This book looks at words for different family members in English. Main text on each page is provided only in English, with simple, labeled photographs providing support.

This book looks at words for different family members in German. Main text on each page is provided only in German, with simple, labeled photographs providing support. A "dictionary" spread at the end of the book features all the vocabulary words in both German and English, and also includes a pronunciation guide.

This book looks at words for different family members in Polish. Main text on each page is provided only in Polish, with simple, labeled photographs providing support. A "dictionary" spread at the end of the book features all the vocabulary words in both Polish and English, and also includes a pronunciation guide.

Move beyond the Semitic languages to look at other subfamilies of Afro-Asiatic, including what some call the "Berber" subfamily and several other subfamilies spoken south of the Sahara, and see what they can teach us about the nature of language. Close with a look at Somali oral poetry and its complex use of alliteration.

Journey to the South Seas to begin an investigation into Austronesian, one of the world's largest and most widespread language families. See what connects Austronesian languages to other families, as well as how they differ from European languages, and trace the way Austronesian languages have spread across far-flung locations.

Once the home of over 250 languages, Australia now only has about a dozen languages that will be passed to sizable generations of children. Take a look at some of the over two dozen language families in Australia and better understand how both separation from a common ancestor and proximity to a different language will cause a language to change in different ways.

Begin a deep dive into the earliest roots of Indo-European languages with a look at Germanic, Romance, Balto-Slavic, Greek, Albanian, and Celtic languages. See how Indo-European languages contradict common notions about how language works and uncover some of the mysteries that are yet to be solved.

Named for the Caucasus mountains where they originate, the Caucasian languages are actually three different families: Northwestern, Northeastern, and a Southern one that includes Georgian. Explore these grammatically complex languages to better understand how they work and how so many different varieties can spring from a relatively small area.

Turn your attention to one of the most linguistically rich places on Earth: the island of New Guinea, and discover why, thanks to its history and isolating terrain, it is home to hundreds of languages in a relatively small area. See how pronouns allow linguists to find connections between these languages, and explore some of their unusual traits.

How can languages that have very different origins still seem to be structurally related? To find out, look at the concept of a Sprachbrund and understand why contact is just as influential as origin when it comes to resemblances between otherwise unrelated languages (in this case, the influence of Chinese on other Asian languages).