The writing revolution
Subtitle: from cuneiform to the internet
By: by Amalia E. Gnanadesikan.
Series: The language library
Publisher: Blackwell; Wiley-Interscience; Wiley-Blackwell
Published: 2009
Place of publication: Malden, MA, USA; Oxford, UK
Language: eng
Number of pages: 336
ISBN-13: 9781405154062; 9781405154079
Subjects: Writing -- History; Alphabet -- History
Description: "In a world of rapid technological advancement, it is easy to forget that writing is the original information technology, created to transcend the limitations of human memory and to defy time and space. The Writing Revolution describes how this communication tool has conquered the world, making possible everything from complex bureaucracy, literature, and science, to instruction manuals and love letters." "The author deftly describe each of the world's major written traditions, tracing its origins, the way it captures the language(s) for which it is used, its applications and adaptations, and its cultural impact. From the first cuneiform clay tablet to the World Wide Web - by way of Egyptian hieroglyphs, Japanese syllabaries, and the printing press, among others - this book offers fascinating insight into the history of one of the world's greatest inventions."--Jacket.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: The first it revolution; title: Cuneiform: forgotten legacy of a forgotten people; title: Egyptian hieroglyphs and the quest for eternity; title: Chinese: a love of paperwork; title: Maya glyphs: calendars of kings; title: Linear B: the clerks of Agamemnon; title: Japanese: three scripts are better than one; title: Cherokee: Sequoyah reverse-engineers; title: The Semitic alphabet: Egypt to Manchuria in 3400 years; title: The empire of Sanskrit; title: King Sejong's one-man renaissance; title: Greek serendipity; title: The age of Latin; title: The alphabet meets the machine.