Inventing The Alphabet

Author : Johanna Drucker
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
Page : 387 pages
File Size : 44,6 Mb
Release : 2022-08-08
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9780226815800

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Inventing the Alphabet by Johanna Drucker Pdf

The first comprehensive intellectual history of alphabet studies. Inventing the Alphabet provides the first account of two-and-a-half millennia of scholarship on the alphabet. Drawing on decades of research, Johanna Drucker dives into sometimes obscure and esoteric references, dispelling myths and identifying a pantheon of little-known scholars who contributed to our modern understandings of the alphabet, one of the most important inventions in human history. Beginning with Biblical tales and accounts from antiquity, Drucker traces the transmission of ancient Greek thinking about the alphabet’s origin and debates about how Moses learned to read. The book moves through the centuries, finishing with contemporary concepts of the letters in alpha-numeric code used for global communication systems. Along the way, we learn about magical and angelic alphabets, antique inscriptions on coins and artifacts, and the comparative tables of scripts that continue through the development of modern fields of archaeology and paleography. This is the first book to chronicle the story of the intellectual history through which the alphabet has been “invented” as an object of scholarship.

Author : Carol Kim
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 32 pages
File Size : 50,7 Mb
Release : 2021
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN : 0807541613

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King Sejong Invents an Alphabet by Carol Kim Pdf

In 15th-century Korea, King Sejong was distressed. The complicated Chinese characters used for reading and writing meant only rich, educated people could read--and that was just the way they wanted it. But King Sejong thought all Koreans should be able to read and write, so he worked in secret for years to create a new Korean alphabet. King Sejong's strong leadership and determination to bring equality to his country make his 600-year-old story as relevant as ever.

Author : Johanna Drucker
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
Page : 387 pages
File Size : 51,5 Mb
Release : 2022-07-26
Category : History
ISBN : 9780226815817

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Inventing the Alphabet by Johanna Drucker Pdf

"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"--

Author : Johanna Drucker
Publisher : Thames & Hudson
Page : 324 pages
File Size : 50,7 Mb
Release : 1995
Category : Alphabet
ISBN : 0500280681

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The Alphabetic Labyrinth by Johanna Drucker Pdf

The letters of the alphabet have been the object of speculation since their invention. This book examines the many ways in which the letters of the alphabet have been assigned value in political, spiritual, or religious systems over two millennia.

Author : David Sacks
Publisher : Vintage Canada
Page : 415 pages
File Size : 49,8 Mb
Release : 2010-08-20
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9780307371034

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Letter Perfect by David Sacks Pdf

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.

Author : Charles V. Kraitsir
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 72 pages
File Size : 55,6 Mb
Release : 1846
Category : Alphabet
ISBN : UOM:39015006566593

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Significance of the Alphabet by Charles V. Kraitsir Pdf

Author : Ramon Sarró
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 219 pages
File Size : 44,6 Mb
Release : 2023-02-28
Category : History
ISBN : 9781009199452

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Inventing an African Alphabet by Ramon Sarró Pdf

In 1978, Congolese inventor David Wabeladio Payi (1958–2013) proposed a new writing system, called Mandombe. Since then, Mandombe has grown and now has thousands of learners in not only the Democratic Republic of Congo, but also France, Angola and many other countries. Drawing upon Ramon Sarró's personal friendship with Wabeladio, this book tells the story of Wabeladio, his alphabet and the creativity that both continue to inspire. A member of the Kimbanguist church, which began as an anticolonial movement in 1921, Wabeladio and his script were deeply influenced by spirituality and Kongo culture. Combining biography, art, and religion, Sarró explores a range of ideas, from the role of pilgrimage and landscape in Wabeladio's life, to the intricacies and logic of Mandombe. Sarró situates the creative individual within a rich context of anthropological, historical and philosophical scholarship, offering a new perspective on the relationships between imagination, innovation and revelation.

Author : Barry B. Powell
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 312 pages
File Size : 51,8 Mb
Release : 1996-10-28
Category : Foreign Language Study
ISBN : 052158907X

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Homer and the Origin of the Greek Alphabet by Barry B. Powell Pdf

A challenging and fascinating enquiry into the genesis of alphabetic writing.

Author : Mirela Ivanova
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 295 pages
File Size : 44,7 Mb
Release : 2024-02-08
Category : History
ISBN : 9780198891505

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Inventing Slavonic by Mirela Ivanova Pdf

In this meticulously researched study, Mirela Ivanova offers a new critical history of the invention of the Slavonic alphabet. Showing how the alphabet was not invented once, but rather continually contested and redefined in the century following its creation, Ivanova challenges the prevalent nationalist historiography that has built up around it.

Author : Leonard Shlain
Publisher : Penguin
Page : 500 pages
File Size : 50,9 Mb
Release : 1999-09-01
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 0140196013

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The Alphabet Versus the Goddess by Leonard Shlain Pdf

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.

Author : Amy Krouse Rosenthal
Publisher : Penguin
Page : 32 pages
File Size : 47,6 Mb
Release : 2011-05-12
Category : Juvenile Fiction
ISBN : 9781101650240

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Al Pha's Bet by Amy Krouse Rosenthal Pdf

Wonderful things are being invented every day in Al Pha's world-fire, the wheel, even shadows! His big chance to be part of history comes when the King announces that the twenty-six recently invented letters need to be put in order. Al makes a bet with himself that he's the man for the job. Through a series of funny events, he eventually finds the perfect order for the letters, and the king rewards him by naming his creation the "Alphabet." Sure to entertain and engage young readers, this book turns the ABC's inside out. Kids will laugh at the quirky illustrations and clever wordplay, while wondering where the alphabet really did get its order.

Author : Seth L. Sanders
Publisher : University of Illinois Press
Page : 281 pages
File Size : 40,5 Mb
Release : 2011
Category : Foreign Language Study
ISBN : 9780252078354

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The Invention of Hebrew by Seth L. Sanders Pdf

How choosing a language created a people

Author : William Joyce
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
Page : 56 pages
File Size : 41,7 Mb
Release : 2014-05-27
Category : Juvenile Fiction
ISBN : 9781442473461

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The Numberlys by William Joyce Pdf

From the team who brought you The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore comes an alphabet tale extraordinaire! Once upon a time there was no alphabet, only numbers… Life was…fine. Orderly. Dull as gray paint. Very…numberly. But our five jaunty heroes weren’t willing to accept that this was all there could be. They knew there had to be more. So they broke out hard hats and welders, hammers and glue guns, and they started knocking some numbers together. Removing a piece here. Adding a piece there. At first, it was awful. But the five kept at it, and soon it was…artful! One letter after another emerged, until there were twenty-six. Twenty-six letters—and they were beautiful. All colorful, shiny, and new. Exactly what our heroes didn’t even know they were missing. And when the letters entered the world, something truly wondrous began to happen…Pizza! Jelly beans! Color! Books! Based on the award-winning app, this is William Joyce and Moonbot’s Metropolis-inspired homage to everyone who knows there is more to life than shades of black and gray.

Author : Douglas Petrovich
Publisher : Hendrickson Academic
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 40,7 Mb
Release : 2016
Category : Alphabet
ISBN : 9652208841

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The World's Oldest Alphabet by Douglas Petrovich Pdf

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.

Author : Judith Valente
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 43,8 Mb
Release : 2008-11
Category : Poetry
ISBN : 0595521460

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Inventing an Alphabet by Judith Valente Pdf

Inventing an Alphabet was selected by Mary Oliver, as one of two co-winners of the 2004 Aldrich Poetry Prize. Oliver described Judith Valente's poetry as pointing to the "universe of the human mind." Offered "abundantly to metaphor," her poems embrace "an active and even frisky language" that engages us "in a kind of rickrack stroll, enjoying the fulsome ride toward summation." Several poems previously won individual prizes ("conjugating" was included in the Best Catholic Writing, 2004, and "Body and Soul" won the 2005 Jo-Anne Hirshfield Poetry Prize). Her writing has appeared in Afterhours, Folio, Tri-Quarterly, Rhino, and two anthologies.