I’d say that, yeah—some of the subheadings are pop culture references, and there are occasional jokes scattered among the text. Like, when discussing the origin of the protolanguage that Indo-European languages descended from:
It’s fair to say that the problem of the location of the Indo-European homeland, called “the Urheimat” (German for “original homeland”), has been a subject of controversy—indeed, the question has had a tendency to drive men mad. Various fruitcakes have suggested Tibet, North Africa, the shores of the Pacific, and the North Pole. There’s a distinct tendency for scholars to place the wellspring of the European peoples somewhere in their own backyard. So far, thank God, we haven’t seen any American linguists try that.
Damn, looks like an interesting book! Is it entertainingly written? (Looking for a belated mother’s day gift.)
I’d say that, yeah—some of the subheadings are pop culture references, and there are occasional jokes scattered among the text. Like, when discussing the origin of the protolanguage that Indo-European languages descended from: