Writing and Civilization - From Ancient Worlds to Modernity

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Writing and Civilization
From Ancient Worlds to Modernity

2013

The written word is so central to our lives that it can seem as if it has always existed. Yet writing is a relatively recent invention. Trace the remarkable saga of "visible speech" from its earliest origins to its...

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Features
Marc Zender Ph.D.
Supplier
The Great Courses

In This Series

What Is Writing?
Episode 1
What Is Writing?
The Origins and Development of Writing
Episode 2
The Origins and Development of Writing
Where Did Our Alphabet Come From?
Episode 3
Where Did Our Alphabet Come From?
The Fuþark—A Germanic Alphabet
Episode 4
The Fuþark—A Germanic Alphabet
Chinese—A Logosyllabic Script
Episode 5
Chinese—A Logosyllabic Script
Japanese—The World’s Most Complex Script
Episode 6
Japanese—The World’s Most Complex Script
What Is Decipherment?
Episode 7
What Is Decipherment?
The Five Pillars of Decipherment
Episode 8
The Five Pillars of Decipherment
Epigraphic Illustration
Episode 9
Epigraphic Illustration
The History of Language
Episode 10
The History of Language
Proper Nouns and Cultural Context
Episode 11
Proper Nouns and Cultural Context
Bilinguals, Biscripts, and Other Constraints
Episode 12
Bilinguals, Biscripts, and Other Constraints
Egyptian—The First Great Decipherment
Episode 13
Egyptian—The First Great Decipherment
What Do Egyptian Hieroglyphs Say?
Episode 14
What Do Egyptian Hieroglyphs Say?
Old Persian—Cuneiform Deciphered
Episode 15
Old Persian—Cuneiform Deciphered
What Does Cuneiform Say?
Episode 16
What Does Cuneiform Say?
Mycenaean Linear B—An Aegean Syllabary
Episode 17
Mycenaean Linear B—An Aegean Syllabary
Mayan Glyphs—A New World Logosyllabary
Episode 18
Mayan Glyphs—A New World Logosyllabary
What Do the Mayan Glyphs Say?
Episode 19
What Do the Mayan Glyphs Say?
Aztec Hieroglyphs—A Recent Decipherment
Episode 20
Aztec Hieroglyphs—A Recent Decipherment
Etruscan and Meroïtic—Undeciphered Scripts
Episode 21
Etruscan and Meroïtic—Undeciphered Scripts
Han'gul, Tengwar, and Other Featural Scripts
Episode 22
Han'gul, Tengwar, and Other Featural Scripts
Medium and Message
Episode 23
Medium and Message
The Future of Writing
Episode 24
The Future of Writing