BITING THE WAX TADPOLE

What can Johnny Cash's lyrics teach us about the little-known Tangutdialect? Is 'tabernacle' really a swear word in Quebecois? Which languagehas absolutely no verbs? What is Earth's politest insult? And what isbiting the wax tadpole actually a translation of? Prepare for a hilariousrollercoaster ride through hundreds of well-known, obscure, difficult,dead and even made-up languages.Elizabeth Little has waded throughinnumerable verb tables in every available mood and tense, untangled up toeighteen cases of noun, and wrestled with all kinds of complicatedadjective, participles and glottal stops to bring you the best and mostbizarre quirks of the ways people communicate all around the globe. Fromthe language that has no different word for 'blue' or 'green', to whyIcelanders need official permission to name their children, from whatmakes a Korean TV hit to what people might think you're saying if youorder eggs in Spain, Biting the Wax Tadpole will ensure you're never lostfor words again. Coca-Cola, would you believe it?