Writing Systems: A Linguistic Approach (Blackwell Textbooks in Linguistics) [Paperback]

Henry Rogers (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0631234640 | ISBN-13: 978-0631234647 | Publication Date: July 12, 2004 | Edition: 1

Accessibly written, Writing Systems: A Linguistic Approach provides detailed coverage of all major writing systems of historical or structural significance with thorough discussion of structure, history, and social context as well as important theoretical issues. Discusses systems as diverse as Chinese, Greek, and Maya.

• Presents each system in light of four major aspects of writing: history and development, internal structure, the relationship of writing and language, and sociolinguistic aspects.
  
• Includes glossary of technical terms, extensive illustrations, exercises and further reading suggestions to aid in teaching from the book.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The author and publishers can be congratulated on an excellent work; if I were teaching a class on writing systems now, this would be my first choice as a textbook."
--William Bright, review in Written Language and Literacy

"This is an excellent comprehensive textbook for university courses on writing systems (grammatology), with enough preliminary remarks of a theoretical nature to enable the student to master the scripts from around the world, including cuneiform of various types, Semitic, Greek, Roman, etc. It is written in a clear style with a very good glossary and up-to-date bibliography."
--Alan S. Kaye, California State University, Fullerton

Book Description

Written in a clear and accessible style, Writing Systems: A Linguistic Approach provides detailed coverage of all major writing systems of historical or structural significance with thorough discussion of structure, history and social context as well as important theoretical issues. The book discusses systems as diverse as Chinese, Greek, and Maya. Each writing system is presented in light of four major aspects of writing: history and development, internal structure, the relationship of writing and language, and sociolinguistic factors.The volume is extensively illustrated and the glossary of technical terms, exercises and further reading suggestions that accompany each chapter make Writing Systems a valuable resource for students in linguistics and anthropology.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 344 pages
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell; 1 edition (July 12, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0631234640
• ISBN-13: 978-0631234647
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 1 x 9.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #386,019 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thorough!, May 25, 2007

By 

Anthony J. Bybell (Carrboro, NC United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Writing Systems: A Linguistic Approach (Blackwell Textbooks in Linguistics) (Paperback)

Practically everything you ever wanted to know about writing systems from a linguistic perspective is in this book. Pick a language; it's in there. I originally purchased this book for its coverage of Chinese script, but you'll get everything from Linear B to Cherokee.