In this single volume, George Campbell describes over 100 languages. The emphasis is on the world's major languages--those with over one million speakers. br br The articles are ordered alphabetically and each has a standardized structure for easy reference use: br br * general historical and sociolinguistic introduction * the writing system * the sound system * the grammatical system br Throughout the book the treatment is simple and factual; technical terminology is used only where necessary, making this the ideal reference for the non-specialist. br