Research Catalog

The Blackwell encyclopedia of writing systems

Title: The Blackwell encyclopedia of writing systems / Florian Coulmas.
Author: Coulmas, Florian.
Publication: Oxford, OX, UK ; Cambridge, Mass., USA : Blackwell Publishers, ©1996.

Filter by

Item details
Status	Format	Access	Call Number	Item Location
Request for On-site Use Request Scan How do I pick up this item and when will it be ready?	Text	Use in library	Z40 .C67 1995	Off-site

Description

xxviii, 603 pages : illustrations; 25 cm

Summary

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. The entries deal with technical aspects such as handwriting, printing, and 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 the fundamental structural options of representing language by means of a graphic code, on psychological investigation into the cognitive processing of texts, and on sociological and educational inquiry 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.

Alternative Title

Encyclopedia of writing systems

Subjects

Genre/Form

Bibliography (note)

ISBN

LCCN

94047460

OCLC

Owning Institutions

Princeton University Library