Wordtrade.com
Social Science

Writing

The Idea of Writing: Play and Complexity edited by Alex de Voogt, Irving Finkel (Brill Academic) The Idea of Writing is an exploration of the versatility of writing systems. From ancient Egyptian, Cuneiform and Meroitic writing to Chinese, Maya and Maldivian script, the authors examine the problems and possibilities of polysemy, representing loanwords and the problems of adapting a writing system to another language. The playful and artistic use of writing, including a contribution on writing dance, further illustrates the intricacies of the systems. This collection of articles aims to highlight the complexity of writing systems rather than to provide a first introduction. The different academic traditions in which these writing systems have been studied use linguistic, socio-historical and philological approaches that give complementary insights into the complex phenomena.

Alex de Voogt, Ph.D. (1995) in Psychology, Leiden University, is an Assistant Curator at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. His studies on writing systems and the dispersal of board games focus on the Indian Ocean region.

Irving Finkel, Ph.D. (1976) in Assyriology, University of Birmingham, is an Assistant Keeper at the British Museum in London. His special subjects are Ancient Mesopotamia, Cuneiform writing, Lexicography, Medicine, Esoterica and the study of Ancient Magic, in addition to contributions on the history of board games.

Contributors are Margarita Winkel, Erik Boot, Joachim Friedrich Quack, Henning Klöter, Wilfred H. van Soldt, Azeb Amha, Harry Falk, Claude Rilly, Wolfgang Behr, Joukje Kolff, Alex de Voogt and Irving Finkel.

The Idea of Writing: Play and Complexity is an exploration of the versatility of writing systems. From ancient Egyptian, Cuneiform and Meroitic writing to Chinese, Maya and Maldivian script, the authors examine the problems and possibilities of polysemy, representing loan-words or adapting a writing system to another language. The playful and artistic use of writing, including a contribution on writing dance, further illustrates the possible intricacies of the scripts. This collection of articles aims to highlight the complexity of writing systems rather than to provide a first introduction. Yet as complex as the description of these writing systems may appear, the readers and writers of the most complex scripts did not suffer in a way that has made these systems impractical or impossible to them.

The different academic traditions in which these writing systems have been studied use linguistic, socio-historical and philological approaches that all provide insight into largely the same phenomena. The contributions were first presented in a series of symposia in which the interaction between experts of different fields and writing systems was central. As a result, the complex content of each contribution is made accessible to other specialists in the study of writing.

A first point of reference in the Idea of Writing is the seminal work by Daniels & Bright (1996) who provided a systematic overview of the world's writing systems. They concentrated on how the systems work by analyzing and classifying them. They follow earlier publications by, for instance, Diringer (1968), DeFrancis (1989) and, in particular, Gelb (1952) whose academic approach also launched the term grammatology to describe the field.

Daniels & Bright specifically advance the work of Gelb. Their publications resulted in a growing interest in writing systems. However, later works are not much concerned with the working of writing systems or are limited to only a small region. The idea of writing has associations that go beyond and away from the system itself and arrive at cultures, languages, communication and interpretation.

A broad perspective on the study of writing systems increases its possible relevance to other disciplines, a development that is only in its beginning stages.

As this volume illustrates, culture, language and different disciplines are also part of the study of writing systems in the narrow sense. The analysis and intricacies of the system need an understanding of scripts that is not integral to any single discipline, but requires linguistics, philology and history as a starting point. The interpretation of writing always necessitates an understanding of language and its context. An analysis of how the elements of the script are employed presumes that the effort to read and interpret the text has already been made. Writing is still of interest even when the reading is completed.

The systematic study by Daniels & Bright introduces nearly all writing systems and occasionally speaks to the details to which this volume is dedicated. These elements become apparent when the script shows its versatility. How does the system work when words from other languages need to be represented? Does a scribe have options when writing the same (string of) words and how are these choices governed? What possibilities are created when a scribe is playing with the versatility of the writing system? The exploration of play in writing, polysemy, loanwords and the application of scripts to other languages combine to demonstrate the versatility of writing systems.

Versatilities

Play in writing, also known as jeu d'écriture, is the individual's exploration of a script's versatility. It is the realm of poets and designers, but includes the ancient scribes who showed off their abilities in texts they produced in the service of others.

A play on writing adds to a play on words. In the Cuneiform examples more than one language can be played at once. In Japanese two scripts take part in play, while in Maya seemingly endless possibilities of substituting one sign for another display the scribe's knowledge of language and writing system.

While the above examples are curiosities created by individuals, the representation of loanwords in writing systems requires a more universally found versatility. Most, if not all, writing systems have been used to write words from languages for which the writing system was not developed. More precisely, scribes of any era are forced to develop ways to write sounds or sound sequences not immediately found in the writing system. This development is both part of and outside of the writing system. It might make the system less efficient by adding signs, or less systematic by allowing exceptions to a rule. The contributions in this volume reveal the different perspectives that can be used to explore this topic. From borrowing signs, to loanwords for writing-related instruments, the topic of loanwords and writing systems has much future scholarship to anticipate.

Polysemy in writing systems complicates the reading and writing of a script even if loanwords are absent. The word polysemy itself is as ambiguous as the writing that results from it and the contributions on this aspect of writing systems investigate the different meanings of the word and possible alternative or additional terms such as polyvalency. One sign may have different readings and one reading may be found in different signs. The non-alphabetic scripts that are featured here are in a continuous competition for the most complex possibilities that polysemous elements of writing systems can bring. Although no winner is proclaimed, it is a game to play with writing. It is possible to conclude that no convincing direction in the development of writing systems is found that disambiguates that which is written.

The application of a script to another language is the study of the writing of loanwords in extremis. It is shown that complex scripts, in terms of polysemy, have been applied to other languages as well as the modern Roman script. In some examples, more than one script have been applied to one language so that a competition of systems can develop.

As in the work of Daniels & Bright the book concludes in a domain in which many writing systems have been developed, but in which movement rather than words play the leading role. The writing of dance refers back to jeu d'écriture in which individual and playful writing takes the stage, whereas scripts for dance attempt to write that which is playful.

Scripts

Only a selection of the participants and writing systems presented at the Idea of Writing symposium series is represented here. Some contributions are still in progress and may be published elsewhere, but the present collection has not been made haphazardly. They include four main writing systems for which a tradition of research on writing exists: Cuneiform, Egyptian hieroglyphic writing and its related scripts, Chinese and Japanese scripts as well as Maya hieroglyphs. Contributions on scripts for which much fewer studies are available add examples and exceptions.

The Americas (Maya), Asia (Chinese, Japanese, Sanskrit) and Africa (Meroitic, Fidäl) are well-represented next to the ancient Cuneiform and Egyptian systems on the border of Africa and Asia. Examples also come from Indian Ocean (Maldive Islands) and Pacific Ocean (Caroline Islands) countries. European scripts are mentioned as an influence rather than a topic of their own with the exception of the European and American writing of dance. The examples date from a wide range of time periods illustrating the broad relevance of an otherwise narrow perspective on writing systems that has been applied.

This spread of geography and time is also represented in the background of the individual authors: French, British, German and Dutch. More significantly, each author is part of a separate university tradition. This fueled the contrasts in approach and perspective. In order to do justice to the topic presented here, this diversity has been encouraged and has led to an exchange of views in a still unfolding field.

For each contribution the author was required to go beyond what was already described in the volume by Daniels & Bright. Explanations of the writing systems are only presented as far as it is necessary to comprehend the general argument or the examples in the text. Instead, the contributions correct, expand or bypass what is found in general introductions to writing systems.

Styles

The study of writing systems, also known as grammatology, is not a field in which any of the contributors hold a degree, although some may have met and most are acquainted with the pioneering work of Gelb. There is no unifying perspective or language that brings studies on writing together as part of one discussion. Sinologists exchange views with Sinologists and Egyptologists participate in Egyptology conferences. At the most, regional connections are made, such as East Asia or Middle East studies, where writing meets other writing. In the study of writing systems this segregation needs to be overcome in order to gain from a diversity of styles.

Writing systems do not belong exclusively to grammatologists. Linguists have a view and method of analysis that is frequently applied to scripts. Philologists developed their own view, less abstract and more connected with the interpretation of texts, that lies at their basis. A range of other disciplines reads scripts for their own disciplinary purposes and historians may have a view on the development of the script itself. These views come with their own jargon, traditions and viewpoints; in short, they all have their own style of presenting their material, introducing their topic and addressing the reader.

This diversity reveals more than it obscures. From the contributions found here, not only aspects of other writing systems can be gathered, but also the different possible perspectives from which data may be analyzed can be observed. With the study of writing systems as its own discipline, this amalgam of backgrounds and approaches is most likely blurred, while in its present shape it leaves all freedom to explore.

To appreciate the versatility of writing systems, this book should be read from beginning to end, a rare necessity with edited volumes. Meanwhile the reader is entertained with playful examples for which serious study is the basis.

 

Headline 3

insert content here

WT Main | About WT | Review Links | Contact | Review Sources | Search