Babel: Around the World in Twenty Languages

by Gaston Dorren

Overview

“Babel is an endlessly interesting book, and you don’t have to have any linguistic training to enjoy it . . . it’s just so much fun to read.” —NPR

English is the world language, except that 80 percent of the world doesn’t speak it. Linguist Gaston Dorren calculates that to speak fluently with half of the world’s people in their mother tongues, you’d need to know no fewer than twenty languages. In Babel, he sets out to explore these top twenty world languages, which range from the familiar (French, Spanish) to the surprising (Malay, Javanese, Bengali). Whisking readers along on a delightful journey, he traces how these languages rose to greatness while others fell away, and shows how speakers today handle the foibles of their mother tongues.

Whether showcasing tongue-tying phonetics, elegant but complicated writing scripts, or mind-bending quirks of grammar, Babel vividly illustrates that mother tongues are like nations: each has its own customs and beliefs that seem as self-evident to those born into it as they are surprising to outsiders. Babel reveals why modern Turks can’t read books that are a mere 75 years old, what it means in practice for Russian and English to be relatives, and how Japanese developed separate “dialects” for men and women. Dorren also shares his experiences studying Vietnamese in Hanoi, debunks ten myths about Chinese characters, and discovers the region where Swahili became the lingua franca. Witty and utterly fascinating, Babel will change how you look at and listen to the world.

“Word nerds of every strain will enjoy this wildly entertaining linguistic study.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780802146724
Publisher:	Grove/Atlantic, Inc.
Publication date:	03/30/2022
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	397
Sales rank:	180,154
File size:	24 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Gaston Dorren is a linguist, journalist, and polyglot. He speaks Dutch, Limburgish, English, German, French, and Spanish, and reads nine more languages. He is the author of Lingo: Around Europe in Sixty Languages, as well as two books in Dutch and the app, The Language Lover’s Guide to Europe. Dorren lives in the Netherlands.

Read an Excerpt

When people speak Japanese, their gender matters a great deal. A good number of words and grammatical constructions are associated with either women or men. For starters, women are more likely to use slightly longer versions of words that make them—the words, and consequently the speakers—sound polite. Think of it as not only saying the refined word ‘luncheon’ instead of the more workaday ‘lunch’, but making the difference systematic by also saying ‘tableon’ instead of ‘table’ and ‘flowereon’ instead of ‘flower’. In Japanese, this politeness syllable is added not at the end, but at the front: hana ‘flower’ becomes ohana.

Next, women and men will use different pronouns to refer to themselves: while watashi is a formal word for ‘I’ or ‘me’ that both genders can use, atashi is clearly a women’s word and ore, boku and oira are men’s. Both genders will use the word for ‘be’ differently: in a sentence like ‘this is a spider’, men will include da for ‘is’ (‘this da a spider’), whereas women will omit it (‘this a spider’). They will use different interjections: for example, ‘Hey, you’ translates as Nē, chotto for women, but as Oi chotto or yō chotto for men; both men and women can use ā where English would have ‘oh’ (as in ‘Oh, how beautiful’), but only women may also choose ara or mā. Men may pronounce the diphthong /ai/ (rhyming with English lie) as /ē/ (rhyming with lay), whereas it would be unladylike for a woman to do so.

Speakers do not exactly break a hard-and-fast grammar rule when using elements normally used by the opposite gender, but they certainly break a social convention: they bend both a rule and their gender.

Editorial Reviews

10/15/2018
A more apt title for this offering might be Babble, as this smorgasbord of 20 widely spoken languages is largely a stew of Dorren's (Lingo: Around Europe in Sixty Languages) impressions and opinions that occasionally serves up delicious bloopers—e.g., nouns are not "conjugated"; verbs are conjugated, nouns are declined. Of the languages selected are those well known (in the West) such as French and Spanish, as well as the lesser-known Punjabi, Swahili, and Tamil. Each chapter offers a chart listing various characteristics of the tongue; it would have been helpful for comparison purposes if the same characteristics were used for each language. For instance, the author claims the subjunctive is a "bugbear" to master in Spanish yet doesn't mention it's equally complex in French. Oh, and English hasn't "borrowed" words from Greek; English has descended from Greek through Latin and French. VERDICT There's little consistency of presentation in this work from one section to the next, and grammatical terms are often not defined. Readers with a nonacademic interest in global languages might enjoy this buffet. Bon appétit!—Edward B. Cone, New York

Library Journal

★ 11/12/2018
Linguist Dorren (Lingo) expertly unpacks the baffling exceptions and structural oddities of the world’s 20 most-spoken languages in his delightful latest. After noting that mastery of the full list would allow fluent conversation with three-quarters of the world’s population, Dorren begins his linguistic journey in Vietnam, home of the 20th most-spoken language. Chapters open with capsule descriptions that detail regions where each language is spoken, number of speakers, script, grammar, sounds, loanwords, and “exports” (words adopted into other languages), followed by an idiosyncratic essay on striking elements of the featured language (e.g., there are no articles in the Russian language; Portuguese has 15 vowel sounds that can be “combined into many different diphthongs and triphthongs”). Fifteen pages per chapter sets a brisk pace, but Dorren always succeeds in sharing his delight at the intricacies and compromises of human communication. His focus varies widely: for example, the “linguistic gender apartheid” of Javanese (at #16) follows a pointed discussion on the Tamil language in India and Sri Lanka (“the Tamil Tigers were the protagonists in a civil war that tore the island of Sri Lanka apart.... And the conflict was triggered by language”; with 90 million speakers, Tamil is the 18th most-spoken language). Yet whether he is debunking common misunderstandings about Chinese characters or detailing the rigid caste distinctions ossified in Javanese, Dorren educates and fascinates. Word nerds of every strain will enjoy this wildly entertaining linguistic study. Agent: George Lucas, Inkwell Management. (Dec.)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for Babel:

“Fascinating . . . Dorren has an eye for what makes languages stand out from the field . . . In the hands of a less gifted author, some of the material in Babel could come across as dry or intimidating. But Dorren (as you might expect) has a way with language, and an arch sense of humor . . . Babel is an endlessly interesting book, and you don’t have to have any linguistic training to enjoy it . . . As joyful as it is educational, and above all, it’s just so much fun to read.”—NPR

“A fascinating guide and a celebration of linguistic diversity and bilingualism, both sadly underappreciated in English-speaking nations.”—Guardian

“A linguist and journalist takes readers on a global tour of the world’s top 20 languages, from Mandarin, English, and Arabic to Swahili, Tamil, and Malay. How did these tongues come to prominence and what others are dying out because of them? Dorren explores the culture and quirks of each language with infectious curiosity.”—Newsday

“Eye-opening and thoroughly entertaining . . . [Dorren] is wonderful company: chatty, informative, enthusiastic . . . Babel is a story not of nouns and consonants, but of empires and continents. Language is power. Sometimes it is a matter of life, lust, and death.”—Times (UK)

“An accessible and entertaining dive into the most commonly spoken languages in the world . . . An excellent choice if you want to learn another language but can’t decide which one . . . Accessible to longtime language scholars and casual readers alike; a delightful collection of twenty small windows to much larger worlds.”—BookBrowse

“Babel—fittingly for a book on language—is about more than numbers. Dorren takes a clever approach . . . He doesn’t just give an overview of the languages discussed; he explores a theme or element in each one, sometimes drawing broader conclusions on language as a whole . . . Smart, punchy prose.”—Irish Independent

“Hugely readable . . . Dorren is both an intimidatingly gifted linguist and a wonderfully eloquent writer. You couldn’t wish for a better guide to the wonders of the world’s bewildering array of tongues.”—Mail on Sunday

“Dorren expertly unpacks the baffling exceptions and structural oddities of the world’s 20 most-spoken languages in his delightful latest . . . Dorren always succeeds in sharing his delight at the intricacies and compromises of human communication . . . Whether he is debunking common misunderstandings about Chinese characters or detailing the rigid caste distinctions ossified in Javanese, Dorren educates and fascinates. Word nerds of every strain will enjoy this wildly entertaining linguistic study.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Dorren offers an intriguing tasting-menu of the major standardized languages . . . An engaging and informative whirlwind tour of how major world languages are created, used and changed.”—Shelf Awareness

“In surveying this score of tongues, Dorren teaches readers a great deal about how languages survive, evolve, and spread . . . As he shifts focus from language chapter to language chapter, Dorren delves into social and political dynamics affecting speech and writing . . . A fascinating foray into global linguistics.”—Booklist

“Dorren proves to be a genial, fascinating guide to the modes, manners, and curiosities of the most-spoken languages in the world . . . A deft, spirited exploration of the connection of languages to a nation’s identity and culture.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Hugely readable . . . Dorren is both an intimidatingly gifted linguist and a wonderfully eloquent writer. You couldn’t wish for a better guide to the wonders of the world’s bewildering array of tongues.”—Mail on Sunday

“Enthralling . . . Full of exciting stories and illuminating history lessons . . . Riveting.”—Big Issue

“The multilingual Dorren, who scored with Lingo: Around Europe in Sixty Languages, goes global with this study of language, culture, geography, and history. Some surprising facts: presumed lingua franca English is actually spoken by only one in five people worldwide, more people speak Malay than French, and Turkish has evolved so quickly in the last century that titles from the early 1900s are Greek to today’s speakers.”—Library Journal (PrePub Alert)

Praise for Lingo:

“[Dorren’s] deep and broad expertise allows him to take a familiar, mostly bemused approach to the linguistic patchwork of Europe . . . as enlightening as it is entertaining.”—Boston Globe

“A wonderful read . . . [Dorren’s] lively and insightful book takes the reader on a linguistic tour of Europe. In 60 witty, bite-sized chapters, Dorren makes sense of the babel of voices, exploring the origins of the continent’s languages and dialects and highlighting the surprise commonalities, stark differences and quirky singularities . . . Practically every page comes studded with at least one fascinating fact . . . illuminating and entertaining . . . [A] unique, page-turning book”—Minneapolis Star Tribune

“Mr. Dorren’s language tourism takes in not just the familiar monuments of English, French, Spanish, and German but also the unsung marvels of Latvian, Cornish, and Luxembourgish . . . A brisk and breezy tour . . . Bulge[s] with linguistic trivia . . . [Dorren] has an eye for genuinely surprising detail . . . [His] book is a peppy advertisement for the rewards of having several languages in one’s head.”—Wall Street Journal

“[A] playful survey of sixty languages spoken in Europe . . . Dorren gives voice to an important linguistic truth: ‘Today’s errors tend to become tomorrow’s correct usage.’”—New Yorker

“Lingo features amusing tales from five dozen languages, languages that define the nations of Europe . . . a great example of how language helps us get a little insight into the many cultures of Europe.”—Rick Steves, Travel with Rick Steves

“A worldly delight . . . This language writer dazzles. His stylistic flair is more than just entertaining—it crystallizes abstract ideas he conveys through vivid imagery . . . Dorren approaches his subject with passion and humour. His chapters are diverse, each normally highlighting the peculiarities of a single language . . . Dorren’s pace is swift . . . For language tourists, Lingo is a tour de force.”—Winnipeg Free Press

“[Dorren’s] linguistic tour is fascinating, funny, surprising, and enlightening.”—Jane Ciabattari, BBC Culture (10 Books to Read in December)

“This linguistic-led trip of the tongues across Europe doles out bite-size bon mots about the history, eccentricities and diversity of languages both obvious (German) and obscure (Gagauz). Plus, it’s laugh-out-loud funny—and that’s in all languages.”—American Way (December Picks for the Traveler)

“Dorren’s book is so much fun a reader might feel that half of Babel’s curse has already been lifted.”—National Post

“Lingo is a charming, well-researched tour of the languages, language families, and linguistic history of Europe . . . While keeping readers entertained, [Dorren] manages to cover not just the usual suspects but also such languages as Sami, Yiddish, Romani, Armenian, Ossetian, Basque, Welsh, Manx, and Esperanto . . . Dorren’s entertaining book is just right for academic consumption and a nice treat for general readers looking for an overview of linguistic Europe.”—CHOICE

“[A] fascinating read . . . Covering the idiosyncracies of 50-plus languages, from the spelling of Scots Gaelic to the counting conventions of Breton, Dorren weaves tales of conquest, social mores and isolating landscapes with remarkable ease . . . From Yiddish to Romani to English, the book is entertaining. Now, if only I can remember all these anecdotes for my next party.”—MultiLingual

“Wonderful . . . This intriguing, thoughtful book will delight those who love words; it is also a round, solid education in the vastness of the world’s citizens’ ability and desire to express themselves . . . Amusing, too!”—Booklist

“In this bubbly linguistic endeavor, journalist and polyglot Dorren covers the evolution and peccadillos of 60 European languages . . . Dorren thoughtfully walks readers through the weird evolution of languages . . . with quirky tidbits aplenty . . . Rounded out with helpful insights such as the impact of Martin Luther . . . and the refutation of the notion that Eskimos have 100 words for snow . . . Dorren has crafted an immersive and illuminating study of something many of us take for granted.”—Publishers Weekly

“Dutch linguist and journalist Dorren . . . reveals many intriguing nuggets of information about languages from the familiar (French, German, Spanish) to the arcane (Manx, Ossetian, Sorbian) . . . For linguists and readers truly thrilled by the meticulous study of languages.”—Kirkus Reviews

“For language lovers and those who enjoy obscure facts, European culture, and politics—or all of the above—Lingo will be an entertaining book to dip into, a tasting menu of the pleasures of languages.”—Shelf Awareness

“A joyful guided tour around Europe’s linguistic landscape . . . genuinely interesting and enormous fun. Particularly impressive is Dorren’s ability to flip with ease from jokes and surprising facts to the discussion of complex linguistic ideas. . . . For the sadly monoglot, Lingo is a wake-up call: a book that brims with joy at linguistic variety and invention, and reminds us what he—and we—are missing.”—Sunday Telegraph (UK)

“The depth and breadth of [Dorren’s] understanding and knowledge are awesome . . . this charming, funny and fascinating gem of a book has persuaded me of the richness we are in danger of losing.”—Times (UK) “I can’t praise it enough. If you ever wanted to know how exactly Finnish and Hungarian are related and how Turkish fits in, it is clearly explained here in two to three pages. And so is everything else you ever wanted to learn about European languages but were afraid to ask. Brilliant, witty, excellent!”—Times Higher Education Supplement, Best Books of 2014

“Learned and pleasantly ironic . . . In this entertaining exercise in ‘language tourism,’ the author isn’t frightened of making judgments. . . Impressively, he has taken classes in many of the languages he writes about, as well as in sign language, about which he writes illuminatingly . . . His tour of the continent is a richly diverting exercise, organized into sections on languages and their families, history, politics, writing, vocabulary, grammar and state of endangeredness. He has something interesting to point out about nearly every topic.”—Guardian (UK)

“A series of quirky linguistic stories full of etymological pleasures . . . if you believe Umberto Eco, ‘The language of Europe is translation.’ And certainly much of what’s revealing in Lingo is to be found not in the narratives or mechanics of individual languages but in the interface between them. . . . there are many etymological pleasures to be had from this book. . . full of charm and pleasing detail.”—Spectator (UK)

“Lingo is not meant to be an encyclopedia but a language ‘amuse-bouche’. Smorgasbord might be a better description: through sixty compelling stories about European linguistics, it tells us an impressive amount about Europe. . . . an entertaining, accessible guide.”—Financial Times (UK)

“Full of odd linguistic facts . . . fascinating.”—Times Literary Supplement (UK)

“I love this book. It’s witty and informative, with a wealth of engaging comments on all things language-related. . . . Such amusements, along with the book’s mine of information, make this a great seasonal stocking filler—whether you’re a lingophile or not.”—Morning Star (UK)

“A new approach to understanding the world . . . ideal for any cunning linguist.”—Wanderlust (UK)

“A multitude of dinner-party facts: there’s no such thing as Norwegian (the ‘national tongue’ comprises a collection of regional dialects); that Spaniards utter an average 7.82 syllables a second; and that the last speaker of Dalmatian, in a rare example of a language dying with a bang instead of a whimper, was killed by a land mine.”—Geographical Magazine

From the Publisher

2018-09-11

Multilingual Dutch journalist and linguist Dorren (Lingo: Around Europe in Sixty Languages, 2015, etc.) proves to be a genial, fascinating guide to the modes, manners, and curiosities of the most-spoken languages in the world.

Among an estimated 6,000 languages in existence, 20 are spoken by half the world's population. From Vietnamese (85 million speakers) to English (1.5 billion speakers), the author investigates cultural, historical, and political influences that shaped the language, beginning with a succinct overview of the language's significant traits: writing system, family (Austronesian, Indo-European, etc.), grammar, and sounds. He also offers a sampling of words borrowed from other languages and those exported to English: lilac, from Turkish; safari, from Swahili; and eight pages of the plethora of English words derived from Arabic. Among the 20 selections are several that reveal deep-seated social divides. Japanese (130 million speakers), which has no grammatical gender, requires women to speak in a distinctive "genderlect": using slightly longer versions of words to make them sound polite and using different pronouns from men. Those differences, dating as far back as 794, have been abating over the past 25 years, Dorren writes, with women in films, theater, and on TV using speech that has "a much more masculine character than before." Javanese (95 million speakers) has "an exceptionally extensive formality system" in which every word has a synonym that reflects and reinforces Java's social hierarchy. That language is becoming endangered, with Malay (275 million speakers) having become the official language after Indonesia's independence in the late 1940s, uniting a population spread across nearly 1,000 islands, speaking over 700 different languages. Punjabi (125 million speakers), like Vietnamese, Hmong, Swedish, and Mandarin, is a tonal language, in which the meaning of the same word changes depending on the tone in which it is spoken. In conveying unfamiliar sounds, Dorren uses English spelling conventions but helpfully directs readers to his website, languagewriter.com, where sound files are available.

A deft, spirited exploration of the connection of language to a nation's identity and culture.

Kirkus Reviews