Download or read book A Guide to the World's Languages: Classification written by Merritt Ruhlen and published by . This book was released on 1987 with total page 472 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the first of three pathbreaking volumes that will constitute a wide-ranging analytical guide to the world's approximately 5,000 languages. The volumes are written for both linguists and general readers, and this first volume in particular assumes no background in linguistics. A postscript prepared for this paperback edition takes research data to 1990. The book is illustrated with 21 maps.