The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Writing Systems by Florian Coulmas

The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Writing Systems by Florian Coulmas

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The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Writing Systems by Florian Coulmas

This is an encyclopedia of writing systems, scripts and orthographies of all the world's major languages, past and present. It provides both a fully illustrated description of over 400 writing systems and an account of the study of writing in many different disciplines, from anthropology to psychology. Entries in this encyclopedia describe how writing systems evolved, how they work, and how they differ from each other. They deal with technical aspects such as handwriting, printing, word processing; with practical problems of decipherment, alphabet making and spelling reform; and with theoretical questions such as the functions of writing and the typology of writing systems. Florian Coulmas starts from the view that writing reflects a process of linguistic analysis. Yet he ranges widely among different scientific disciplines. He draws on historical and paleographic research into fundamental structural options of representing language by means of a graphic code, on psychological investigation into the social conditions and consequences of literacy. Entries vary between short explanations of terms and concepts, brief accounts of individual writing systems and longer theoretical articles. The encyclopedia contains an exceptional array of visual examples and is supported by a comprehensive bibliography.
SKU Unavailable
ISBN 13 9780631194460
ISBN 10 0631194460
Title The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Writing Systems
Author Florian Coulmas
Condition Unavailable
Binding Type Hardback
Publisher John Wiley and Sons Ltd
Year published 1996-04-07
Number of pages 640
Cover note Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note Unavailable