The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World's Ancient Languages [Hardcover]

Roger D. Woodard (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 31, 2004 | ISBN-10: 0521562562 | ISBN-13: 978-0521562560

CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title of 2006 The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World's Ancient Languages is the first comprehensive reference work treating all of the languages of antiquity. Clear and systematic in its approach, the Encyclopedia combines full linguistic coverage of all the well-documented ancient languages, representing numerous language families from around the globe. Each chapter focuses on an individual language or, in some instances, a set of closely related varieties of a language. Providing a full descriptive presentation, each of these chapters examines the writing system(s), phonology, morphology, syntax and lexicon of that language, and places the language within its proper linguistic and historical context. The Encyclopedia brings together an international array of scholars, each a leading specialist in ancient language study. While designed primarily for linguistic professionals and students, this work is invaluable to all whose studies take them into the realm of ancient language. Roger D. Woodard is the Andrew V.V. Raymond Professor of Classics at the State University of New York, Buffalo. He previously served on the faculties of Classics and/or Linguistics at the University of Southern California, Johns Hopkins University and Swarthmore College. Among his other books are Greek Writing from Knossos to Homer: A Linguistic Interpretation of the Origin of the Greek Alphabet (Oxford, 1997) and co-author of Ovid's Fasti ( Penguin, 2000). He is a member of the Linguistic Society of America and the American Philological Association.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Woodard has done the scholarly world a great service. [...]This book fills a distinct void...Highly recommended." Library Journal

"Written and organized clearly and concisely, this scholarly work contains a wealth of information about the languages of antiquity...Essential." Choice

Book Description

The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World's Ancient Languages is the first comprehensive reference work treating all of the languages of antiquity. Clear and systematic in its approach, the Encyclopedia combines full linguistic coverage of all the well documented ancient languages, representing numerous language families from around the globe. Providing a full descriptive presentation, each of these chapters examines the writing system(s), phonology, morphology, syntax and lexicon of that language, and places the language within its proper linguistic and historical context.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 1182 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (May 31, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521562562
• ISBN-13: 978-0521562560
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.8 x 3.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #887,879 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely magnificent. A bit heavy on the Semitic though, August 7, 2005

By 

Mark Williamson "node_ue" (Paradise Valley, Arizona USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World's Ancient Languages (Hardcover)

This book is probably the most comprehensive work on the languages of the ancient world, including even the only recently-deciphered Epi-Olmec script of Mesoamerica.

However, there is no good definition provided of what is 'ancient' and what is not: should Old Japanese and Old Korean have been included? What about Old Nubian?

Surely more could've been written about some of the as-yet undeciphered ancient languages, such as Rongorongo, Meroitic, Linear A, Zapotec, and the Indus script?

It's also a bit heavy on Semitic languages: while some languages are grouped with other languages into a single chapter for all of them, each of the ancient Semitic languages has a separate chapter.

Some of the ancient languages of Asia, Africa, and the Americas are omitted completely.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars great reference for an experienced linguist, August 8, 2007

By 

S. Voynar - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World's Ancient Languages (Hardcover)

As a reference book for an experienced linguist, this book might be excellent. However, I have no formal training in linguistics analysis, so this book did not support me as much as a beginner would need. In particular, some terms were not explained, but I found these within a dictionary and then continued. The histories of each language and the overviews of current understandings about the language's translations were thorough and quite interesting. You rarely see dozens of pages explaining the translations of the more common Egyptian hieroglyphs. It was organized well and the only other improvement I would suggest would be to insert more writing examples with their translations. Marvelous.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beyond Incredible, August 17, 2008

By 

Ben Radcliffe - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World's Ancient Languages (Hardcover)

This book is an invaluable tool for anyone with a passion in ancient philology and linguistics. If you have scoured the internet for information on obscure ancient languages only to find meager tidbits, or if you have been overwhelmed by grammars that are too large and too detailed to be any use, this book will solve your problems. It is certainly a book for the serious student, someone who takes the time to learn the basics of phonetics, morphology, and syntax, but with these easily obtainable keys, the Encyclopedia is a true treasure. It provides enough information to satisfy curiosity, but it does not become so heavy on details that one gets lost in the text; and, if you want to pursue the language further, the recommended texts section at the end of each chapter provides plenty of resources.