Are Some Languages Better than Others?

This book sets out to answer a question that many linguists have been hesitant to ask: are some languages better than others? Can we say, for instance, that because German has three genders and French only two, German is a better language in this respect? Jarawara, spoken in the Amazonian jungle, has two ways of showing possession: one for a part (e.g. 'Father's foot') and the other for something which is owned and can be given away or sold (e.g. 'Father's knife'); is it thus a better language, in this respect, than English, which marks all possession in the same way?

R. M. W. Dixon begins by outlining what he feels are the essential components of any language, such as the ability to pose questions, command actions, and provide statements. He then discusses desirable features including gender agreement, tenses, and articles, before concluding with his view of what the ideal language would look like - and an explanation of why it does not and probably never will exist. Written in the author's usual accessible and engaging style, and full of personal anecdotes and unusual linguistic phenomena, the book will be of interest to all general language enthusiasts as well as to a linguistics student audience, and particularly to anyone with an interest in linguistic typology.

Too many linguists are afraid to pose the question that makes up the title of this book. Like people, languages are different, and each has its own strengths and weaknesses; some are harder to figure out, and some are relatively easy. Dixon illustrates these facts in a very clear and engaging manner, using examples from a wide variety of languages from around the world, and though delightful anecdotes taken from his fifty years of experience in the field. This is a book based in linguistic reality, not linguistic theory.

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