In the Land of Invented Languages


Book Description

Here is the captivating story of humankind’s enduring quest to build a better language—and overcome the curse of Babel. Just about everyone has heard of Esperanto, which was nothing less than one man’s attempt to bring about world peace by means of linguistic solidarity. And every Star Trek fan knows about Klingon. But few people have heard of Babm, Blissymbolics, Loglan (not to be confused with Lojban), and the nearly nine hundred other invented languages that represent the hard work, high hopes, and full-blown delusions of so many misguided souls over the centuries. With intelligence and humor, Arika Okrent has written a truly original and enlightening book for all word freaks, grammar geeks, and plain old language lovers.




Bridge of Words


Book Description

"A history of Esperanto, the utopian "universal language" invented in 1887"--




Esperanto and Its Rivals


Book Description

The problems of international communication and linguistic rights are recurring debates in the present-day age of globalization. But the debate truly began over a hundred years ago, when the increasingly interconnected world of the nineteenth century fostered a desire for the development of a global lingua franca. Many individuals and social movements competed to create an artificial language unencumbered by the political rivalries that accompanied English, German, and French. Organizations including the American Philosophical Society, the International Association of Academies, the International Peace Bureau, the Comintern, and the League of Nations intervened in the debate about the possibility of an artificial language, but of the numerous tongues created before World War II, only Esperanto survives today. Esperanto and Its Rivals sheds light on the factors that led almost all artificial languages to fail and helped English to prevail as the global tongue of the twenty-first century. Exploring the social and political contexts of the three most prominent artificial languages—Volapük, Esperanto, and Ido—Roberto Garvía examines the roles played by social movement leaders and inventors, the strategies different organizations used to lobby for each language, and other early decisions that shaped how those languages spread and evolved. Through the rise and fall of these artificial languages, Esperanto and Its Rivals reveals the intellectual dilemmas and political anxieties that troubled the globalizing world at the turn of the twentieth century.










Kiss Me, Genius Boy


Book Description

"In that moment, there arose all the resolve I hoped would be with me when I finally met her, and my vertigo turned to exultation. So what if she was married? I had contemplated that long ago, and decided I'd have her anyway." Joshua Rivers was born to expect great things. A former child prodigy and the son of a lottery winner, he also believes himself blessed with a vision of his perfect destiny and his perfect love. Now in his early twenties, Joshua already feels left behind by life. His long-time lover Lilian Lau is well on her way to becoming a famous artist, and his former classmates are also racing toward their success. Meanwhile, he waits for the moment, and the girl, that will show him his time has finally arrived. When it does, he resolves to take what is his, whatever it costs him or anyone. Kiss Me, Genius Boy is the first part of the No More Dreams series: an unusual story about love, ambition, and the problems of being privileged. ---- Praise for Kiss Me Genius Boy: "I’ve been telling my friends how refreshing it is to read something by one of my generation, instead of something by someone that's dead. … Above all I admired the pithy, adroit little maxims on the nature of things." —Dylan Thorn, author of I'm Dead "Uniquely refreshing … particularly erotic in its unabashed candidness." —Madeline R. "A page turner, very funny and unusually honest and frank … Lily really steals the show. A nymphomaniacal exploiter of men and women, a deeply interesting, entertaining and wild character who lights up every page she is on." —Nicola G. "Just read Berko scene from KMGB. Kick ASS! That scene just earnt me buying vol 2 when it comes out. Lily needs a cape and skin-tight leather pants. Lily needs her own graphic novel. Lily should be immortal, and probably is. Read KMGB so you can meet Lily. I secretly think she is Joshua's alter-ego. I think she might now also be mine." —Esme F. "Simple, direct but with subtle, thought-provoking passages about self-awareness and one’s relation to life and others. I can’t wait for the next book." —Aiza C. "Honestly I love it. It made me realize more the complexities and dimensions of love and loving." —Mary J. T.




A Complete Grammar of Esperanto (illustrated)


Book Description

Illustrated with 10 images. This book will be a descriptive grammar of the Esperanto language invented by L. L. Zamenhof, which will be complete and comprehensive in regards to a) the grammar of Esperanto as first outlined by Zamenhof in Fundamento de Esperanto and other foundational documents, and b) Esperanto as it is spoken today by the most committed Esperantists. (Proposed reforms to the Esperanto language will be discussed if they have serious support from a significant fraction of Esperanto enthusiasts). This book was started practically on a dare from the August 2006 issue of Bob's Poetry Magazine, in which Robert Happelberg boasted that he could print a complete and comprehensive grammar of Esperanto in just one 6 by 7 inch page. While this is obviously wrong, it's not too far off the mark. When completed, this book will require several standard size (8.5 by 11 in the USA) pages, but will still be much shorter than a complete grammar of a natural language like English or Slovene. In view of this goal, the number of examples provided for each concept will be kept to a bare minimum. Those wishing to build their Esperanto vocabularies are also referred to the Esperanto textbooks. It is acceptable in the beginning to word the text in an accessible manner like in a textbook, but the goal should be for all the text to be technical with a full command of linguistic jargon.







Consecutive Interpreting


Book Description

This book sheds light on the phenomenon of consecutive interpreting. It combines phenomenological and empirical analyses to build a communication theory of interpreting. The author begins by reviewing mainstream research on consecutive interpreting and then dissociates himself from it, conducting a three-tier analysis of interpreting data. He concludes by presenting an alternative theory of consecutive interpreting. As he makes clear from the outset, a new and combined methodology for consecutive interpreting needs to be constructed to satisfy both the relation of the phenomenon to experience as well as its social foundation. He also stresses the potential within the humanities for wider employment of the phenomenological empirical method. This book will appeal to students and scholars of linguistics, translation, phenomenology, social interaction and communication




English as a Global Language


Book Description

Written in a detailed and fascinating manner, this book is ideal for general readers interested in the English language.