CS100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Impermanence, Mnemonic, Phoenician Alphabet
Document Summary
Literate culture: early writing systems, consequences of shifts. Timeline: 3300 bce pictographs on clay tablets, 2200 bce oldest known papyrus document, 1500 bce phoenician alphabet, 775 bce greek phonetic alphabet. The i(cid:373)porta(cid:374)(cid:272)e of (cid:862)keeping tra(cid:272)k(cid:863: organize hierarchies, aids in the development of administration, bureaucracy, economy, writing = dissemination of power and authority. Sumerian clay tablets legal contracts: deeds of sale land transfer inventories, accounts of temples in other words, accountancy and administration. The logogram does not resemble what it stands for. Relatively arbitrary relations between the logo and its meaning: phono-graphic. A symbol representing a vocal sound (such as the alphabet) In fully phonetic writing systems, speech and writing are reconciled. Writing follows and is modeled on spoken language: around 775 bce, the greeks added vowels to the phoenician alphabet. Consequences: literacy becomes way more accessible because its so much easier. Important qualification: despite the above, until about 1450 most people were illiterate.
