Language Visible
Unraveling the Mystery of the Alphabet from A to Z
David Sacks
- Letters
- are
- tangible
- language.
- Joining
- together
- in
- endless
- combinations
- to
- actually
- show
- speech,
- letters
- convey
- our
- messages
- and
- tell
- our
- stories.
- While
- we
- encounter
- these
- tiny
- shapes
- hundreds
- of
- times
- a
- day,
- we
- take
- for
- granted
- the
- long,
- fascinating
- history
- behind
- one
- of
- the
- most
- fundamental
- of
- human
- inventions--the
- alphabet.The
- heart
- of
- the
- book
- is
- the
- 26
- fact-filled
- “biographies”
- of
- letters
- A
- through
- Z,
- each
- one
- identifying
- the
- letter’s
- particular
- significance
- for
- modern
- readers,
- tracing
- its
- development
- from
- ancient
- forms,
- and
- discussing
- its
- noteworthy
- role
- in
- literature
- and
- other
- media.
- We
- learn,
- for
- example,
- why
- the
- letter
- X
- has
- a
- sinister
- and
- sexual
- aura,
- how
- B
- came
- to
- signify
- second
- best,
- why
- the
- word
- “mother”
- in
- many
- languages
- starts
- with
- M,
- and
- what
- is
- the
- story
- of
- O.Packed
- with
- information
- and
- lavishly
- illustrated,
- Language
- Visible
- is
- not
- only
- accessible
- and
- entertaining,
- but
- essential
- to
- the
- appreciation
- of
- our
- own language.
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