{"product_id":"proto-how-one-ancient-language-went-global-hardcover","title":"Proto: How One Ancient Language Went Global - Hardcover","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eLaura Spinney\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe enthralling story of how today's largest language family, spoken by nearly half the world's population, descended from one ancient dialect.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eDaughter. Duhit?r-. Dustr. Dukte. Listen to these English, Sanskrit, Armenian and Lithuanian words, all meaning the same thing, and you hear echoes of one of history's most unlikely journeys. All four languages-along with hundreds of others, from French and Gaelic, to Persian and Polish-trace their origins to an ancient tongue spoken as the last ice age receded. This language, which we call Proto-Indo-European, was born between Europe and Asia and exploded out of its cradle, fragmenting as it spread east and west. Its last speaker died thousands of years ago, yet Proto-Indo-European lives on in its myriad linguistic offspring and in some of our best loved works of literature, including Dante's \u003ci\u003eInferno\u003c\/i\u003e and the \u003ci\u003eRig Veda\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Lord of the Rings\u003c\/i\u003e and the love poetry of Rumi. How did this happen? \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAcclaimed journalist Laura Spinney set out to answer that question, retracing the Indo-European odyssey across continents and millennia. With her we travel the length of the steppe, navigating the Caucasus, the silk roads and the Hindu Kush. We retrace the epic journeys of nomads and monks, warriors and kings - the ancient peoples who carried these languages far and wide. In the present, Spinney meets the scientists on a thrilling mission to retrieve the lost languages and their speakers: the linguists, archaeologists and geneticists who have reconstructed that ancient diaspora. What they have learned has profound implications for our modern world, because people and their languages are on the move again. \u003ci\u003eProto\u003c\/i\u003e is a revelatory portrait of world history in its own words.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eLaura Spinney\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of \u003ci\u003ePale Rider: The Spanish Flu of 1918 and How It Changed the World\u003c\/i\u003e, which has been translated into more than a dozen languages, and two novels. Her science writing has appeared in \u003ci\u003eThe Atlantic\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eNational Geographic\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eNature\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Economist\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Guardian\u003c\/i\u003e, and elsewhere. She lives in Paris.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 352\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1.5 x 9.2 x 6.2 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e May 13, 2025\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52636441739571,"sku":"9781639732586","price":36.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0300\/5595\/6612\/files\/IKZoKNVhRY9781639732586.webp?v=1762271742","url":"https:\/\/www.vysn.com\/en-ca\/products\/proto-how-one-ancient-language-went-global-hardcover","provider":"VYSN","version":"1.0","type":"link"}