Limits of Language is a collection of the most extreme and unusual facts about the languages of the world. It covers almost every facet of linguistics. Written in an engaging style for a wide readership, it nevertheless contains a great deal of information which even the best-read professional linguist will not have encountered before. The reader learns about the complex case system of Kalaw Lagaw La, the dazzling plural formation in Shilluk, Sursurunga, and Kiowa, and the hundreds of noun classes in Tzeltal. Examples are given of the intriguing verb suppletion in Imonda, the startlingly simple tense/aspect system of Maibrat, the amazing three degrees of lip rounding in Scandinavian languages, the unusual aspect marking in Yimas and Berik, the astonishing article system of Chamicuro, and the dadaistic verb morphology of Kobon.

The many hundreds of questions discussed in this book include: In what country are people the most polyglot? How did dord come to mean 'density'? Who made the first ever recording in Sumerian? Which linguistic fields have the greatest appeal to women? Why do some inhabitants of the city of Baarle say gazet for 'newspaper' while others say krant? Which preposition do Italian children acquire first? How do deaf Japanese say 'condom'? Which country has the most generous minority language policy? Can normal Kalam speech really cause panadamus nuts to rot? Is a suffixed definite article enough to make Macedonia a Bulgarian province? Why is there no point in founding a local radio station in Laurent, South Dakota? Apart from the languages themselves, "Limits of language" also abounds with interesting facts about the discipline itself. The reader is served an exposé of linguistic theories that failed the test of time, gets to know why Adam Smith, Friedrich Nietzsche, August Strindberg, Alice in Wonderland, Joseph Stalin, and serial killer Edward Rulloff all deserve a place in the history of linguistics. For those with a taste for the macabre, there is a section on unusual linguistic experiments, and for the lewd, "Limits of Language" offers the memorable example sentences of generative semantics, a dirty dictionary of Russian, and naughty grammaticalizations in Ancient Egyptian and Takelma. We also get to know our colleagues a little better by learning about left-handed linguists, those who have spent time in prison, those who died youngest and lived longest, and those with the most impressive hairdos. As if this weren't enough, the book offers the linguistic life-style guide, including the definitive top-ten list of linguistic monuments as well as the Linguist's Calendar which provides a suitable pretext for celebrating every single day of the year. The book contains an extensive bibliography (nearly 800 titles) and a very detailed index (3 500 entries).