Ling 115: Writing Systems
Related links


Prof. Gene Buckley


Please note: Since these materials are from a semester that has now ended, not all of the links continue to function.


See also the course description, syllabus, and outline.


The following are some links on the Web related to the content of this course.  As always, be careful about information you find on a web page which is not sponsored by a source you know to be reliable. (Inclusion of a link here does not necessarily constitute endorsement of its contents on my part!)  If you come across an interesting site, be sure to let me know> so I can include it here; also please let me know if any of these links have expired.

General 
All the Scripts in the World
Ancient Scripts of the World
Timelines of Art History with links to many other sites
Virtual Library: Linguistics
International Phonetic Alphabet

Fonts
Yamada Font Archive
Dr. Berlin's Foreign Font Archive (for Windows)
 
Mesopotamia
Cuneiform
Sumerian language page (includes lexicon; ignore claims about sound symbolism and "invention" of the language)
Akkadian language page
Akkadian linguistics
Abzu index of Resources for the Study of Ancient Mesopotamia
History of Mesopotamia
Quick survey of Mesopotamian history and civilization
Exhibit on the Royal Tombs of Ur at the University Museum

Egypt
A Short Introduction to Hieroglyphs
Ancient Egyptian Language Resources
Abzu index of Resources for the Study of Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt Resources
Egyptology at Cambridge University
Exhibit on Egyptian mummies at the University Museum

Mesoamerica
Decipherment
A very nice overview of Mayan Hieroglyphic Writing
The extensive Mayan Epigraphic Database Project, including over 1000 pictures of glyphs
Exhibit on the Maya city Tikal at the University Museum
Maya archaeology

China
Basic survey of the Chinese writing system (by the Taiwanese government)
Excellent Chinese character dictionary (searchable by English, pinyin, radicals, etc.)
Excellent dictionary of the origins and component elements of Chinese characters
The Chinese rotunda at the University Museum

Japan
Survey of the Japanese writing system
General information about the Japanese language
Nicely animated demonstration of kanji stroke order
A Japanese altar in the Buddhism exhibit at the University Museum

Korea
An introduction to the Korean language
The basics of hangul, the world's most logical writing system

Linear B
Linear B and Mycenean society
Outline of early Greek history

Semitic alphabets
The Arabic alphabet with pronunciations
The Hebrew alphabet with modern Israeli pronunciations
The Phoenician alphabet, with cute graphics and historical development (though the facts are not entirely accurate)