The Cambridge Handbook of Historical Orthography

Reviews / Votes

'In this Handbook, the reader will find a wide variety of detailed and sometimes unexpected orthographic topics, ranging from linguistics to social/political factors to typography and beyond, all of which have historical reflexes which may persist to the present day. Principles are elucidated, but also with plentiful examples from ancient Western and non-Western orthographies.' Michael Cahill, Orthography Services Coordinator, SIL International 'There is no orthography without history because the very purpose of orthography is to arrest change. This handbook addresses a wide range of well-chosen research topics that make this general insight real. Historical questions about norm-setting authorities are dealt with as well as theoretical and methodological intricacies of how to study orthographies in history, and the categorization and typology of orthographies and writing systems. In all, a handbook worthy of that name.' Florian Coulmas, Senior Professor of Japanese Society and Sociolinguistics, University of Duisburg-Essen 'This much-needed volume is the first to provide a comprehensive overview of the relatively new discipline of historical orthography. It combines complex theoretical, methodological, and case-based studies with essential information on the context in which the discipline has developed. It will act as the go-to reference text for work in this area.' Damien Mooney, Senior Lecturer in French Linguistics and Language Change, University of Bristol 'This book is impressive both in its breadth of coverage and in the depth of its discussions of the topics included. It is certain to be an important resource for students as well as advanced researchers within this field.' Mark Sebba, Reader Emeritus in Sociolinguistics & Language Contact, Lancaster University 'This Handbook is an excellent resource that fills a gap in the literature on writing systems research. It provides a range of chapters that will be of interest to scholars and students of writing systems and orthography, including key background information and innovative advances in the field.' Christine Schreyer, Associate Professor of Anthropology, University of British Columbia