The Alphabet - Softcover

Sacks, David

 
9780099436829: The Alphabet

Inhaltsangabe

There is a story behind each letter of the alphabet. Why is X the Unknown or shorthand for a kiss? Which letter came last, historically, in the alphabet? (J). How did a few squiggles, invented a thousand years ago to denote sounds of a now vanished Semitic language, survive to become our letters today? While China and Japan rely mainly on scripts of ideograms, three-quarters of humanity uses some kind of alphabet. Chinese writing requires 2000 basic symbols (but there's no language barrier), where an alphabet needs typically less than 30. From A-Z, David Sacks provides answers to the most fascinating questions about the way we talk, write and think in a book which will also be illustrated graphically throughout - not just with variations of individual letters but with maps, charts and general narrative images.

Die Inhaltsangabe kann sich auf eine andere Ausgabe dieses Titels beziehen.

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Sacks is a freelance writer for New York Times Magazine, Wall Street Journal, Harpers, Elle etc. He now lives in Canada with his wife and two children. He is 53.

„Über diesen Titel“ kann sich auf eine andere Ausgabe dieses Titels beziehen.

Weitere beliebte Ausgaben desselben Titels

9780091795061: The Alphabet

Vorgestellte Ausgabe

ISBN 10:  0091795060 ISBN 13:  9780091795061
Verlag: Hutchinson, 2003
Hardcover