SKU: 10479275759

Babel: Around the World in Twenty Languages

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Description

Babel: Around the World in Twenty LanguagesEnglish is the world language, except that most of the world doesn't speak it only one in five people does. Dorren calculates that to speak fluently with half of the world's 7. 4 billion people in their mother tongues, you would need to know no fewer than twenty languages. He sets out to explore these top twenty world languages, which range from the familiar (French, Spanish) to the surprising (Malay, Javanese, Bengali). Babel whisks the reader on a

English is the world language, except that most of the world doesn't speak it--only one in five people does. Dorren calculates that to speak fluently with half of the world's 7.4 billion people in their mother tongues, you would need to know no fewer than twenty languages. He sets out to explore these top twenty world languages, which range from the familiar (French, Spanish) to the surprising (Malay, Javanese, Bengali). Babel whisks the reader on a delightful journey to every continent of the world, tracing how these world languages rose to greatness while others fell away and showing how speakers today handle the foibles of their mother tongues. Whether showcasing tongue-tying phonetics or elegant but complicated writing scripts, and mind-bending quirks of grammar, Babel vividly illustrates that mother tongues are like nations: each has its own customs and beliefs that seem as self-evident to those born into it as they are surprising to the outside world.

Among many other things, Babel will teach you why modern Turks can't read books that are a mere 75 years old, what it means in practice for Russian and English to be relatives, and how Japanese developed separate "dialects" for men and women. Dorren lets you in on his personal trials and triumphs while studying Vietnamese in Hanoi, debunks ten widespread myths about Chinese characters, and discovers that Swahili became the lingua franca in a part of the world where people routinely speak three or more languages. Witty, fascinating and utterly compelling, Babel will change the way you look at and listen to the world and how it speaks.

Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press
Published: 12/04/2018
ISBN: 9780802128799
Pages: 320
Weight: 1.10lbs
Size: 8.60h x 5.70w x 1.50d

Review Citations: Library Journal Prepub Alert 07/01/2018 pg. 51
Booklist 10/15/2018 pg. 6
Kirkus Reviews 10/01/2018
Library Journal 10/15/2018 pg. 65
Publishers Weekly 11/12/2018
Shelf Awareness 12/07/2018

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SKU: 10479275759

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Cuba, US
★★★★★ 5
Quality item at a very reasonable price.
Size: X-Large, Color: Black Red
I've gone with the coofandy brand for the past few years. They make good quality shirts at a reasonable price and the fit is usually consistent. They're a little difficult to get the packing wrinkles out but it can be done. I wish they would label what style each shirt is because they make several different ones. Overall very satisfied.
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Pawtucket, US
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Cool Cuban Shirt
Size: Large, Color: Black Dark Gray
Looks nice and lightweight. I hand washed it and it turned out well. I used an iron to lightly press it. Overall the wrinkles were not bad. Would recommend
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Reviewed in the United States on May 26, 2026
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C. Clark
Charlottesville, US
★★★★★ 4
I just wish it wasn't vacuum packed.
Size: Large, Color: Black Light Brown
If the shirt wasn't vacuum packed to introduce bad creases/wrinkles, this would be a 5 star review. For the price, this is a nice and comfortable shirt. The thickness is really good for a polyester/spandex blend shirt; it's the right thickness for a summer shirt (because polyester doesn't breath at all). The rather small amount of spandex makes it just stretchy enough to give when moving. It wears a little like a fitted shirt, but it's not too tight at all for a bigger guys. It's not a loose fitting shirt, but it still feels like the correct size (my size was large). Note: This does have a bit of a V-Neck style, there's no button for the neck and the highest button is lower than most shirts. Unless you've a good iron with a steam feature, you're going to have a hard time safely getting rid of the wrinkles/creases from the vacuum packaging. This is a delicate fabric blend and high temperatures will permanently ruin it. I tried to quick wash and low temp dry in a machine with no results. Using a good iron on delicates/synthetics heat setting wasn't quite hot enough to undo the creases. Several steam blasts did wonders, but this was a time consuming process. You might get away using a drying machine at a higher heat for a short burst, but it's a risk. The stitching is good for the panels and arms. The different colors are different pieces of materials and not just dyes. The stitching at the bottom of the shirt, however, is jagged; not terrible, but it's a blemish.
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Lake Worth, US
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Vintage shirt goes great with vintage cars!
Size: Large, Color: Black Dark Gray
Loved it for my husband, we have vintage cars. It’s the perfect look, but I bought him 3 from this company and he chose 2 out of the three. Great shirts
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Dallas, US
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excellent shirt
Size: Large, Color: Black White
perfect fit , it's a slim fit go get one size larger .
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Reviewed in the United States on June 2, 2026

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