The Alphabet: A Key to the History of Mankind

By David Diringer and Ellis Minns

Book Overview

""The Alphabet: A Key to the History of Mankind"" by David Diringer is a comprehensive exploration of the origins and evolution of the alphabet, from its earliest forms to its modern-day usage. The book delves into the historical, cultural, and linguistic significance of the alphabet, tracing its development through various civilizations and languages.Diringer examines the impact of the alphabet on human communication, writing, and literacy, and explores the role it has played in shaping the course of human history. He also discusses the various types of alphabets, including those used in ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome, and the development of the modern Latin alphabet.In addition to its historical and cultural significance, the book also delves into the scientific aspects of the alphabet, including its relationship to phonetics and its role in the development of written language. The author also explores the impact of the alphabet on the development of literature, art, and other forms of cultural expression.Overall, ""The Alphabet: A Key to the History of Mankind"" offers a fascinating and in-depth look at one of the most important inventions in human history, and its enduring impact on human culture and society.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1163177032
• ISBN13: 9781163177037
• Release Date: September 2010
• Publisher: Kessinger Publishing
• Length: 608 Pages
• Weight: 1.77 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

A classic

I first read this book many years ago, and did not really understand its significance. Recently I heard Professor Daniel Sperber speak about the book. He explains that prior to the invention of the alphabet, writing in pictograms meant learning a very large amount of individual symbols. Thus it was confined to the priestly elite , who controlled the religious and legal knowledge in their societies. The development of the Alphabet , a phonetic system wherein each letter signified a certain sound, and words could be formed through the combination of sounds meant that the process of reading is democratized. Most people can learn the thirty or so letters of the 'alphabet' and thus learn to read. The Alphabet meant a vast spreading of human knowledge, and a democratization of the process of learning. Diringer's pioneering study provides a guide to the systems of writing preceding the creation of the alphabet, and then traces the development of the Alphabet historically. This is a classic work in its field.