author : George L. Campbell

All the worlds major languages, about 100 entries from Afrikaans to Zulu, are summarised in this handy reference. Concise only because the original two volume Compendium covered about 300 languages; many of the entries here have been extended.

The entry for each language comprises a few pages. The entries assume knowledge of linguistic terminology, and cover:

• short overview of historical and geographical extent, and dialects
• script used to write it
• phonology of the spoken language: consonants, vowels, stress
• morphology and syntax: (relevant ones of) number, case, nouns, adjectives, pronouns, verbs, prepositions, postpositions, negation, numerals, word order
• An example of the written language: a facsimile reprint of John 1: 1-8

Fun to dip into, and a useful reference overview of each language.