Download or read book Inventing the Alphabet written by Johanna Drucker and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2022-07-26 with total page 387 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Though there are many books about the history of the alphabet, virtually none address how that history came to be. In Inventing the Alphabet, Johanna Drucker guides readers from antiquity to the present to show how humans have shaped and reshaped their own understanding of this transformative writing tool. From ancient beliefs in the alphabet as a divine gift to growing awareness of its empirical origins through the study of scripts and inscriptions, Drucker describes the frameworks-classical, textual, biblical, graphical, antiquarian, archaeological, paleographic, and political-within which the alphabet's history has been and continues to be constructed. Drucker's book begins in ancient Greece, with the earliest writings on the alphabet's origins. She then explores biblical sources on the topic and medieval preoccupations with the magical properties of individual letters. She later delves into the development of modern archaeological and paleographic tools, and she concludes with the role of alphabetic characters in the digital era. Throughout, she argues that, as a shared form of knowledge technology integrated into every aspect of our lives, the alphabet performs complex cultural, ideological, and technical functions, and her carefully curated selection of images demonstrates how closely the letters we use today still resemble their original appearance millennia ago"--
Download or read book Ox House Stick written by Don Robb and published by Charlesbridge Publishing. This book was released on 2007 with total page 51 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: See how the Roman alphabet began and how it has changed through the years.
Download or read book A Place for Everything written by Judith Flanders and published by Basic Books. This book was released on 2020-10-20 with total page 364 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From a New York Times-bestselling historian comes the story of how the alphabet ordered our world. A Place for Everything is the first-ever history of alphabetization, from the Library of Alexandria to Wikipedia. The story of alphabetical order has been shaped by some of history's most compelling characters, such as industrious and enthusiastic early adopter Samuel Pepys and dedicated alphabet champion Denis Diderot. But though even George Washington was a proponent, many others stuck to older forms of classification -- Yale listed its students by their family's social status until 1886. And yet, while the order of the alphabet now rules -- libraries, phone books, reference books, even the order of entry for the teams at the Olympic Games -- it has remained curiously invisible. With abundant inquisitiveness and wry humor, historian Judith Flanders traces the triumph of alphabetical order and offers a compendium of Western knowledge, from A to Z. A Times (UK) Best Book of 2020
Download or read book Homer and the Origin of the Greek Alphabet written by Barry B. Powell and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1996-10-28 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A challenging and fascinating enquiry into the genesis of alphabetic writing.
Download or read book History of the Alphabet written by Teresa Wald and published by . This book was released on 2016-05-16 with total page 36 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This fascinating book offers a complete visual of the Egyptian, Semite, Phoenician, Greek, Roman and Cursive alphabets. In the easy-to-follow format of this book, you will witness the emergence of the alphabet and visually see its evolution all the way to the letters used to write today, in both print and cursive throughout the ages!
Download or read book Letter Perfect written by David Sacks and published by Vintage Canada. This book was released on 2010-08-20 with total page 415 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Letters are tangible language. Joining together in endless combinations to actually show speech, letters convey our messages and tell our stories. While we encounter these tiny shapes hundreds of times a day, we take for granted the long, fascinating history behind one of the most fundamental of human inventions -- the alphabet. The heart of the book is the 26 fact-filled “biographies” of letters A through Z, each one identifying the letter’s particular significance for modern readers, tracing its development from ancient forms, and discussing its noteworthy role in literature and other media. We learn, for example, why the letter X has a sinister and sexual aura, how B came to signify second best, why the word “mother” in many languages starts with M, and what is the story of O. Packed with information and lavishly illustrated, Letter Perfect is not only accessible and entertaining, but essential to the appreciation of our own language.
Download or read book Alphabet written by Allan Haley and published by . This book was released on 1995 with total page 140 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "In Alphabet, noted author and typographer Allan Haley presents a lively overview of the history and graphic evolution of the Latin alphabet. Within the context of how ancient writing systems dramatically influenced the societies that conceived and adopted them, Haley examines the development of each character from a simple image representing a word or concept to an elegant graphic symbol signifying an individual sound. Haley then explores how the expressive wealth of contemporary type design reflects the complex history of each letterform. Fascinating accounts of the design development of the ampersand, the Arabic numerals, and punctuation are also included."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Download or read book Early History of the Alphabet written by Joseph Naveh and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 222 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Mysteries of the Alphabet written by Marc-Alain Ouaknin and published by . This book was released on 1999 with total page 392 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Traces the origins of the alphabet beginning with the first pictograms of 5,000 years ago, describing the changes the alphabet has gone through in different countries and cultures.
Download or read book Significance of the Alphabet written by Charles V. Kraitsir and published by . This book was released on 1846 with total page 72 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Early Alphabet written by John F. Healey and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 1990-01-01 with total page 68 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 00 In this generously illustrated book, John Healey outlines the basic principles of the early alphabet and describes the first attempts at alphabetic writing in the Semitic languages. In this generously illustrated book, John Healey outlines the basic principles of the early alphabet and describes the first attempts at alphabetic writing in the Semitic languages.
Download or read book The Alphabet Versus the Goddess written by Leonard Shlain and published by Penguin. This book was released on 1999-09-01 with total page 500 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This groundbreaking book proposes that the rise of alphabetic literacy reconfigured the human brain and brought about profound changes in history, religion, and gender relations. Making remarkable connections across brain function, myth, and anthropology, Dr. Shlain shows why pre-literate cultures were principally informed by holistic, right-brain modes that venerated the Goddess, images, and feminine values. Writing drove cultures toward linear left-brain thinking and this shift upset the balance between men and women, initiating the decline of the feminine and ushering in patriarchal rule. Examining the cultures of the Israelites, Greeks, Christians, and Muslims, Shlain reinterprets ancient myths and parables in light of his theory. Provocative and inspiring, this book is a paradigm-shattering work that will transform your view of history and the mind.
Download or read book The Alphabet written by Isaac Taylor and published by . This book was released on 1883 with total page 426 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Art in the Alphabet written by Lewis F. Day and published by Courier Dover Publications. This book was released on 2016-09-21 with total page 291 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This grand compilation presents more than 250 depictions of the alphabet's changing forms, from handsome Roman letters cut in marble and delicate English courthand to sixteenth-century Greek initials and modern styles inspired by Gothic, Japanese, and other forms of writing. In addition to its intriguing survey of historical trends, this book also offers richly illustrated reflections on the artistic ability involved in rendering the alphabet. An introductory essay traces the evolution of the English alphabet, followed by a wealth of old alphabets arranged in order of date. Among the selection of modern alphabets are samples that offer evidence of how the surface — wood, stone, leather, mosaic — and the writing instrument — chisel, needle, brush, stylus, pen — can affect the character of the lettering. An assortment of ampersands and numerals concludes the volume, along with an index of illustrations arranged by artist, country, material and process, and style. Artists, graphic artists, historians, and anyone with an interest in calligraphy will appreciate the historic sweep and artistic range of this treasury of lettering.
Download or read book The Korean Alphabet written by Young-Key Kim-Renaud and published by University of Hawaii Press. This book was released on 1997 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A collection of ten essays which cover topics such as: arguments for King Sejong's personal creation of the script; the Asian and domestic linguistic and socio-cultural background to its creation; the principles under which each symbol was created; and the structure of phonological units.
Download or read book The World s Oldest Alphabet written by Douglas Petrovich and published by Hendrickson Academic. This book was released on 2016 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For about 150 years, scholars have attempted to identify the language of the world's first alphabetic script, and to translate some of the inscriptions that use it. Until now, their attempts have accomplished little more than identifying most of the pictographic letters and translating a few of the Semitic words. With the publication of The World's Oldest Alphabet, a new day has dawned. All of the disputed letters have been resolved, while the language has been identified conclusively as Hebrew, allowing for the translation of 16 inscriptions that date from 1842 to 1446 BC. It is the author's reading that these inscriptions expressly name three biblical figures (Asenath, Ahisamach, and Moses) and greatly illuminate the earliest Israelite history in a way that no other book has achieved, apart from the Bible.
Download or read book The Origin and Progress of Letters written by William Massey and published by . This book was released on 1763 with total page 386 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
