lingua franca. Drawing on his encyclopaedic knowledge of world languages and their history, Ostler reveals that just as past great languages like Latin and Sanskrit have died out, so English will follow. The influence of English now is hard to exaggerate - it is the world's preferred medium for business, science and entertainment, and is claimed to be a basic educational tool like mathematics or computing. So is it here to stay? For the last four centuries, the dominant world power has been English-speaking, but the global balance of power is shifting. And in countries like Brazil, Russia and China, English plays no part in the national tradition. Although globalization has helped the rise of English, trade, migration, economic development and technological innovation are now changing the way we access and use language. Ostler shows how we are headed towards a much more multilingual and diverse future. And as English retreats, no single language will take its place. We can embrace this future but first we need to accept it: the last competitive advantage of native English-speakers will soon be consigned to history.

Last Lingua Franca: English Until the Return of Babel

Allen Lane.

<p>In this provocative and persuasive new book, Nicholas Ostler challenges our assumption that English will continue to dominate as the global lingua franca Drawing on his encyclopaedic knowledge of world languages and their history, Ostler reveals that just as past great languages like Latin and Sanskrit have died out, so Eng</p>

The Last Lingua Franca

ADULT PBS

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Books by Nicholas Ostler