Speak: A Short History of Languages
How does a language come into being, and when does it disappear? What actually happened to Latin? When was English created? Will all people on Earth speak English or Chinese in 200 years from now? These are a few of the questions discussed in A Short History of Languages. It is about how historical conditions shape languages and how languages influence the course of history. The book starts with a discussion of the period of gatherers and hunters, when there was a huge number of languges. It moves on to Greek and Latin, to French and Italian, and naturally includes a full discussion of English. Many other languages are treated, such as Setswana in southern Africa and the Creole language of Nevis in the West Indies. These languages and cultures are presented in a lively way, with concrete examples and sometimes small samples from literary works, such as those of Sappho and Dante. However, no knowledge of other languages than English is presupposed. The author thus presents a cultural history of languages which should be stimulating reading for all those who take an interest in history and/or languages. At the same time, he seeks to find general trends in the rise and spread of languages, and in their relations to states and societies. Several trends are identified, and they are also used to make some predictions about the future. Thus, the book also contains some of the first discussions of a number of intriguing problems in the border area between linguistics and history.

Test Yourself for Proficiency
A totally new concept in Exam preparation. 10 sets in exam format provide intensive practice in vocabulary and grammar. Its study approach is the most appropriate. Answers and marking scheme are essential features of the book, allowing students to work independently and check their own progress.

 

sBook Player (Player with Extended Lyrics Support)
sBook Player is a powerful player for comfort playback and viewing lyrics. It also allows to display two strings of lyrics together!
And also support the Rich Lyrics Format (such as MeBook).

• Lyric File Format LRC, Sinhrony File Format SCN and Vob Subtitle File SRT (included wrong SRT file)
• Rich Lyrics Format and MeBook
• Supports ANSI, UTF8 and Unicode lyrics
• Shows two strings of lyrics with a possibility to hide unnecessary lyrics string
  
• Customizable lyrics display (Font, Size, Color and Background)
• For quality sound uses DirectSounds with a possibility of changing the Playback Speed

TMS - Giants of Irish Literature: Wilde, Yeats, Joyce, and Beckett
Oscar Wilde, W.B. Yeats, James Joyce, and Samuel Beckett: These four masters of Irish literature created works of startling innovation and unparalleled literary merit. They defied popular expectations and confounded critics with unique masterpieces that one might think of as puzzles, the solution of which lies at the heart of the modern age.
Understanding the works of these greats, all associated to some degree with the Irish Literary Revival, is fundamental not only to a richer appreciation of Irish literature, but to a better comprehension of modern literature in all its manifestations, for these authors struggled with the idea of modernity and all it entailed, and the fruits of their struggle stand as monuments to the remarkable capacity of literary imagination.
Renowned professor George O’Brien of Georgetown University provides the biographical background of these authors and an in-depth analysis of their greatest works. In the course of these lectures, O’Brien discusses the very qualities that set these works apart and the “Irishness” that characterizes each of them.
Professor George O’Brien
Georgetown University)
George O’Brien is a professor of English. His main scholarly and teaching areas are Irish literature since 1800 and creative writing. Among his numerous publications are three volumes of memoirs and two books on contemporary Irish playwright Brian Friel.