''Native Tongues'' (1982) is a book written by

Charles Berlitz Charles Frambach Berlitz (November 22, 1913 – December 18, 2003) was an American polyglot, language teacher and writer, known for his language-learning courses and his books on paranormal phenomena. Life Berlitz was born in New York City. He w ...

, a

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

and polyglot, known for his language teaching courses. It is primarily made up of a list of words in various

language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of ...

s, their

etymology Etymology ()The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the Phonological chan ...

, and questions of a speculative nature about these words. It explores whether animals have language and the role of gender in language. It makes the claim that language cannot be separated from culture.

Description

''Native Tongues'' explains how languages started and follows their spread and decline. It demonstrates how similar many languages are using the example of

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

. It also aims to demonstrate how gender-dependent language can be. It explains the origins of words and what they really mean to people, examining words of love and insults in different countries, languages and cultures. Much of the book relates to listings of good and bad

translation Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...

s. It also shows differences between

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

and

American English American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the most widely spoken language in the United States and in most circumstances i ...

. The book goes beyond

grammar In linguistics, the grammar of a natural language is its set of structural constraints on speakers' or writers' composition of clauses, phrases, and words. The term can also refer to the study of such constraints, a field that includes domain ...

, syntax and

phonology Phonology is the branch of linguistics that studies how languages or dialects systematically organize their sounds or, for sign languages, their constituent parts of signs. The term can also refer specifically to the sound or sign system of a ...

, to present the idea that language is deeply rooted culture and modes of thinking.

External links

on Google Books
{{DEFAULTSORT:Native Tongues (Book) Linguistics books book-stub