Writing Systems of the WorldThis 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. |
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The writing systems of the world
User Review - Not Available - Book VerdictCoulmas argues that contrary to the views of some linguists, writing has an important place in the study of language. Though specialists will be most comfortable with the intricacies of this dispute ... Read full review
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Bibliographic information
| Title | Writing Systems of the World The Language Library |
| Author | Florian Coulmas |
| Edition | illustrated, reprint |
| Publisher | Wiley, 1991 |
| ISBN | 0631180281, 9780631180289 |
| Length | 316 pages |
| Subjects | › › Language Arts & Disciplines / General Language Arts & Disciplines / Linguistics / General |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |