A cross-cultural investigation into the relationship between language and culture. An exploration into the origins and structure of language as a human phenomenon, including a historical and comparative analysis and classification of world languages, as well as how language works to produce social realities, construct us as individuals, and mark us as members of groups, and how language is used in processes of globalization and domination. Topics covered include theories of language, linguistic relativity, language diversity and inequality, gendered language, code-switching, and the creative use of language in the information age.