OJX204 Writing systems of the World

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2010
Extent and Intensity
2/0/0. 3 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
Teacher(s)
prof. RNDr. Václav Blažek, CSc. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
prof. RNDr. Václav Blažek, CSc.
Department of Linguistics and Baltic Languages – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
Thu 8:20–9:55 zruseno D22
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is offered to students of any study field.
The capacity limit for the course is 150 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/150, only registered: 0/150, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/150
Course objectives
The course presents all important scripts of the past and present from both the point of their internal structure and in the perspective of their mutual relations in development. The main purpose of the course consists in understanding of the structures of the most important script systems. The students should get the competences in analysis of texts, determination of the internal structure of scripts and its correspondence with the used languages.
Syllabus
  • 1. Historical circumstances of the origin of the script in the 4th mill. BC. 2. Mesopotamy: pictograms in Uruk & Elam; cuneiform in Sumer, Akkad, Babylonia, Assyria, Syria, Anatolia; clons of cuneiform in Ugarit and Persia. 3. Egypt: hieroglyphic, hieratic, demotic scripts; their clons in Meroe. 4. Aegeian region: hieroglyphic, linear A & B script, Cypriote syllabic script. 5. Asia Minor: Luvian hieroglyphic script. 6. Semitic consonantic scripts and their adaptations in Libya, Iberia, Ethiopia and Central Asia. 7. Greek alphabet and its followers in the alphabets of ancient Asia Minor, Italy, rest of Europe (runs; Ogham), Egypt and Nubia. 8. So called ‘Proto-Indic’ script. 9. Indic syllabic scripts and their expansion in Hinder Inder and Central Asia. 10. China. Import of the Chinese script in Korea and Japan. 11. Embryonal origin of script in Central America.
Literature
  • O další literatuře jsou studenti informováni ve výuce.
  • KRUPA, Viktor and Jozef GENZOR. Písma sveta. 1. vyd. Bratislava: Obzor, 1989, 358 s. ISBN 8021500115. info
  • FRIEDRICH, Johannes. Istorija pis'ma. Moskva: Nauka, 1979, 463 s. info
  • DOBLHOFER, Ernst. Od obrázkov k písmu : rozlúštěnie zabudnutých písiem a jazykov. 1. vyd. Bratislava: Obzor, 1972, 366 s. info
  • DIRINGER, David. Alfavit. Moskva: Izdatel'stvo inostrannoj literatury, 1963, 655 s. info
  • LOUKOTKA, Čestmír. Vývoj písma. I. vydání. Praha: Orbis, 1946, 226 stran. URL info
Teaching methods
The teacher presents the basic systems of script, their internal structure, development and spreading. Together with students interprets the chosen texts written in most important scripts.
Assessment methods
The final test verifies the combinatorical abilities of students.
Language of instruction
Czech
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2009, Spring 2011.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2010, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/spring2010/OJX204