Writing systems, alphabets, scripts Books
John Murray Press Alphabetical: How Every Letter Tells a Story
Book SynopsisFrom minding your Ps and Qs to wondering why X should mark the spot, Alphabetical is a book for everyone who loves words and language. Whether it's how letters are arranged on keyboards or Viking runes, textspeak or zip codes, this book will change the way you think about letters for ever. How on Earth did we fix upon our twenty-six letters, what do they really mean, and how did we come to write them down in the first place? Michael Rosen takes you on an unforgettable adventure through the history of the alphabet in twenty-six vivid chapters, fizzing with personal anecdotes and fascinating facts. Starting with the mysterious Phoenicians and how sounds first came to be written down, he races on to show how nonsense poems work, pins down the strange story of OK, traces our seven lost letters and tackles the tyranny of spelling, among many, many other things. His heroes of the alphabet range from Edward Lear to Phyllis Pearsall (the inventor of the A-Z), and from the two scribes of Beowulf to rappers. Each chapter takes on a different subject - codes, umlauts or the writing of dictionaries. Rosen's enthusiasm for letters positively leaps off the page, whether it's the story of his life told through the typewriters he's owned or a chapter on jokes written in a string of gags and word games. So if you ever wondered why Hawaiian only has a thirteen-letter alphabet or how exactly to write down the sound of a wild raspberry, read on . . .Trade Review[Michael Rosen's] beguiling journey through the alphabet will entrance anyone interested in the quirks of language and its history . . . Rosen has written a charming and thought-provoking book about what written language represents, how we use it, and the joys and mysteries therein. His humor and obvious love for his subject are winning elements * Publishers Weekly *Enjoyable history of the alphabet * The Times *Substantial and engaging * Guardian *Forget party crackers - when you settle down to the turkey and trimmings this year simply make sure you have this book to hand. There's even a chapter devoted to family friendly alphabet games: perfect for playing after the Queen's been on. That letters can and should be fun, not just functional, is one of the main messages of this book * Sunday Telegraph *The perfect book for anyone who relishes the intricacies of language and letters . . . [Rosen] reveals a gift for seamlessly meshing hard information, personal anecdote, jokes and puzzles with educational, cultural and linguistic questions and wry, pointed, observations . . . There are delights in this book for all ages * Australian *[Michael Rosen] gives each letter a neat CV . . . enjoyable * The Times *
£10.44
Medieval Institute Publications Early Drama, Art, and Music Documents: A
Book SynopsisThere are few experiences as discouraging to a researcher trained in art history, drama, music, folk arts, or social history as the first encounter with an original medieval or Renaissance document. Despite Satan's claim, there is little comfort in the company of others who are miserable, but it may be comforting to know that many untrained researchers have learned to read original documents without formal instruction or years of practice. While some of the skills of a professional paleographer—the ability to identify various transitional hands, localize regional variations, or date documents by their handwriting, for instance—do require considerable training, a researcher can learn on his or her own to make some sense of a manuscript with little help on the way letters were formed, on standard abbreviations and formulaic constructions, and on the sheer need to practice transcription. Wasson here provides the basic tools necessary to transcribe documents, without regard for the historical development of alphabets, letter forms, and the like. This manual will be of great interest to scholars of the arts in need of a guide for their journeys into the archives.Table of ContentsIntroductionDocuments and TranscriptsTranslations
£17.49
Authority Books, Inc. Actually Learn Arabic Letters Week 1: 'Aalif Through Dhaal
£11.19
Authority Books, Inc. Actually Learn Arabic Letters Week 3: FAA' Through Yaa'
£11.19
£14.98
Graffeg Limited Every Girl's Alphabet
Book SynopsisAdventurous, daring, curious, caring: there is something of every girl in this delightful alphabet character, who jumps for joy and keeps her feet on the ground. The affection visible in Luke Martineau''s fluid illustrations is matched by Kate Bingham''s tender, witty poem, written to appeal to adults and the puzzling younger mind alike. Every Boy''s Alphabet - 9781912654543.
£14.16
Fanton Publishers Failure Is Not The END It Is An Emotional Gym:
Book Synopsis
£7.32
Ifao Dechiffrements / Decipherments
Book Synopsis
£43.00
Kamiran Lokman Deutsche Grammatik auf Kurdisch A1
£19.60
£80.27
De Gruyter Writing Systems and Their Use: An Overview of
Book SynopsisGrapholinguistics, the multifaceted study of writing systems, is growing increasingly popular, yet to date no coherent account covering and connecting its major branches exists. This book now gives an overview of the core theoretical and empirical questions of this field. A treatment of the structure of writing systems—their relation to speech and language, their material features, linguistic functions, and norms, as well as the different types in which they come—is complemented by perspectives centring on the use of writing, incorporating psycholinguistic and sociolinguistic issues such as reading processes or orthographic variation as social action. Examples stem from a variety of diverse systems such as Chinese, English, Japanese, Arabic, Thai, German, and Korean, which allows defining concepts in a broadly applicable way and thereby constructing a comparative grapholinguistic framework that provides readers with important tools for studying any writing system. The book emphasizes that grapholinguistics is a discipline in its own right, inviting discussion and further research in this up-and-coming field as well as an overdue integration of writing into general linguistic discussion.
£103.50
De Gruyter Der Text und seine Kultur(en)
Book Synopsis
£32.85
Tuttle Publishing Japanese Made Easy: A situation-based guide
Book SynopsisJapanese Made Easy is a complete self-study guide that allows readers to begin using simple, everyday Japanese vocabulary and sentences from the first day!This handy resource features: Practical exercises to teach you the 30 most common Japanese sentence patterns Notes on the key points of Japanese grammar, sentence structure and vocabulary A detailed glossary of Japanese words and an index of vocabulary and grammar Sentences for everyday social situations encountered by visitors to Japan In this completely revised edition, vocabulary and sentences are shown in Japanese script, as well as romanized Japanese and English. This book includes many new dialogues, cultural notes, illustrations and updated vocabulary.
£11.69
Tuttle Publishing Tuttle Pocket Japanese Dictionary
Book SynopsisThis handy Japanese dictionary allows you to look up words quickly and easily and be understood while speaking. Intended for use by tourists, students, and business people traveling to Japan, the Pocket Japanese Dictionary is an essential tool for communicating in Japanese. It features all the essential Japanese vocabulary appropriate for beginning to intermediate speakers. Its handy pocket format and user-friendly, two-colour layout will make any future language class or trip to Japan much easier. All entries are in Romanized form as well as Japanese script (Kanji and Kana) so that, in case of difficulties, the book can simply be shown to the person the user is trying to communicate with. This dictionary includes the following key features: Over 18,000 words and expressions in the Japanese language. Japanese English and English Japanese sections. Fully updated with recent vocabulary and commonly used Japanese slang. Clear, user-friendly layout with headwords in blue. Romanized script and Japanese script (hiragana and katakana) and characters (kanji) for every entry. Other books from this best-selling series you might enjoy include: Pocket Korean Dictionary, Pocket Vietnamese Dictionary, Pocket Mandarin Chinese Dictionary, and Pocket Cantonese Dictionary.
£8.54
Tuttle Publishing Japanese Genkouyoushi Character Writing Workbook:
Book SynopsisLearn to write Japanese the traditional way!This is the ideal workbook to use when learning to write Japanese in the traditional Genkouyoushi manner using vertical boxes. It includes a complete introduction to all 92 hiragana and katakana letters as well as the basic kanji needed for the AP and JLPT tests. The main body of the workbook has over 100 pages of blank vertical grids for handwriting practice as well as lined pages for notes. It also includes several pages of guided Audio Recordings handwriting exercises for the hiragana and katakana letters and 35 essential kanji characters, long with a list of vocabulary commonly appearing on Japanese language proficiency tests. Free online audio recordings by native Japanese speakers help you practice the pronunciations of all the letters and words in the book.
£7.59
Tuttle Publishing Japanese Vocabulary Flash Cards Kit
Book Synopsis
£16.19
Uitgeverij An Anthology of Asemic Handwriting
£18.00
Kapon Editions Transcribing the Linear B and Linear A Signs: Not
Book Synopsis
£31.20
Kapon Editions Linear B Glossary: Not Sold Separately (See
Book Synopsis
£34.50
Kapon Editions Linear B: A New Outlook: Not Sold Separately (See
Book Synopsis
£34.50
Carta Jerusalem The National Hebrew Script Up to the Bab
Book Synopsis
£66.74
![Arabic Calligraphy Made Easy for the Madinah [Medinah] Arabic Course for Children](//bookcurl.com/cdn/shop/files/9789670428079.jpg?v=1758730674&width=645)
£10.90
![Arabic Calligraphy Made Easy for the Madinah [Medinah] Arabic Course for Children](http://bookcurl.com/cdn/shop/files/9789670428079.jpg?v=1758730674&width=645)