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"Oceanic Voices - European Quills" celebrates the linguistic
historiography of two Oceanic poles. The northwest Pacific's
Chamorro of Guam and the Northern Marianas was the first (16th
century), and the southeast Pacific's Rapanui of Easter Island one
of the last (19th century) of the Austronesian tongues to inspire
linguistic investigation within greater Oceania. These pioneering
efforts are honored in nine articles which document, translate,
chronicle, describe and analyze the earliest relics from these two
island cultures. This collection of articles reveals fundamental
insights not only into earlier stages of both Chamorro and Rapanui
but also into the very discipline of linguistic historiography in
one of Earth's humanly richest and most fascinating regions.
"Oceanic Voices - European Quills" wirft ein Schlaglicht auf die
Geschichte der Sprachwissenschaft an zwei ozeanischen Extremen. Das
im nordwestlichen Pazifik gesprochene Chamorro Guams und der
Nordlichen Marianen hat als erste austronesische Sprache das
Interesse der Sprachforschung gefunden (16. Jhdt.), wahrend das auf
der Osterinsel im sudostlichen Pazifik gesprochene Rapanui einer
der Nachzugler ist (19. Jhdt.). Im vorliegenden Band werden die
Pionierarbeiten zu beiden Sprachen in neun Artikeln gewurdigt, die
die fruhesten europaischen Sichtungen dieser beiden Inselkulturen
dokumentieren, ubersetzen, beschreiben und analysieren. Es werden
grundlegende Einsichten nicht nur in die fruhen Stadien des
Chamorro und des Rapanui vermittelt, sondern auch in die Disziplin
der Historiographie der Sprachwissenschaft in einer der kulturell
reichsten und faszinierendsten Regionen der Erde."
From the earliest scratches on stone and bone to the languages of
computers and the internet, A History of Writing offers an
investigation into the origin and development of writing throughout
the world. Illustrated with numerous examples, this book offers a
global overview in a format that everyone can follow. Steven Roger
Fischer also reveals his own discoveries made since the early
1980s, making it a useful reference for students and specialists as
well as a delightful read for lovers of the written word
everywhere.
Tracing the complete story of reading from the age when symbol
first became sign through to the electronic texts of the present
day, Steven Roger Fischer's fascinating A History of Reading offers
a sweeping view across time and geography of our evolving
relationship with text. Turning to ancient forms of reading,
Fischer takes us to Asia and the Americas and discusses the forms
and developments of completely divergent writing systems and
scripts. With the Middle Ages in Europe and the Middle East,
innovative reinventions of reading emerged--silent and liturgical
reading; the custom of lectors; a focus on reading in general
education--whereupon printing transformed society's entire attitude
toward reading. Fischer charts the explosion of the book trade, its
increased audience, and radically changed subject-matter in this
era. He also describes the emergence of broadsheets, newspapers,
and public readings and traces the effect of new font designs on
general legibility, and much more. Finally, Fischer assesses a
future in which read communication will likely exceed oral
communication through the use of the personal computer and the
internet. Looking at "visual language" and modern theories of how
reading is processed in the human brain, he asks how the New Reader
can reshape reading's fate--suggesting a radical new definition of
what reading could be.
It is tempting to take the tremendous rate of contemporary
linguistic change for granted. What is required, in fact, is a
radical reinterpretation of what language is. Steven Roger Fischer
charts the history of language from the times of Homo erectus,
Neanderthal humans and Homo sapiens through to the nineteenth
century, when the science of linguistics was developed, as he
analyses the emergence of language as a science and its development
as a written form. He considers the rise of pidgin, creole, jargon
and slang, as well as the effects radio and television, propaganda,
advertising and the media are having on language today. Originally
published in 1999, this new format edition, which includes a new
preface by the author, also shows how digital media will continue
to reshape and re-invent the ways in which we communicate.
From the earliest scratches on stone and bone to the languages of
computers and the internet, "A History of Writing" offers an
investigation into the origin and development of writing throughout
the world. Commencing with the first stages of information storage
knot records, tally sticks, pictographic storytelling the book then
focuses on the emergence of complete writing systems in Mesopotamia
in the fourth millennium BC, and their diffusion to Egypt, the
Indus Valley and points east, with special attention given to
Semitic writing systems and their eventual spread to the Indian
subcontinent. Also documented is the rise of Phoenician and its
effect on the Greek alphabet, generating the many alphabetic
scripts of the West. Chinese, Korean and Japanese writing systems
and scripts are dealt with in depth, as is writing in pre-Colombian
America. Also explored are Western Europe's medieval manuscripts
and the history of printing, leading to the innovations in
technology and spelling rules of the 19th and 20th centuries.
Illustrated with numerous examples, this book offers a global
overview in a form that everyone can follow.The author also reveals
his own discoveries made since the early 1980s, making it a useful
reference for both students and specialists as well as the general
reader.
Easter Island's rongorongo script is Oceania's only known writing system predating the 20th century. The author documents comprehensively, for the first time, the history, traditions, and texts of this enigmatic script. His research has taken him all over the world, from St Petersburg to Easter Island itself, to uncover the truth behind one of the world's most fascinating and eloquent graphic achievements.
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