Writing and Script
First published 2009 · 157 pages · about 3 hours to read
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About this book
Writing and Script is a short introduction to the history of writing, from the earliest marks made for record-keeping to the alphabets and syllabaries in use today. Andrew Robinson, a writer who has written several books on scripts and decipherment, covers how different writing systems work, how they spread, and how some were decoded after being lost. Readers come to it for a compact, non-specialist overview of a subject that is usually spread across many specialist books.
The book asks what writing is, how it began, and why people have developed so many different ways of making written language visible. It is written for readers with no background in linguistics or archaeology.
Summary written with AI from the book's details.
Will you like it?
Readers new to the history of writing will find a compact survey that needs no background in linguistics or archaeology. It covers the ancient scripts, the alphabet, and the decipherment of lost writing systems in plain, direct prose.
- history of writing
- scripts and sound
- decipherment
- the spread of literacy
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Quick answers
- What age is Writing and Script for?
- Adults.
- Does Writing and Script have violence, sex or strong language?
- Nothing a reader needs warning about.
Written with AI from what's known about the book.
Reader's guide
Themeshistory of writing, scripts and sound, decipherment, writing and power, the spread of literacy
history of writing · scripts and sound · decipherment · writing and power · the spread of literacy
StyleClear, plain expository prose in the format of the Very Short Introductions series. It is short, about 157 pages, organised by topic rather than by chronology alone, and has few technical demands on the reader.
Clear, plain expository prose in the format of the Very Short Introductions series. It is short, about 157 pages, organised by topic rather than by chronology alone, and has few technical demands on the reader.
How it was writtenPublished in 2009 by Oxford University Press as part of its Very Short Introductions series. Andrew Robinson is a British writer on scripts and decipherment whose other books include The Story of Writing.
Published in 2009 by Oxford University Press as part of its Very Short Introductions series. Andrew Robinson is a British writer on scripts and decipherment whose other books include The Story of Writing.
How it was receivedThe book is generally read as a concise introduction to the subject for students and general readers. Its value lies in its breadth in a small space rather than in new research.
The book is generally read as a concise introduction to the subject for students and general readers. Its value lies in its breadth in a small space rather than in new research.
Questions to discussWhy does the author treat writing as a technology rather than as a simple record of speech?
These may talk about the whole book.
- Why does the author treat writing as a technology rather than as a simple record of speech?
- How did the earliest writing systems differ in purpose from the scripts used for literature and religion later on?
- What does the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphs and Linear B show about how scripts can be recovered after they are lost?
- Does an alphabet make writing more accessible than a syllabary or a logographic system, and on what evidence?
- What is lost when a script falls out of use, and what can be learned from the scripts that remain unread?
Written with AI from what's known about the book.
More by Andrew Robinson
- IndiaIndia2014
- Cracking the Egyptian CodeCracking the Egyptian Code2012
- Sudden Genius?Sudden Genius?2010
- The Story of MeasurementThe Story of Measurement2007
- Last Man Who Knew EverythingLast Man Who Knew Everything2005
- EinsteinEinstein2005
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