Requiring no background in linguistics, this book, now in its fourth edition, introduces readers to the diversity of human languages.

Are you curious to know what all languages have in common and how they differ? Do you want to find out how language can be used to trace different peoples and their past? Now in its fourth edition, this fascinating book guides beginners through the rich diversity of the world's languages. It presupposes no background in linguistics, and introduces key concepts with the help of problem sets, end-of-chapter exercises and an extensive bibliography. It is illustrated with detailed maps and charts of language families throughout, and engaging sidebars and 'food for thought' boxes contextualise and bring the languages to life with demographic, social, historical, and geographical facts. This edition has been extensively updated with a new section on the languages of the Caribbean, new problem sets, and an updated glossary and index. Supplementary online materials includes links to all websites mentioned, and answers to the exercises for instructors.