The Writing Systems of the World (Language Library) - Hardcover

Coulmas, Florian

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0631165134 ISBN 13: 9780631165132

Publisher: Wiley–Blackwell, 1989

Synopsis

This book is ana account of writing systems from ancient times to the present. It traces the evolution from the iconic precursors of writing through stylized and abstract pictograms to purely arbitrary phonetic symbols. Among the sdubjects covered are Egyptian hieroglyphics and the cuneiform systems of the Near East, the persistence of the apparently cumbersome system of Chinese writing, the semitic languages of Western Asia and the Middle east, early Indian languages and the various alphabets that had their origins in pre-classical Greece. Within these contexts the author considers how scripts are deciphered, the way scripts relate to spoken languages, and the question of orthographic regularity. The author argues that writing is not merely a system of notation, but has a potent influence on the language itself.

About this title

From the Back Cover

This book is an account of the writing systems of the world from earliest times to the present. Its aim is to explore the complex ways in which writing systems relate to the language they depict. Writing, Coulmas contends, is not only the guide or garment of spoken language, but has a deep and lasting effect on the development of language itself.

His study takes in Egyptian hieroglyphics and the cuneiform system of the ancient Near East; he describes Chinese writing, discussing why an apparently cumbersome system has been used continuously for more than 3,000 years; he ranges across the writing systems of western Asia and the Middle East, the Indian families and the various alphabetic traditions which had its origins in the multifarious world of Semitic writing and came to full bloom in pre–Classical Greece.

About the Author

Florian Coulmas is Professor of Linguistics at Chuo University, Tokyo. He has written and edited several books in Linguistics and Sociolinguistics and is associate editor of the International Journal of the Sociology of Language.

Edition details

• Publisher: Wiley–Blackwell
• Publication date: 1989
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0631165134
• ISBN 13: 9780631165132
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 304