How Dead Languages Work

De: Coulter H. George

Narrado por: James Cameron Stewart

This volume celebrates six such languages - Ancient Greek, Latin, Old English, Sanskrit, Old Irish, and Biblical Hebrew - by first introducing listeners to their most distinctive features, then showing how these linguistic traits play out in short excerpts from actual ancient texts. It explores, for instance, how Homer's Greek shows signs of oral composition, how Horace achieves striking poetic effects through interlaced word order in his Latin, and how the poet of Beowulf attains remarkable intensity of expression through the resources of Old English. But these are languages that have shared connections as well. Listeners will understand how the Sanskrit of the Rig Veda uses words that come from roots found also in English, how turns of phrase characteristic of the Hebrew Bible found their way into English, and that even as unusual a language as Old Irish still builds on common Indo-European linguistic patterns.

Very few people have the opportunity to learn these languages, and they can often seem mysterious and inaccessible: Drawing on a lucid and engaging writing style and with the aid of clear English translations throughout, this book aims to give all listeners, whether scholars, students, or interested novices, an aesthetic appreciation of just how rich and varied they are.

©2020 Coulter H. George (P)2021 Tantor

Great read!

This was such a fascinating exploration of language. I've been studying Greek and Latin for a couple years, and really loved the perspective Coulter H. George provides here. You do not need to know any of the languages he features in this book to get something valuable. If you are simply interested in communication, history, or how English works you will get a lot out of this book. If you are studying an ancient language, this book would be a wonderful addition to your library. I also enjoy the narrator James Cameron Stewart, who reads for 'The Economist' magazine's audio edition. He's a top notch narrator. This book is probably especially difficult to narrate because it compares and contrasts so many languages, but Stewart seems to get the pronunciation right without being tedious.

Excellent overview of key ancient languages

Very broad, interesting selection of ancient languages: including Ancient Greek, Latin, Old English, Old Irish (with a little Welsh), Sanskrit, and Hebrew.
Because of the many charts and the many pieces of morphology and phonology, the book is an odd one to enjoy as an audiobook. It is probably better read than listened to. That said, James Stewart handled the many readings quite well. I will say, though, that the book was enjoyable largely because I am already well versed in both linguistics and in several ancient languages; the book is likely to be a difficult one to enjoy as audio for a novice or for someone totally unfamiliar with linguistics.
Having said that, I recommend the book to everyone who shares an interest in ancient languages.

Enjoyable for lovers of linguistics

I found this book fascinating. The author goes through Ancient Greek, Latin, Old English, Sanskrit, Old Irish and Hebrew giving examples of what makes each language unique.

There are some parts that get tedious like when dictionaries of words or word forms are read. I think these sections lend themselves better to print than in audio form but on the whole it didn't detract enough for me to stop listening.

The flip side is that it is nice having the narrator pronounce the words which can be difficult to tell strictly from reading.

All in all I would recommend this book to all English speakers who want to know more about these languages and language in general.

Surprisingly fun

This book was more fun than it had any right to be, given how dry the subject matter is often treated.

Loved it.

This is an excellent introduction with real examples into how dead languages worked and how did they capture and conveyed information. The writer is precise and respectful to the reader, leaving the absolutely necessary information to convey his message.

I also loved the professorial accent of the narrator who did an amazing work. His delightful British accent made everything go smoothly. On the other hand I was skipping bits because I couldn't stand how he butchered Greek and Sanskrit. He was really good on Latin,French and Spanish. and I don't hold it against him, noone can pronounce everything perfectly.