Native Tongues [Hardcover]

Charles Berlitz (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 340 pages
• Publisher: Castle Books (January 21, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0785818278
• ISBN-13: 978-0785818274
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,185,789 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #24 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Reference > Words & Language > Communication
  • #34 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Reference > Words & Language > Reference
  • #73 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Nonfiction > Philosophy > Logic & Language

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The most fascinating book I've read., July 18, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Native Tongues (Paperback)

One thousand words is not enough to review this book. Conversely the book defines one thousand words...and more. If you are interested in words and their origins, peoples names and what the names mean, you will find this book difficult to put down. Read it, if you can find it.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Full of errors, June 8, 2011

By 

curtisg - See all my reviews

This review is from: Native Tongues (Hardcover)

I just finished reading this book, and while I'm not an expert on every language that Charles Berlitz attempted to write about, it is very clear that Mr. Berlitz didn't even bother to have his book proofread. It was full of:

1) Typos ("person" in Zulu is "umuntu", not "uminto", page 184)
2) Incorrect translations ("excuse me" in Japanese is "sumimasen", not "moshi moshi", page 228)
3) Myths presented as fact (English was not selected over German as the official language of the United States by only one vote, pages 43-44 and ON THE COVER)
4) Dubious theories presented as facts (the most accepted theory for the origin of the word "gringo" is that it comes from the Spanish word "griego", or "greek". The claim that it comes from the song "Green Grow The Lilacs", page 66, is not even a well backed theory)
5) An obvious Eurocentric worldview (page 35, in most languages "sun" is a masculine? Maybe in most European languages, but not in most of the world's languages).

If you want to read interesting factoids about languages that may or may not be true, then this is the book for you.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Definitely Interesting, December 31, 2008

By 

B. VanDeinse-Perez (Capital Region, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Native Tongues (Hardcover)

There are a lot interesting facts concerning all different languages, words and phrases; while it is very interesting it really bothers me that none of it is cited. This book is authored by Charles Berlitz, so maybe, since he is an authority on language he doesn't need to cite his work, but it would have been nice. Either way it's an engaging read, however, I wouldn't go around quoting it without backing up some of the statements with a source to confirm them.