The Loom of Language: An Approach to the Mastery of Many Languages by Frederick Bodmer (PDF)

Description

Here is an informative introduction to language: its origins in the past, its growth through history, and its present use for communication between peoples. It is at the same time a history of language, a guide to foreign tongues, and a method for learning them. It shows, through basic vocabularies, family resemblances of languages―Teutonic, Romance, Greek―helpful tricks of translation, key combinations of roots and phonetic patterns. It presents by common-sense methods the most helpful approach to the mastery of many languages; it condenses vocabulary to a minimum of essential words; it simplifies grammar in an entirely new way; and it teaches a languages as it is actually used in everyday life. But this book is more than a guide to foreign languages; it goes deep into the roots of all knowledge as it explores the history of speech. It lights up the dim pathways of prehistory and unfolds the story of the slow growth of human expression from the most primitive signs and sounds to the elaborate variations of the highest cultures. Without language no knowledge would be possible; here we see how language is at once the source and the reservoir of all we know.

User’s Reviews

Editorial Reviews: Review “Rewarding and delightful . . . for everyone who has the slightest curiosity or ambition in self expression, this is a book that contains months or years of pleasurable profit.” ― Christopher Morley”Makes language study more hopeful and exciting than anything I have read before.” ― Lewis Gannett From the Back Cover Here is an informative introduction to language: its origins in the past, its growth through history, and its present use for communication between peoples. It is at the same time a history of language, a guide to foreign tongues, and a method for learning them. It shows, through basic vocabularies, family resemblances of languages — Teutonic, Romance, Greek — helpful tricks of translation, key combinations of roots and phonetic patterns. It presents by common-sense methods the most helpful approach to the mastery of many languages; it condenses vocabulary to a minimum of essential words; it simplifies grammar in an entirely new way; and it teaches a language as it is actually used in everyday life. About the Author Frederick Bodmer is a distinguished Swiss philologist. Read more

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐This one is a good read. But can be technical once and a while.

⭐Excellent overview and detailed explanation of the process of learning a foreign language (or two or more). Written in 1942-3 and published in 1944, still relevant today. I was concerned about the quality of the reprint available today (new copies), but was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the book I received. A hefty book, 692 pages but a very well bound paperback. If you are interested in the history and comparisons between languages of Europe, you should read this book. Highly recommended.

⭐This book is very interesting

⭐Easy way of learning languages if you know English.

⭐Different parts are useful for different readers. Part is the history of European languages. Part compares several European languages in depth, showing how words are similar with small changes in sound. Hundreds of examples compare the same word in several languages – either French/Spanish/Portuguese/Italian or Danish/German/Dutch/Swedish/English. And part is about language issues and the history of invented languages.

⭐It is a bit dated, but a good read about the interconnectedness of the Indo-European language family, and how English straddles the both the Germanic and Romance languages — and how that can be used to learn (or at least understand in written form) a large number of other languages. Of interest is the “museums” in the back, which show cognates between major languages and their English gloss. Quite an eye-opener.The style of writing is clearly dated now (describing certain languages or cultures as “backwards” is my favorite example), and the author is quite dry at times, but clearly still knowledgeable.

⭐A scholarly yet practical treatise on Western languages and how to learn them with a deeper knowledge of how and why they are as they are. The benefit is gained in an understanding of the origins and mutations of languages as they developed which makes learning related languages easier and intuitive. Its only shortcoming for the 21st century is that it takes a fair bit of effort to research the linguistics terminology Bodmer so casually uses, apparently in the expectation that all readers will be familiar with them…as I was not! I know a lot more about language now, though, and found the time and effort necessary to gain an understanding of his thesis well worth the expenditure.

⭐I love this book and read it in high school at least 10 times. Although many of the earlier theories expounded here have been fleshed out and refined over the 76 years since it was first published, it is fascinating. I found the ‘Language Museum’ portion of it especially interesting. Romance and then Germanic language vocabulary is compared side by side; French/Spanish/Italian/Portuguese version of eg house are compared, and then Swedish, German, and other Germanic vocabulary for eg father are compared–fascinating. A true classic.

⭐This, the third copy I’ve bought, was for a friend. He had seen my copy and was so impressed that he wanted two for his friends.!My late husband regarded this as his ‘bible”.

⭐Photo on site showed a dust jacket which is why I chose it but it was without one when it came.

⭐Very interesting approach to vocabulary based language learning.

⭐great thanx

⭐Bought as a present for a linguist. In very good condition.

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