A fun and helpful resource for anyone interested in learning some Thai--whether you're 5 or 100! This picture dictionary covers the 1,500 most useful Thai words and phrases. Each word and sentence is given using Thai script--with a Romanized version to help you pronounce it correctly--along with the English meaning. The words are grouped into 40 different themes or topics, including basics, like meeting someone new and using public transportation, to culture-specific topics, like celebrating Thai holidays and eating Thai food. This colorful picture dictionary includes: Over 750 color photographs 1,500 culture-specific Thai words and phrases 38 different topics--from social media and counting to Thai food and holidays Example sentences showing how the words are used Free online audio recordings by native Thai speakers of all the vocabulary and sentences to download or stream An introduction to Thai pronunciation and grammar A bidirectional index to allow you to quickly look up words Thai Picture Dictionary makes language learning more fun than traditional phrasebooks. This resource is perfect for beginners of all ages--curious kids, visual learners and future travelers to Thailand.

The most enjoyable way to learn about an unfamiliar culture is through its stories--especially when they're told in two languages! Korean Stories for Language Learners introduces 42 traditional Korean folktales with bilingual Korean and English versions, presented on facing pages, together with detailed notes and exercises aimed at beginning learners of the language. The book can be used as a reader in first- and second-year Korean language courses or by anyone who wishes to learn about Korean folktales and traditional Korean culture. This elegantly illustrated volume is designed to help language learners expand their vocabulary and to develop a basic familiarity with Korean culture. The stories gradually increase in length and complexity throughout the book as the reader improves their vocabulary and understanding of the language. After the first few stories, the reader is asked to use the vocabulary in speaking and writing exercises. By reading these classic stories, they also are given a window into Korean culture and learn to appreciate the uniqueness of the country--which provides greater motivation to continue learning the difficult language. Cultural notes and discussion questions further reinforce one's understanding of the stories, and bolster one's language skills. Korean-English and English-Korean glossaries are included as well as an overview of the Korean Hangeul script. Online audio recordings by native speakers help readers improve their pronunciation and inflection, and can be accessed at tuttlepublishing.com/downloadable-content.

This book provides an introduction to the Meroitic language and writing system, which was used between circa 300 BC and 400 AD in the kingdom of Meroe, located in what is now Sudan and Egyptian Nubia. This book details advances in the understanding of Meroitic, a language that until recently was considered untranslatable. In addition to providing a full history of the script and an analysis of the phonology, grammar, and linguistic affiliation of the language it features: linguistic analyses for those working on Nilo-Saharan comparative linguistics, paleographic tables useful to archeologists for dating purposes, and an overview of texts that can be translated or understood by way of analogy for those working on Nubian religion, history, and archaeology.

First published in 1881, The Six Scripts; or, The Principles of Chinese Writing was an English translation by L. C. Hopkins (1854-1952) of Tai T'ung's Liu Shu Ku. Following Hopkins' death, a facsimile of the original translation was printed in 1954 by the Cambridge University Press, together with a memoir of the translator's life by W. Perceval Yetts and corrections and additions to the text. It is that version which is reissued here.

Essential Thai Phrasebook & Dictionary presents the practical language of everyday interactions, conveyed in a way that's clear, concise, accessible and enjoyable. It includes the simple sentences used when meeting people, starting conversations, and asking and replying to questions, as well as a basic grammar and pronunciation guide to help you start speaking Thai right away. Terms and phrases covering mobile phones, wireless, and social media help you make the most of the language. In addition, sentences on the essentials of travel help visitors navigate the basics of arranging accommodations, dining out, dealing with transportation and emergencies, and more. Essential Thai Phrasebook & Dictionary includes: Over 1,500 essential sentences for everyday use A glossary containing over 2,000 terms and expressions A handy format for finding the information you need quickly and easily Latest Thai vocabulary and phrases for smartphones, social media and more In this book you'll find: Essential Thai expressions for meeting people, asking and answering simple questions, and starting up friendly conversations A pronunciation guide and grammar notes explaining the basic sounds and sentence patterns of the language New manga illustrations showing key phrases and situations Phrases for technology, WiFi, smartphones and social media A useful English-Thai dictionary so the right word and phrase is always at your fingertips! Travel tips, cultural notes and more--allowing you to interact with Thai speakers without making serious blunders. Whether you're a total beginner or have some experience with the language, this is a reference you'll turn to again and again when visiting Thailand and interacting with Thai speakers.

The field of text technologies is a capacious analytical framework that focuses on all textual records throughout human history, from the earliest periods of traceable communication—perhaps as early as 60,000 BCE—to the present day. At its core, it examines the material history of communication: what constitutes a text, the purposes for which it is intended, how it functions, and the social ends that it serves. This coursebook can be used to support any pedagogical or research activities in text technologies, the history of the book, the history of information, and textually based work in the digital humanities. Through careful explanations of the field, examinations of terminology and themes, and illustrated case studies of diverse texts—from the Cyrus cylinder to the Eagles' "Hotel California"—Elaine Treharne and Claude Willan offer a clear yet nuanced overview of how humans convey meaning. Text Technologies will enable students and teachers to generate multiple lines of inquiry into how communication—its production, form and materiality, and reception—is crucial to any interpretation of culture, history, and society.

Mini Japanese Dictionary is the most up-to-date Japanese pocket dictionary available. This dictionary is completely up-to-date with the latest vocabulary for IT, smartphones and social media. It is the perfect dictionary to take with you when you travel to Japan for any reason. This powerful pocket reference contains the following essential features: Bidirectional English-Japanese and Japanese-English sections Covering over 13,000 essential words, idioms, and expressions Japanese words given in Romanized and native script for easy pronunciation Latest computer, Internet, smartphone, and social media terms Whether you need a travel size dictionary for your trip to Japan or are learning the Japanese language in a formal setting, this mini dictionary is an essential resource.

This is the first Dictionary of English Manuscript Terminology ever to be published. Dealing with the subject of documentation - which affects everyone's lives (from every-day letters, notes, and shopping lists to far-reaching legal instruments, if not autograph literary masterpieces) - Peter Beal defines, in a lively and accessible style, some 1,500 terms relating to manuscripts and their production and use in Britain from 1450 to the present day. The entries, which range in length from one line to nearly a hundred lines each, cover terms defining types of manuscript, their physical features and materials, writing implements, writing surfaces, scribes and other writing agents, scripts, postal markings, and seals, as well as subjects relating to literature, bibliography, archives, palaeography, the editing and printing of manuscripts, dating, conservation, and such fields as cartography, commerce, heraldry, law, and military and naval matters. The book includes 96 illustrations showing many of the features described.

The modern rediscovery of the Greek and Latin papyri from Egypt has transformed our knowledge of the ancient world. We cannot, however, make the same claim in the specific area of language study. Although important studies of the language of the papyri have appeared sporadically over the past century, we are still dealing today with a linguistic resource of extraordinary richness which has hardly begun to be explored. Every scrap of papyrus and every ostracon (potsherd) or tablet unearthed has the potential to change some aspect of the way we think about the Greek and Latin languages. This book demonstrate that potential, by gathering together essays from seventeen scholars who present a variety of perspectives and methodological approaches. The Language of the Papyri charts current directions of international research, and will also provide a stimulus for future work.

An important aspect of the analysis of written language is to explain its relationship to spoken language. The volume focuses on how morphology influences forms of spelling. It brings together 8 papers, including a review of the historical development of German and Dutch orthography, a paper about the possibilities for marking morphological structure that exist in German spelling, and about the effects of such marking on the process of reading.

As the political, economic, and cultural center of Choson Korea, eighteenth-century Seoul epitomized a society in flux: It was a bustling, worldly metropolis into which things and people from all over the country flowed. In this book, Si Nae Park examines how the culture of Choson Seoul gave rise to a new vernacular narrative form that was evocative of the spoken and written Korean language of the time. The vernacular story (yadam) flourished in the nineteenth century as anonymously and unofficially circulating tales by and for Choson people. The Korean Vernacular Story focuses on the formative role that the collection Repeatedly Recited Stories of the East (Tongp'ae naksong) played in shaping yadam, analyzing the collection's language and composition and tracing its reception and circulation. Park situates its compiler, No Myonghum, in Seoul's cultural scene, examining how he developed a sense of belonging in the course of transforming from a poor provincial scholar to an urbane literary figure. No wrote his tales to serve as stories of contemporary Choson society and chose to write not in cosmopolitan Literary Sinitic but instead in a new medium in which Literary Sinitic is hybridized with the vernacular realities of Choson society. Park contends that this linguistic innovation to represent tales of contemporary Choson inspired readers not only to circulate No's works but also to emulate and cannibalize his stylistic experimentation within Choson's manuscript-heavy culture of texts. The first book in English on the origins of yadam, The Korean Vernacular Story combines historical insight, textual studies, and the history of the book. By highlighting the role of negotiation with Literary Sinitic and sinographic writing, it challenges the script (han'gul)-focused understanding of Korean language and literature.

In Mittani Palaeography, Zenobia Homan analyses cuneiform writing from the Late Bronze Age Mittani state, which was situated in the region between modern Aleppo, Erbil and Diyarbakir. The ancient communication network reveals a story of local scribal tradition blended with regional adaptation and international political change, reflecting the ways in which written knowledge travelled within the cuneiform culture of the Middle East. Mittani signs, their forms, and variants, are described and defined in detail utilising a large digital database and discussed in relation to other regional corpora (Assyro-Mittanian, Middle Assyrian, Nuzi and Tigunanum among others). The collected data indicate that Mittanian was comparatively standardised - an innovation for the period - signifying the existence of a centralised system of scribal training.

If you think you know your alphabet, think again. Drawing from mythology, cosmology, history, the Bible, literature, and esoteric and conventional sources, this book takes the reader on a tour of each of the twenty-six letters of the Roman alphabet. In chapters that are descriptive, illustrative and diverse, we are shown the history and development of every letter, how its shape evolved, how its characteristics were encoded, and how its history, attributes, and meanings were reflected in myth, literature, science and religion. Rich in surprises and serendipities, profusely illustrated with related drawings from ancient scripts to present-day digitised computer alphabets, and quoting sources as diverse as James Joyce, Rabelais, Dostoevsky, Mark Twain, Elmer Fudd and Bob Dylan, "The Alphabet" is a book for all those who know their abcs, but perhaps not as well as they imagined.

Professor Beach's book on female scribes in twelfth-century Bavaria - a full-length study of the role of women copyists in the Middle Ages - is underpinned by the notion that the scriptorium was central to the intellectual revival of the Middle Ages and that women played a role in this renaissance. The author examines the exceptional quantity of evidence of female scribal activity in three different religious communities, pointing out the various ways in which the women worked - alone, with other women, and even alongside men - to produce books for monastic libraries, and discussing why their work should have been made visible, whereas that of other female scribes remains invisible. Beach's focus on manuscript production, and the religious, intellectual, social and economic factors which shaped that production, enables her to draw wide-ranging conclusions of interest not only to palaeographers but also to those interested in reading, literacy, religion and gender history.

English is increasingly becoming the world's lingua franca. If we are not native speakers of one of the many varieties of English, then we may be students of English, or use English regularly for academic or business purposes. The English Language series, which is international in focus, aims to synthesize the wealth of existing linguistic research both on and in English. Each volume in the series is designed to present these findings in an accessible, enlightening and entertaining way not only to students of English linguistics but to learners and users of English across the globe. The English Writing System describes how writing is not simply ancillary to other aspects of language but vitally important to almost everything we do, from signing our wills to sending a text message. This book discusses the mechanics of the writing systems of English; the different ways people process words on a page and the mistakes they can make; how children and second language learners acquire these systems; the historical development of the language and the progress of writing technology: in short, the effectiveness of the writing systems of English. Combining an academic perspective from linguistics and psychology with insights into everyday spelling mistakes, The English Writing System will interest students and teachers of linguistics, literature, the English language, psychology and education.

Anu Garg's many readers await their A Word A Day rations hungrily. Now at last here's a feast for them and other verbivores. Eat up
-Barbara Wallraff
Senior Editor at The Atlantic Monthly and author of Word Court
Praise for A Word a Day
""AWADies will be familiar with Anu Garg's refreshing approach to words: words are fun and they have fascinating histories. The people who use them have curious stories to tell too, and this collection incorporates some of the correspondence received by the editors at the AWAD site, from advice on how to outsmart your opponent in a duel (or even a truel) to a cluster of your favorite mondegreens.""
-John Simpson, Chief Editor, Oxford English Dictionary
""A banquet of words Feast and be nourished ""
-Richard Lederer, author of The Miracle of Language
Written by the founder of the wildly popular A Word A Day Web site (www.wordsmith.org), this collection of unusual, obscure, and exotic English words will delight writers, scholars, crossword puzzlers, and word buffs of every ilk. The words are grouped in intriguing categories that range from ""Portmanteaux"" to ""Words That Make the Spell-Checker Ineffective."" each entry includes a concise definition, etymology, and usage example-and many feature fascinating and hilarious commentaries by A Word A Day subscribers and the authors.

Collection of 277 litle-known medieval manuscripts, second only in number to Durham; special strengths are scholastic theology, biblical studies and sermons 13c-15c, and early music. Worcester Cathedral Library contains 277 medieval manuscripts, the largest number of any English cathedral except Durham. Most of them belonged to the pre-Reformation Cathedral Priory and date between the eleventh and late fifteenth centuries. The collection has never been adequately catalogued before, and is consequently little known; much of the contents of the books, their physical features and history, is here described for the first time. The libraryis rich in late medieval theology and sermon-literature. Many of the books are important because of their connections with Oxford University, and constitute a valuable source for the history of studies there after c.1300. The Worcester monks tended to annotate and write their names in their books, and some seventy of them are identified. Great treasures are the Worcester Antiphoner, and the fragments of early polyphonic music, some newly-discovered and described for the first time. About half the books are in their medieval bindings, including the second-oldest intact Anglo-Saxon binding. These are described individually, and the history of binding at the Cathedral Priory traced, by Michael Gullick. The rest of the Introduction is devoted to the history of the books and library to the early 1600s. There are indexes of incipits and of manuscripts other than those catalogued, as well as a general index.R.M. THOMSON is Emeritus Professor of History, University of Tasmania; MICHAEL GULLICK..Other Cathedral library catalogues; Catalogue of the Manuscripts of Hereford Cathedral Library and Catalogue of the Manuscripts of Lincoln Cathedral Chapter Library.

The scholarship and teaching of manuscript studies has been transformed by digitisation, rendering previously rarefied documents accessible for study on a vast scale. The Cambridge Companion to Medieval British Manuscripts orientates students in the complex, multidisciplinary study of medieval book production and contemporary display of manuscripts from c.600-1500. Accessible explanations draw on key case studies to illustrate the major methodologies and explain why skills in understanding early book production are so critical for reading, editing, and accessing a rich cultural heritage. Chapters by leading specialists in manuscript studies range from explaining how manuscripts were stored, to revealing the complex networks of readers and writers which can be understood through manuscripts, to an in depth discussion on the Wycliffite Bible.

Most of what we know about writing in a second or foreign language (L2) is based on conclusions drawn from research on L2 writing in English. However, a significant quantity of L2 writing and writing instruction takes place in languages other than English and so there is a need for studies that look beyond English. The chapters in this book focus on languages other than English and investigate curricular issues, multiple languages in contact/conflict in L2 writing instruction and student attitudes toward pedagogical practices. The collection as a whole makes a valuable contribution to the study of L2 writing, and it will also prove an essential resource for instructors of second and foreign language writing.

Learn over 2,000 Japanese Kanji characters with this user-friendly Japanese language-learning book. This unique Kanji study guide provides a comprehensive introduction to all the Kanji characters on the Japanese Ministry of Education's official Joyo ("General Use") list--providing detailed notes on the historical development of each character as well as all information needed by students to read and write them. As fascinating as it is useful, this is the book every Japanese language learners keeps on his or her desk and visits over and over. This Kanji book includes: Clear, large-sized entries All of the General Use Joyo Kanji Characters Japanese readings and English meanings Stroke-count Stroke order Usage examples Mnemonic hints for easy memorization The components which make up each character are detailed, and the Kanji are graded in difficulty according to Ministry of Education guidelines, allowing students to prioritize the order in which the Kanji are learned and track their progress. This book is essential to anyone who is planning to take the official Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) and will appeal to beginning students as well as those who wish to attain higher-level mastery of the Japanese language. It is the only book that also provides historical and etymological information about the Japanese Kanji. This latest edition has been updated to include all of the 2,136 Kanji on the expanded Joyo list issued by the Japanese government in 2010. Many entries have been revised to include the most recent research on character etymologies.

Collected Studies CS1070 The present book collects 31 articles that Jacques van der Vliet, a leading scholar in the field of Coptic Studies (Leiden University / Radboud University, Nijmegen), has published since 1999 on Christian inscriptions from Egypt and Nubia. These inscriptions are dated between the third/fourth and the fourteenth centuries, and are often written in Coptic and/or Greek, once in Latin, and sometimes (partly) in Arabic, Syriac or Old Nubian. They include inscriptions on tomb stones, walls of religious buildings, tools, vessels, furniture, amulets and even texts on luxury garments. Whereas earlier scholars in the field of Coptic Studies often focused on either Coptic or Greek, Van der Vliet argues that inscriptions in different languages that appear in the same space or on the same kind of objects should be examined together. In addition, he aims to combine the information from documentary texts, archaeological remains and inscriptions, in order to reconstruct the economic, social and religious life of monastic or civil communities. He practiced this methodology in his studies on the Fayum, Wadi al-Natrun, Sohag, Western Thebes and the region of Aswan and Northern Nubia, which are all included in this book.

This book provides a complete course for beginning students who want to learn the Katakana alphabet! With plentiful writing and reading practice, this workbook starts with the basic letters and works up to writing words and complete sentences. Divided into two parts, the first part presents the 46 main Katakana letters in their full and contracted forms, with extensive writing spaces provided for writing practice. Recognition and pronunciation of the letters are reinforced through writing and listening exercises. In the second half of the book, students can apply their knowledge of Katakana in a Writing Practice section that contains sentences related to contexts in which Katakana words are often used, such as food and drinks, social media and tourism. Exercises are graded in difficulty from Writing Drills (from copying to writing from memory) to Dictation Practice (connecting the sounds with the letters) to Writing Exercises (writing answers that fit the situations given). Features of this language workbook include: A thorough overview of the Japanese writing system, explaining when and how Katakana is used Handwriting and stroke-order tips along with extensive writing practice sheets Online audio recordings speed up the process by reinforcing the pronunciation of the letters through a wide variety of listening and writing exercises Mnemonic illustrations for every character Printable flashcards available online for download The Japanese writing system combines three types of letters: hiragana, katakana, and kanji. Katakana is used for transcription of foreign language words into Japanese; in the writing of loan words; for emphasis; to represent onomatopoeia; for technical and scientific terms; for names of plants, animals, minerals and often Japanese companies.

A vivid and superbly written account of the unravelling of one of the great intellectual puzzles, set against the backdop of Europe in the Napoleonic era. When Napoleon invaded Egypt in 1798, his troops were astonished to discover ancient temples, tombs and statues, all covered with hieroglyphs - the last remnants of an unreadable script and a language lost in time. On their return Egyptomania spread rapidly and the quest to decipher hieroglyphs began in earnest. Jean-Francois Champollion was obsessed with ancient languages from a very young age, and once he heard of the unreadable ancient Egyptian text he had found the challenge to which he would dedicate his life: the decipherment of hieroglyphs. Despite poverty he made gradual progress, although he had to fight against jealous enemies, both professional and political, every step of the way - a dangerous task when in post-Revolutionary France a slip of the tongue could mean ruin, exile or even death. Failure threatened, as he was only one of many attempting to read the hieroglyphs, and his main rival, the English Thomas Young, claimed that decipherment was imminent, but Champollion refused to be distracted and finally, in 1822, he made the decisive breakthrough: he was the first person able to read the ancient Egyptian language in well over a thousand years.

Ever wished for a resource to look up Chinese characters from their shape alone? Mandarin Chinese Characters Fast Finder is a study aid that lets you look up Chinese characters quickly and intuitively from their appearance alone, without knowing their pronunciation, radical or stroke count. This reference book has been designed for dedicated learners of Chinese, as well as general readers with interest in the written Chinese language. Mandarin Chinese Characters Fast Finder features: A thumb-index allowing rapid access to all of the characters by shape rather than etymological radical Clear and easy-to-read layout to facilitate speedy scanning Covers 3,200 characters, including those prescribed for all levels of the HSK Proficiency test Comprehensive information for each character, including: traditional forms, pronunciation, core English meaning, radical, stroke count, HSK grade

This is a study of the books of Salisbury Cathedral, and their scribes, in the late eleventh and early twelfth centuries. These manuscripts form the largest collection to have survived from any English centre in the period following the Norman Conquest, and they bear witness to the energetic scribal and scholarly activities of a community of intelligent and able men. Teresa Webber traces the interests and activities of the canons of Salisbury Cathedral from the evidence of their books. She reveals to us a lively Anglo-Norman centre of scholarship and religious devotion. This is a scholarly and original study, which combines detailed palaeographic research with an intelligent understanding of medieval cultural and intellectual life. It is a distinguished contribution to medieval studies.