Encyclopedia of World Writing Systems: Alphabets, Abjads, Abugidas, and Syllabaries of All Languages Living and Dead (Linguistics) Paperback – June 17, 2024

I have been passionate about linguistics since college and this book is simply a treasure! An invaluable tool that has transformed my understanding of the various writing systems. The meticulous organization of the 100+ systems, from ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics to modern Adlam, allowed me to easily navigate the content while working on international projects. The detailed explanations of the origin, development and phonetic values ​​of each system are complemented by practical examples that really help with visualization.

Grabbed Encyclopedia of World Writing Systems just to gawk at cool scripts, and it’s perfect for that. More “visual sampler” than true encyclopedia—gives a snippet of history plus word examples, then moves on. I learned a fun fact or two about dozens of languages without feeling like homework. If you want a deep dive, look elsewhere; if you just want eye candy and bite-size trivia, this is a great couch-flip book.

This book is really amazing because it shows how all different people around the world write their letters. I saw alphabets I had never seen before (even some from ancient times and modern alphabets in use today). The pictures of the letters are amazing and it even tells you how to pronounce them! One thing I found really fascinating was that some languages write from right to left and there are some languages that use symbols that represent whole words or sounds. It really makes you think about how different and creative people can be when it comes to writing. I tried to copy some of the letters on a piece of paper and it's actually pretty fun to see what they looked like. I am excited to read more and see even more writing systems. This book is like a variety box of letters from around the world. This book has increased my desire to learn more about languages and how people express themselves through communication.

I love languages and the various forms of communication we use to connect with others. Each section has a brief description and history about the language in question as well as key words commonly used in said language. I feel like I have every language in the world when holding this book. Would definitely recommend this book for any language enthusiast.

I personally enjoy having a book where I can pull examples of foreign a riots within my library with some fundamentals. It covers a surprising amount of information.

This book is a treasure for anyone passionate about linguistics or world history. It delves into an incredible range of writing systems, from ancient scripts to modern alphabets, offering detailed explanations and context for each. I was especially impressed with the illustrations and examples that made complex topics easier to understand. While it’s dense at times, the depth of information is worth it. A must-have for language enthusiasts or anyone curious about the evolution of writing.

very detailed and amazing i could not believe how many writing alphabets there is, i even learned how to write my name in each of them i find this to be very good especially if you like travelling and may come across sites and monuments that hold these writings!

I love writing systems, I love looking at where they start and what they evolve into.This has so many languages in it with little descriptions - but not quite formulaic, it doesn't mention which direction each language is written or read in, it does for a lot, just not all. there some quality issues, but if there's another edition that comes out later, i hope to see improvement edits