How many languages are there? What differentiates one language from another? Are new languages still being discovered? Why are so many languages disappearing? The diversity of languages today is varied but it is steadily declining In this Very Short Introduction Stephen Anderson answers the above questions by looking at the science behind languages Considering a wide range of different languages & linguistic examples he demonstrates how languages are not uniformly distributed around the world; just as some places are more diverse than others in terms of plants & animal species the same goes for the distribution of languages Exploring the basis for linguistic classification & raising questions about how we identify a language as well as considering signed languages as well as spoken Anderson examines the wider social issues of losing languages & their impact in terms of the endangerment of cultures & peoples ABOUT THE SERIES The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly Our expert authors combine facts analysis perspective new ideas & enthusiasm to make interesting & challenging topics highly readable