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{{Short description|
{{Infobox book
| name = Writing:<br>The Story of Alphabets and Scripts
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| orig_lang_code = fr
| translator = Jenny Oates
| country = France
| language = French
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| pub_date = 4 December 1987<br>21 June 2007 {{small|(new ed.)}}
| english_pub_date = 1992
| media_type = Print ([[
| pages = {{ubl | 224 (first edition) | 160 (new edition in 2007) | 208 (UK & US editions) }}
| isbn = 978-2-0705-3040-3
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}}
'''''Writing: The Story of Alphabets and Scripts''''' ({{
== Synopsis ==
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Drawing on unearthed artefacts and historical documents, Georges Jean illustrates the history of writing from an archaeological perspective and with a [[Diachrony and synchrony|diachronic]] approach. The author chose to organise ''Writing'' chronologically, stretching it from the [[cuneiform]] of [[Mesopotamia]] in 3200 BC, through the [[Phoenician alphabet]] around 1000 BC, to modern typographical techniques, with descriptions of how writing appeared almost simultaneously in [[History of Mesopotamia|ancient Mesopotamia]], [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]], and [[History of China#Ancient China|China]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/fsp/folhatee/fm0107200223.htm |title=A maravilha da escrita a que todos temos acesso (ou deveríamos ter) |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=1 July 2002 |website=[[Folha de S.Paulo|folha.uol.com.br]] |language=pt |access-date=20 November 2021}}</ref> The author focuses on the introduction of Near Eastern and Western scripts, but also covers the characteristics and differences of some Far Eastern writing systems, [[Written Chinese|Chinese]], [[Brahmic scripts|Indian]] and [[Tibetan script|Tibetan]], for instance.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Wan |first=Yu |date=2003 |title=书写者的永恒形象——读《文字与书写：思想的符号》 |trans-title=The Eternal Image of the Scribe: Reflections on ''Writing: The Story of Alphabets and Scripts'' |url=http://www.ewen.com.cn/cache/books/107/bkview-107423-308345.htm |language=zh |magazine=出版广角 [View on Publishing] |___location=Guilin |publisher=Guangxi Normal University |issn=1006-7000 |access-date=20 November 2021}}</ref>
The book details a variety of writing tools and media, such as [[clay tablet]]s used by the [[Sumer]]ians, [[reed pen]] and [[papyrus]] of the ancient Egyptians, Roman writing awls, [[quill]] and [[parchment]] of those medieval Irish monks, as well as [[Ink brush|brush]], [[fountain pen]], stone, paper, [[printing press]], etc.<ref name="Voorpost">{{cite magazine |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=''Het schrift beschreven'' (Georges Jean) |language=nl |magazine=De Voorpost |___location=Aalst |page=9 |date=19 July 1991 |quote=De geschiedenis van het schrift heeft altijd velen weten te boeien. Die geschiedenis is meer dan 6000 jaar oud. Denken we maar aan het schrift van de Soemeriërs die kleitafels gebruiken en aan het papyrus en de rietpen van Egyptenaren. De Romeinen gebruikten de priem en later kwam het perkament de pen van ganzeveren zoals die door de Ierse monniken werden gebruikt. Het boek is mooi geïllustreerd met foto's in zwartwit en vierkleuren.}}</ref> It also discusses how these different writing methods and printing tools affect the development of written content, whether it can be circulated in large quantities, and the ways and channels for circulation.
== Contents ==
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| image1 = L'écriture, p. 73.jpg
| width1 = 120
| caption1 = "In the Middle Ages a form of sacred writing became established in the monasteries. Beautifully designed and executed, it reflected the serenity of both those who created it and the
| image2 = L'écriture, p. 86.jpg
| width2 = 150
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* Chapter II: "Invention of the Gods" ({{lang|fr|Une invention des Dieux}}, {{pp.|25|49}}) deals with other ancient writing systems, such as those of Egypt and China, and highlights the fact that writing was considered by many peoples as a gift from the gods.
* Chapter III: "The Alphabet Revolution" ({{lang|fr|La révolution de l'alphabet}}, {{pp.|51|71}}) deals with [[Semitic languages|Semitic]] writings, and how the creation of Greek, Latin and [[Etruscan alphabet|Etruscan]] scripts being inspired by the [[Phoenician alphabet]].
* Chapter IV: "From Copyists to Printers" ({{lang|fr|Des copistes aux imprimeurs}}, {{pp.|73|95}}) deals with historical aspects outside the writing system itself in the Western world. With regard to the manuscripts, it deals with the importance of monks, scrolls, abbeys and monasteries. It discusses the role of [[Calligraphy|calligraphers]], [[Limner|illuminators]], [[Miniature (illuminated manuscript)|miniaturists]], and [[Bookbinding|bookbinders]] in the [[history of books]]. And it points out the gradual secularisation of writing.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.fflch.usp.br/sites/fflch.usp.br/files/2018-02/Sistemas%20de%20Escrita.pdf |title=Jean, Georges (2002). ''A Escrita: Memória dos Homens''. Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva. |last=De Souza |first=Paulo Chagas |date=2018 |website=[[Faculty of Philosophy, Languages and Human Sciences, University of São Paulo|fflch.usp.br]] |page=6 |language=pt |access-date=20 November 2021}}</ref>
* Chapter V: "The Bookmakers" ({{lang|fr|Les hommes du livre}}, {{pp.|97|115}}) deals with the history of the reproduction of written text, from copyists to the printing. The rise of the art of binding and [[Pocket edition|pocket-sized books]] during the Renaissance era. The expansion of newspapers in the 18th century, thanks to the progress of printing technology, the first periodicals had appeared at the beginning of the 17th century in the Netherlands and in Germany.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Quevedo |first=Marina |date=2003 |title=O mundo real e o mundo da mídia: o homem desalojado |url=http://www.cisc.org.br/portal/jdownloads/Ghrebh/Ghrebh-%204/08_quevedo.pdf |language=pt |journal=Ghrebh- |___location=São Paulo |publisher=Centro Interdisciplinar de Semiótica da Cultura e da Mídia |issue=4 |pages=105–106 |issn=1679-9100 |access-date=20 November 2021}}</ref>
* Chapter VI: "The Decipherers" ({{lang|fr|Les déchiffreurs}}, {{pp.|117|127}}) chronicles the [[Decipherment of ancient Egyptian scripts|deciphering of hieroglyphs]], [[Cuneiform#Decipherment|cuneiforms]], and [[Linear B#Discovery and decipherment|Linear B]]. The chapter ends with a discussion of "still undeciphered signs", such as [[Linear A]] and [[Phaistos Disc]] from [[Crete]], and the mysterious [[Rongorongo]] of [[Easter Island]].
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== References ==
{{Reflist}}
== Further reading ==
* {{cite book |last=Eisenstein |first=Elizabeth L. |author-link=Elizabeth Eisenstein |date=1983 |title=The Printing Revolution in Early Modern Europe |___location=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=0-521-27735-3}}
* {{cite book |last=Innis |first=Harold A. |author-link=Harold Innis |date=1950 |title=[[Empire and Communications]] |___location=Oxford |publisher=Clarendon Press}}
* {{cite book |last=Jean |first=Georges |author-link=Georges Jean |translator-last=Hawkes |translator-first=Sophie |date=1999 |title=Signs, Symbols and Ciphers: Decoding the Message |series=[[Découvertes Gallimard|"New Horizons" series]] |___location=London |publisher=Thames & Hudson |isbn=978-0-5003-0087-9}}
* {{cite book |last=Man |first=John |author-link=John Man (author) |date=2001 |title=Alpha Beta: How Our Alphabet Shaped the Western World |___location=London |publisher=Headline Book Publishing |isbn=978-0-7472-6447-7}}
* {{cite book |last=Martin |first=Henri-Jean |author-link=Henri-Jean Martin |translator-last=Cochrane |translator-first=Lydia G. |date=1994 |title=The History and Power of Writing |___location=Chicago |publisher=The University of Chicago Press |isbn=978-0-226-50836-8}}
== External links ==
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[[Category:1987 non-fiction books]]
[[Category:
[[Category:Archaeology books]]
[[Category:Découvertes Gallimard]]
[[Category:History of writing]]
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