The Alphabet Paperback / softback
by Sacks, David
Paperback / softback
Description
There is a story behind each letter of the alphabet.
Why is X the Unknown or shorthand for a kiss? Which letter came last, historically, in the alphabet? (J). How did a few squiggles, invented a thousand years ago to denote sounds of a now vanished Semitic language, survive to become our letters today?
While China and Japan rely mainly on scripts of ideograms, three-quarters of humanity uses some kind of alphabet.
Chinese writing requires 2000 basic symbols (but there's no language barrier), where an alphabet needs typically less than 30.
From A-Z, David Sacks provides answers to the most fascinating questions about the way we talk, write and think in a book which will also be illustrated graphically throughout - not just with variations of individual letters but with maps, charts and general narrative images.
Information
-
Item not Available
- Format:Paperback / softback
- Pages:416 pages
- Publisher:Cornerstone
- Publication Date:07/10/2004
- Category:
- ISBN:9780099436829
Information
-
Item not Available
- Format:Paperback / softback
- Pages:416 pages
- Publisher:Cornerstone
- Publication Date:07/10/2004
- Category:
- ISBN:9780099436829