ISBN: 9780253337764

Rethinking WritingRoy Harris An argument for the primacy of the written word as the pre-eminent mode of communication. "This is an excellent book, rich, clear, and innovative fr… More...

Rethinking WritingRoy Harris An argument for the primacy of the written word as the pre-eminent mode of communication. "This is an excellent book, rich, clear, and innovative from the point of view of semiology." -- Jean Khalfa, Cambridge University The traditional Western view of writing, from Aristotle to the present day, has treated the written word as a visual substitute for the spoken word. The eminent Swiss linguist Ferdinand de Saussure (1857-1913) was the first to provide this traditional assumption with a reasoned basis by incorporating it into a more general theory of signs. In the wake of Saussure's work, modern linguistics has ignored or marginalized writing in favor of the study of speech. Roy Harris shows that the theory of writing adopted in modern linguistics is deeply flawed. Reversing the orthodox priorities, he argues that writing is a far more powerful mode of linguistic communication that speech ever could be. Rethinking Writing is a major contribution to current debates about human communication, written and spoken. Roy Harris, Emeritus Professor of General Linguistics at the University of Oxford, is author of The Origin of Writing. Contents PrefaceForeword: Writing and CivilizationAristotle's AbecedaryStructuralism in the ScriptoriumWriting Off the PageNotes on NotationAlphabetical DisorderIdeographic HallucinationsOn the Dotted LineBeyond the Linguistic PaleMightier than the WordBibliographyIndex 256 pages, 9 1/4 x 6 1/4, $39.95s Rethinking Writing Harris, Roy, Indiana University Press<

2000, ISBN: 0253337763

[EAN: 9780253337764], [SC: 16.69], [PU: Indiana University Press], Jacket, 2000. Hardcover. Cloth, d.j. Some shelf-wear. Else clean copy. Very Good., Books

2000, ISBN: 0253337763

[EAN: 9780253337764], [SC: 16.6], [PU: Indiana University Press], Jacket, 2000. Hardcover. Cloth, d.j. Some shelf-wear. Else clean copy. Very Good., Books