John McWhorter – Ancient Writing and the History of the Alphabet

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John McWhorter – Ancient Writing and the History of the Alphabet

Ancient Writing and the History of the Alphabet
Examine the alphabet from A to Z with linguist John McWhorter and discover what the development of writing can teach us about language, culture, and human connection.

LECTURE (16)
01:The Nature of Writing
Begin your exploration of ancient writing with a consideration of how written language and spoken language differ and see why writing is an artificial construct that developed relatively late in human history. Look at Maya hieroglyphs as an example of how writing develops. Close with an overview of what you will cover in the course.

02:Cuneiform: The World’s First Writing
Cuneiform is the earliest surviving form of writing and dates to 3500 BCE. Trace the origins of this writing system by examining why it developed, how it evolved from accounting pictograms to a more complex system, and how it helps us better understand ancient history. Also consider how cuneiform influenced the emergence of other writing systems.

03:How Egyptian Hieroglyphs Work
One of the most familiar ancient writing systems to modern audiences is Egyptian hieroglyphics. Get a basic overview of how hieroglyphics function as a written form of language and consider why it never progressed to an alphabet system. Learn why it took so long for later scholars to decipher hieroglyphics, even with the Rosetta Stone as a deciphering key.

04:The Invention of Alphabets
Follow the progression of writing systems in the ancient world with a look at the Phoenician alphabet as it developed from Egyptian hieroglyphics and spread across the Red Sea to the Middle East. Along the way, examine its influence on writing systems in other languages like Aramaic and Greek. Also, consider the advantages of an alphabet-based writing system for the spread of literacy.

05:The Alphabet Goes East
Explore the development of writing systems in South and Southeast Asia—a part of the story of writing that is often overshadowed by developments in East Asia and Europe. Trace the connections between the scripts of South Asia and the writing systems of the Middle East to see how writing systems can influence others.

06:The Advent of A, E, and O
The “ah” sound of a short letter “A” is the most basic building block of language. Examine the origins of the letter “A” as both a symbol and a sound and see why other vowels like “E” and “O” were developed later. Discover what the letter “A” can teach us about how the alphabet relates to language itself.

07:Lost at C
Why does a letter like “C” operate the way it does? Go back to the ancient world of the Etruscans to trace its earliest origins. Get a clearer picture of the ways that the sounds of letters transform over time. Also, consider the nature of spelling systems and how they often stay the same while other elements of the language change over time.

08:The History of H
The letter “H” is a unique letter of the alphabet in how often we treat it as if it doesn’t exist. Examine the ways we use the letter “H,” why the French influence on English affects “H” so much, and why many European languages drop it as a sound altogether while still preserving the letter in the alphabet.

09:The Inception of I and Its Journey to J
Turn back to the great vowel shift of the 15th and 16th centuries to understand the transformation of English pronunciation. Then trace the birth of the letter “J” in the early 19th century as the result of an odd tangle of historical factors, including the national pride of Noah Webster.

10:The Quirks and Zigzags of Q and Z
Consider the “accidental” letters “Q” and “Z.” Look back to the Phoenician alphabet to better understand why English doesn’t really need a “Q,” and consider how English acquired the letter “Z” through Latin by way of Greek. Also, discover why “Z” sits at the very end of the alphabet.

11:The Ramblings of R
Why does the letter “R” make such a wide array of sounds across languages? Trace the origins of “R” as both a letter and a sound. Discover why it is such an odd letter and why it is often one of the last sounds mastered by children as they learn language. Also, look at the unusual graphic transformation of the letter “R” when written in cursive.

12:The Unfolding of U, V, W, and F
Take a convoluted trip through the history of the letters “U,” “V,” and “W” and see how they connect to the letter “F.” From ancient Greek to the medieval period and beyond, these letters illustrate how the creation of an alphabet is a messy, nonlinear process with numerous twists and turns along the way.

13:The Yesteryears of Y
Discover the “why” of “Y” as you examine the sound it once referred to—which is not present in modern English—and witness the journey of a borrowed letter that made its way across the ages to our current alphabet. Also, consider how the English collision with French altered the alphabet, adding and dropping letters.

14:Brisk Sojourns through B, L, N, and S
Get a quick overview of some of the most common letters of the alphabet and see why the history of “B,” “L,” “N,” and “S” is easier to trace than letters you have covered so far. Look back on the alphabets of the Phoenicians and Greeks to see where these letters started and why they look the way they do.

15:Meditations on M, D, X, and T
Here, you will engage with a set of letters that have entangled origins. Begin with the straightforward origins of “M” and how it led to the creation of the letter “D.” Then, take a similar journey as you look at the relationship of “T” and “X.” Close with a consideration of why the letters of the alphabet are in the order that we know today.

16:How Did Punctuation Develop?
Since the spread of writing and literacy created the need for a tool that could help readers better comprehend what they were reading, bring the course to a close with a look at punctuation. Consider why commas, periods, semicolons, question marks, and other symbols developed and how they became an integral part of modern writing systems.

DETAILS

Overview
Embark on a journey to the very beginning of writing as a tool of language and see how the many threads of history and linguistics came together to create the alphabet that forms the foundation of English writing. Your guide is Professor John McWhorter of Columbia University and in the 16 lectures of Ancient Writing and the History of the Alphabet, he will help you navigate the complex linguistic and cultural history behind one of our most crucial tools of communication. With his trademark humor and conversational style, Professor McWhorter makes this larger-than-life history as entertaining as it is enlightening.

About
John McWhorter

Far from being a language in decline, we have reason to believe that English, with all its beauty and quirks and illogicities, will be carried far into the future. 

ALMA MATER
Stanford University

INSTITUTION
Columbia University

John McWhorter is an Associate Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University. He earned a PhD in Linguistics from Stanford University. He is the author of several books, including The Power of Babel: A Natural History of Language; Nine Nasty Words: English in the Gutter; and Word on the Street, a book on dialects and Black English. He has also been published in outlets such as The New York Times and The Washington Post, and he has appeared on Dateline and Good Morning America, among other platforms

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