In 20 Sprachen um die Welt

You couldn't wish for a better guide to the wonders of the astonishing linguistic diversity of our world.

Why was it that small Portugal could produce a global language while Holland could not? In what ways do Japanese women speak differently than Japanese men? And why do non-alphabetic scripts work just as well as our 26 letters? In his fantastically written book, Gaston Dorren takes us on a unique journey around the world, bringing us closer to a large part of humanity.

Three-quarters of all people speak one of the 20 languages discussed in this book. Gaston Dorren tells the story of their origins and their remarkable rise. He explains the scripts they use, introduces gems and gaps in their vocabulary, elucidates linguistic peculiarities, and shows us how the grammar of a language relates to the worldview of its speakers. For instance, he explores the puzzle of why Vietnamese has a dozen forms of "I," explains the wonderful vowel richness of Portuguese, and makes it clear that we all know more Arabic than we think.