{"product_id":"the-writing-revolution-isbn-9781394218196","title":"The Writing Revolution","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn exploration of the original Information Technology – the writing systems of history\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Writing Revolution: Cuneiform to the Internet\u003c\/i\u003e explores the origins, historical development, adaptations, linguistic properties, cultural context, and social impact of one of humankind's greatest inventions: writing systems. Now in its second edition, this popular book traces the history of writing from the earliest proto-cuneiform tablet to the latest AI-generated text. Author Amalia E. Gnanadesikan offers an engaging, highly readable narrative account of how different writing systems originated, how they evolved over time, and how they have represented languages around the world. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eConcise, easy-to-digest chapters cover each of the world's major written traditions across time and space, including Egyptian hieroglyphs, Chinese characters, Bronze-Age Linear B, New World writing systems, the Roman alphabet, and many others. Updated throughout, \u003ci\u003eThe Writing Revolution\u003c\/i\u003e features new and expanded coverage of the Digital Age, including Unicode, the World Wide Web, emojis, generative AI, and more. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eInvestigating how the creation of writing made the modern world possible, \u003ci\u003eThe Writing Revolution:\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e \u003cli\u003eCovers the world's major writing systems as well as a selection of lesser-known scripts\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eDiscusses papyrus, paper, the printing press, digital writing, and other associated technologies\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eFeatures engaging examples throughout, including Egyptian funerary texts, Maya calendars, Arabic calligraphy, Morse code, and modern text messaging\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eInterweaves ideas from cultural studies, archaeology, linguistics, literature, anthropology, and information science\u003c\/li\u003e \u003c\/ul\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Writing Revolution\u003c\/i\u003e is a must-read for students of writing systems, linguistics, information science, and intellectual history, as well as general readers with an interest in the history of written language. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eList of Illustrations vii\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePreface xi\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e1 The First IT Revolution 1\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e2 Cuneiform: Forgotten Legacy of a Forgotten People 17\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e3 Egyptian Hieroglyphs and the Quest for Eternity 39\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e4 Chinese: A Love of Paperwork 63\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e5 Maya Glyphs: Calendars and Kings 89\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e6 Linear B: The Clerks of Agamemnon 107\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e7 Japanese: Three Scripts Are Better than One 127\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e8 Cherokee: Sequoyah Reverse- Engineers 149\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e9 The Semitic ʼĀlep- Bēt: Egypt to Manchuria in 3,500 Years 163\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e10 The Empire of Sanskrit 191\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e11 King Sejong’s One- Man Renaissance 215\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e12 Greek Serendipity 233\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e13 The Age of Latin 255\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e14 The Alphabet Meets the Machine 277\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e15 Writing Goes to Bits 299\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAppendix: Figures A.1–A.9 321\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFurther Reading 331\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIndex 361\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAmalia E. Gnanadesikan\u003c\/b\u003e was the Technical Director for Language Analysis at the University of Maryland Center for Advanced Study of Language. Now retired, she has taught writing, linguistics, and writing systems at the University of Maryland, West Chester University, and Rutgers University, and published works on writing systems, phonology, and language description. She is the author of \u003ci\u003eDhivehi: The Language of the Maldives.\u003c\/i\u003e   \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNow in its second edition, \u003ci\u003eThe Writing Revolution\u003c\/i\u003e takes readers on a journey through the origins, historical development, adaptations, linguistic properties, cultural context, and social impact of the world’s major written traditions. Demonstrating how the creation of writing transcended the limitations of human memory and made the modern world possible, linguist Amalia E. Gnanadesikan offers an engaging, easy-to-read historical narrative of written language that covers everything from the earliest proto-cuneiform tablet to the latest AI-generated text. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eConcise chapters describe how different writing systems originated, how they evolved over time, and how they represent the thoughts and sounds expressed in spoken language. Throughout the book, Gnanadesikan interweaves ideas from cultural studies, archaeology, linguistics, literature, anthropology, and information science—complemented by illustrative examples of Egyptian hieroglyphs, Japanese syllabaries, Chinese characters, New World writing systems, the Roman alphabet, and many others. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFeaturing new and expanded coverage of the Digital Age, including Unicode, the internet, emojis, and generative AI, \u003ci\u003eThe Writing Revolution: Cuneiform to the Internet\u003c\/i\u003e is essential reading for students of writing systems, linguistics, information science, and intellectual history, as well as general readers with an interest in the remarkable history of written language.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Wiley-Blackwell","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47990376530149,"sku":"NP9781394218196","price":52.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9781394218196.jpg?v=1761787576","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/the-writing-revolution-isbn-9781394218196","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}