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In the path of the alphabet / an historical account of the ancient beginnings and evolution of the modern alphabet

Chapter 1: IN THE PATH OF THE ALPHABET.
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About This Book

This work traces the origin and evolution of alphabetic writing from ancient pictorial systems through Egyptian hieroglyphs and Mesopotamian cuneiform to later phonetic and syllabic scripts, surveying the archaeological finds and methods that enabled their decipherment. It explains how pictorial signs shifted toward phonetic values, how syllabaries and true alphabets arose, and how innovations from Egypt, Babylon and the Tigris–Euphrates valley spread and interacted. The account considers early catalogs of texts and archaic libraries, examines letters and inscriptions that reveal transitional stages, and concludes by outlining how subsequent cultural and religious forces influenced the transmission and adaptation of alphabetic systems.

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Title: In the path of the alphabet

Author: Frances Delavan Page Jermain

Release date: March 11, 2016 [eBook #51422]
Most recently updated: October 23, 2024

Language: English

Credits: Produced by WebRover, Elizabeth Oscanyan, Chris Curnow and
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IN THE PATH OF THE ALPHABET.


‘Frances D Jermain’


IN THE PATH OF
THE ALPHABET
AN HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF THE
ANCIENT BEGINNINGS AND EVOLUTION
OF THE MODERN ALPHABET
BY FRANCES D. JERMAIN

FORT WAYNE, IND.
WILLIAM D. PAGE, PUBLISHER
1906

Copyright, 1906
By S. P. JERMAIN
Published in December
Fort Wayne Indiana