This innovative introduction outlines the structure anddistribution of the world’s languages, charting theirevolution over the past 200,000 years.Balances linguistic analysis with socio-historical andpolitical context, offering a cohesive picture of the relationshipbetween language and societyProvides an interdisciplinary introduction to the study oflanguage by drawing not only on the diverse fields of linguistics(structural, linguist anthropology, historical, sociolinguistics),but also on history, biology, genetics, sociology, and moreIncludes nine detailed language profiles on Kurdish, Arabic,Tibetan, Hawaiian, Vietnamese, Tamil, !Xóõ (Taa),Mongolian, and QuichéA companion website offers a host of supplementary materialsincluding, sound files, further exercises, and detailedintroductory information for students new to linguistics