Empires of the Word

Empires of the Word: A Language History of the World is a 2005 historical non-fiction book, by Nicholas Ostler.

Contents
The book charts the history of spoken language, in its myriad forms, across the world.

The book also explores the various lingua francas that have since seen decline.

Reception
Publishers Weekly called it "ambitious and accessible", and "stimulating".

The Independent noted that the book's "chief pleasure (...) lies in its detail, and in its hieroglyphs, ideograms and scripts plus translations."

Kirkus Reviews found it to be "dense but enlightening" and "(a)lways challenging, always instructive—at times, even startling or revolutionary", but expressed concern that its "sometimes turgid text" and sheer scope could "overwhelm general readers", and thereby prevent it from receiving the attention it deserves.