The History of Languages by Tore JansonCall Number: 400 J35h
This introduction to the history of languages opens by examining what languages hunter-gatherers might have spoken, and then investigates the effects on language of human developments like agriculture, writing, empires, and religions. Janson also discusses how new languages appear, why some spread and others die, and what causes internal language change. The book ranges widely among the world's languages and mixes thematic chapters on general processes of change with accounts of specific languages.