The Power Of Babel

Download or read book The Power of Babel written by John McWhorter and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2003-01-07 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There are approximately six thousand languages on Earth today, each a descendant of the tongue first spoken by Homo sapiens some 150,000 years ago. While laying out how languages mix and mutate over time, linguistics professor John McWhorter reminds us of the variety within the species that speaks them, and argues that, contrary to popular perception, language is not immutable and hidebound, but a living, dynamic entity that adapts itself to an ever-changing human environment. Full of humor and imaginative insight, The Power of Babel draws its illustrative examples from languages around the world, including pidgins, Creoles, and nonstandard dialects.

Download or read book The Power of Babel written by Ali AlʼAmin Mazrui and published by James Currey. This book was released on 1998 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Linguists estimate that there are currently nearly 2,000 languages in Africa, a staggering figure that is belied by the relatively few national languages. While African national politics, economics, and law are all conducted primarily in the colonial languages, the cultural life of the majority of citizens is conducted in a bewildering Babel of local and regional dialects, making language itself the center of debates over multiculturalism, gender studies, and social theory. In "The Power of Babel," the noted Africanist scholar Ali Mazrui and linguist Alamin Mazrui explore this vast territory of African language. "The Power of Babel" is one of the first comprehensive studies of the complex linguistic constellations of Africa. It draws on Ali Mazrui's earlier work in its examination of the "triple heritage" of African culture, in which indigenous, Islamic, and Western traditions compete for influence. In bringing the idea of the triple heritage to language, the Mazruis unravel issues of power, culture, and modernity as they are embedded in African linguistic life. The first section of the book takes a global perspective, exploring such issues as the Eurocentrism of much linguistic scholarship on Africa; part two takes an African perspective on a variety of issues from the linguistically disadvantaged position of women in Africa to the relation of language policy and democratic development; the third section presents a set of regional studies, centering on the Swahili language's exemplification of the triple heritage."The Power of Babel" unites empirical information with theories of nationalism and pluralism-among others-to offer the richest contextual account of African languages to date.

Download or read book Babel written by R F. Kuang and published by Harper Voyager. This book was released on 2023-09-28 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: THE #2 SUNDAY TIMES AND #1 NYT BESTSELLER 'One for Philip Pullman fans' THE TIMES 'This one is an automatic buy' GLAMOUR 'Ambitious, sweeping and epic' EVENING STANDARD 'Razor-sharp' DAILY MAIL 'An ingenious fantasy about empire' GUARDIAN

Download or read book The Power Of Babel written by John McWhorter and published by Random House. This book was released on 2011-04-30 with total page 323 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There can be few subjects of such widespread interest and fascination to anyone who reads as the strange ways of languages. In this wonderfully entertaining and fascinating book, John McWhorter introduces us to 'the natural history of language': from Russonorsk, a creole of Russian and Norwegian once spoken by trading fur trappers to an Australian Aboriginal language which only has three verbs. Witty, brilliant and authoritative, this book is a must for anyone who is interested in language, as sheerly enjoyable as non-fiction gets.

Download or read book Babel’s Tower Translated written by Phillip Michael Sherman and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2013-04-15 with total page 377 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Babel's Tower Translated, Phillip Sherman explores the narrative of Genesis 11 and its reception and interpretation in several Second Temple and Early Rabbinic texts (e.g., Jubilees, Philo, Genesis Rabbah). The account of the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1-9) is famously ambiguous. The meaning of the narrative and the actions of both the human characters and the Israelite deity defy any easy explanation. This work explores how changing historical and hermeneutical realities altered and shifted the meaning of the text in Jewish antiquity.

Download or read book Apocalyptic Bodies written by Tina Pippin and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2002-03-11 with total page 175 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Apocalyptic Bodies traces the biblical notions of the end of the world as represented in ancient and modern texts, art, music and popular culture, for example the paintings of Bosch. Tina Pippin addresses the question of how far we, in the late twentieth century, are capable of reading and responding to the 'signs of the times'. It will appeal not only to those studying religion, but also to those fascinated with interpretations of the end of the world.

Download or read book Your Daughters Shall Prophesy written by Todd Korpi and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2023-03-29 with total page 122 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Your Daughters Shall Prophesy, Todd Korpi charts the course for what it means to come alongside female pastors and leaders in order to move beyond being a passive supporter to being a passionate advocate for Christian women. Drawing from theology, leadership studies, practical experience, and the testimonies of women in ministry, Korpi addresses some of the most pressing issues in egalitarian churches and organizations today. He answers pressing issues such as: -Whether men really are the "spiritual head" of the home. -How our best intentions to help can actually harm women in ministry. -How Christians need a better script for lust, power, and sexuality.