Daniel Nettle, Linguistic diversity. Oxford & New York: Oxford University Press, 1999. Pp. xi, 168. Hb $65.00, pb $19.95.

Abstract

Why does linguistic diversity exist? This is the question to which this book is addressed. Nettle argues that, although aspects of the diversity of languages have been studied, the reason for this diversity has not been a subject of attention. To answer the question, he suggests that a multidisciplinary approach is necessary – a broad linguistic anthropology in which the linguistic map is explained by people's social behavior, which in turn arises largely from their ecological situation.