An ocean of languages
Et hav av språk
This is a story about a father and daughter, about the world’s extraordinary kaleidoscope of languages, and about a long journey to one of the world’s most inaccessible places. The author Atle Næss accompanied his daughter, language researcher Åshild Næss, on a field trip to the Reef Islands in Melanesia in the South Pacific. Call them nerds, if you will, but they know they’re not alone in considering language one of the most delightful and fascinating topics around. Their fascination only increases as they dig more deeply into linguistics and discover the staggering number of ways in which a language can be put together. This is a book for all those who think language is fun – and who want to know exactly how many ways there are in various languages to shuffle around the words in “The dog bit the postman” and how many words there really are for “snow” in Eskimo languages.
Atle Næss (b. 1949) has written a number of critically acclaimed books since his debut in 1975. He often draws on history for his material, and won the Brage Prize in 2001 for his biography of Galileo Galilei. Åshild Næss (b. 1974) is a linguist at the University of Oslo. This is her first book.
A litterary road movie from the thriving world of languages, combined with witty and thought-provoking descriptions of huge cultural differences.
Throw of the dice: 5 (Fredrikstad blad)
Gyldendal 2007