Empires of the WordEmpires of the Word takes a unique approach to world history, with Nicholas Ostler focusing on how the world has changed in regards to language, and how language's success is tied to their civilizations and cultures. Ostler wrote the book in an effort to show how language is a very important component to the survival of a culture and its success. He defines why he finds language important, listing well thought out examples of when languages led to the survival of a culture or the spread of an empire, and brings up valid points as to why he finds language important in regards to human history.
About the Author Nicholas Ostler is a British linguist and scholar, having studied first at Balliol College, Oxford where he received degrees in Greek, Latin, philosophy, and economics. He later studied at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), where he earned his Ph.D. in both linguistics and Sanskrit. He is currently the chairman of the Foundation of Endangered Languages, in Bath, England. In total he has written three books on language, but his most extensive is the Empires of the Word. He has been credited as a pioneer in the field of linguistics, supplying not only theories to the field, but extensive answers backed by thorough research.
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Ostler's View Throughout his book, Ostler uses examples from major languages to help prove his point. In an effort to show how language can have just as big an impact on history as politics or economics, Ostler uses examples of when a language outlived its respective civilization, when a language failed despite having a civilization backing it (and how this changed that civilization), and finally he discusses how language changed the environment of an area through the creation of distinct cultures that were tied by language. Ostler has clearly performed extensive research on each example he uses, with information on not only the history of the language, but the language itself, discussing everything from vocabulary to grammar, taking a truly linguistic perspective on the subject of history. The author does not that on some occasions, language was at the whim of other aspects in the world, making sure to note when language came second to politics, religion, and the economy, but for the most part the books focuses on a linguistic perspective to history and the world.
The Concensus Overall, Ostler's book effectively defends the idea that language is a key component to world history, no matter the time period, using extensive evidence and research to back this up, while not forgetting to factor in other aspects of human history into the equation. He makes strong arguments to support his claim, and overall manages to effectively construct and deliver his argument.
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