The Languages of the World (3rd edition)

The Languages of the World is a handbook on the subject of languages, peoples, and language families, which explores the origins and interrelationships of the world’s languages. First published in 1977 it is now in its third edition and has been revised to include more languages and countries, and up to date information on population and the number of people speaking each of the languages covered.

There are thousands of languages spoken in the world and the author acknowledges that it is impossible to establish an exact number, much less to examine them in one book. This book, therefore, looks...