Written in Stone: A Journey Through the Stone Age and the Origins of Modern Language

by Christopher Stevens Narrated by Michael Healy

Overview

Half the world's population speaks a language that has evolved from a single, prehistoric mother tongue. First spoken in Stone Age times, on the steppes of central Eurasia 6,500 years ago, this mother tongue spread from the shores of the Black Sea across almost all of Europe and much of Asia. It is the genetic basis of everything we speak and write today-the DNA of language.



Written in Stone combines detective work, mythology, ancient history, archaeology, the roots of society, technology and warfare, and the sheer fascination of words to explore that original mother tongue, sketching the connections woven throughout the immense vocabulary of English, with some surprising results.



In snappy, lively, and often very funny chapters, Written in Stone uncovers the most influential and important words used by our Neolithic ancestors and shows how they are still in constant use today-the building blocks of all our most common words and phrases.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"Stevens, an adventurer in language, demonstrates considerable prowess in making the journey both edifying and entertaining." ---Kirkus

Metro (London)

Offers fascinating insight. For example, they use the words ‘ma’ and ‘pa’ just as we do today.

The Daily Mail (UK)

A
fascinating new book reveals how our ancient ancestors spoke. And you’ll be astonished by how familiar it all sounds.

The Wall Street Journal

Written in Stone can be an enjoyable read for someone with a background in linguisitcs. Fun and light.

From the Publisher - AUDIO COMMENTARY

"Stevens, an adventurer in language, demonstrates considerable prowess in making the journey both edifying and entertaining." —Kirkus

Kirkus Reviews

2015-07-15
Stevens (Thirty Days Has September: Cool Ways to Remember Stuff, 2008) proves etymology remains a lively pursuit in this engrossing, sometimes-startling dissection of Indo-European, an ancient language that is the basis for half of the world's modern tongues. Combining the dexterity of a linguist, a philologist's passion for the influence of words on cultural history, and a taste for the bizarre, as befits a TV critic for London's Daily Mail, the author takes us on a detailed tour of a language that is profoundly alive in our everyday speech and literature. He breaks down and analyzes its DNA, engaging in some fascinating speculations along with the more concrete reportage. Of all the languages of Europe and the Americas (including Latin and Greek), only a handful, including Basque and Hungarian, are not rooted in Indo-European. First spoken in Stone Age times 6,500 to 8,000 years ago and thought to have originated with Kurgan people on the shores of the Black Sea around 4500 B.C.E., many Indo-European words have remained unchanged in the present day—or are so little altered that readers will experience aha moments on every page. Equally surprising are the radical changes in meaning familiar words have undergone over the centuries. The book is nothing if not comprehensive, perhaps too much so. Though the chapters are punchy and brief, there is the sense that the book is somewhat overfurnished and presented in an unvarying style that, were it not for the compelling subject, would grow monotonous and wearisome. There are also some careless errors and dated notions sprinkled around. Nonetheless, such a book is quite an undertaking, and the author deserves credit for having approached it with the requisite seriousness, despite some spasms of uneven humor. This study of Indo-European's primal building blocks and their interactions should be irresistible to the layman or devotee of origins. Stevens, an adventurer in language, demonstrates considerable prowess (from Es, to exist) in making the journey both edifying and entertaining.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170600922
Publisher:	Tantor Audio
Publication date:	11/15/2015
Edition description:	Unabridged

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