£44.66

Wiley-Blackwell WRITING SYSTEMS OF THE WORLD (The Language Library)

Price data last checked 153 day(s) ago - refreshing...

View at Amazon

We'll watch every seller, every day. One email when your price arrives.

This is the usual price. Wait for it to drop, or tell us your number.

£45 today · usual range £0–£0 · best ever £25

NEW HERE?

Amazon shows you one price. We show you all of them.

Tosheroon watches Amazon prices so you don't have to. Every product on Amazon has a price history — we make it visible. Set the price you'd actually pay, and we'll email you the second it gets there. No app, no account, one email.

WHAT'S ON THIS PAGE

↓ Price chart
when this has been cheap or pricey
↓ Forecast
where the price is heading next
↓ Statistics
all-time high & low, recent range
↑ Price alert
name your number, we'll email you

Price History & Forecast

Grey patches = out of stock. Cheaper = lower on the chart. Hover for exact prices.

Last 578 days • 578 data points (No recent data available)

Historical
Generating forecast...
£47.06 £22.65 £27.98 £33.30 £38.63 £43.95 £49.28 09 June 2024 31 October 2024 24 March 2025 15 August 2025 07 January 2026

Price Distribution

Price distribution over 578 days • 8 price levels

Days at Price
Current Price
15 days 14 days 62 days 77 days 33 days 34 days 202 days · current 141 days 0 51 101 152 202 £25 £34 £38 £41 £42 £44 £45 £47 Days at Price

Price Analysis

Most common price: £45 (202 days, 34.9%)

Price range: £25 - £47

Price levels: 8 different prices over 578 days

Description

This book is an account of the writing systems of the world from earliest times to the present. Its aim is to explore the complex ways in which writing systems relate to the language they depict. Writing, Coulmas contends, is not only the guide or garment of spoken language, but has a deep and lasting effect on the development of language itself. His study takes in Egyptian hieroglyphics and the cuneiform system of the ancient Near East; he describes Chinese writing, discussing why an apparently cumbersome system has been used continuously for more than 3,000 years; he ranges across the writing systems of western Asia and the Middle East, the Indian families and the various alphabetic traditions which had its origins in the multifarious world of Semitic writing and came to full bloom in pre-Classical Greece.

Key Features

Used Book in Good Condition

Product Specifications

Format
paperback
Domain
Amazon UK
Release Date
26 April 1989
Listed Since
12 February 2007

Barcode

No barcode data available

Similar Products You Might Like

The World's Writing Systems
97% match

The World's Writing Systems

Oxford University Press

£160.00 13 Jan 2026
Writing from Invention to Decipherment
97% match

Writing from Invention to Decipherment

£106.92 25 Jan 2026
Writing as Technology and Cultural Ecology: Explorations of the Human Mind at the Dawn of History: 82 (DASK – Duisburger Arbeiten zur Sprach- und ... Papers on Research in Language and Culture)
97% match

Writing as Technology and Cultural Ecology: Explorations of the Human Mind at the Dawn of History: 82 (DASK – Duisburger Arbeiten zur Sprach- und ... Papers on Research in Language and Culture)

Peter Lang Gmbh, Internationaler Verlag Der Wissenschaften

£63.10 10 Apr 2026
The Social and Cultural Contexts of Historic Writing Practices: 2 (Contexts of and Relations Between Early Writing Systems)
97% match

The Social and Cultural Contexts of Historic Writing Practices: 2 (Contexts of and Relations Between Early Writing Systems)

Oxbow Books

£26.99 01 Mar 2026
Writing: Theory and History of the Technology of Civilization
96% match

Writing: Theory and History of the Technology of Civilization

Wiley-Blackwell

£77.49 06 Mar 2026
Writing Systems and Cognition: Perspectives from Psychology, Physiology, Linguistics, and Semiotics: 6 (Neuropsychology and Cognition, 6)
96% match

Writing Systems and Cognition: Perspectives from Psychology, Physiology, Linguistics, and Semiotics: 6 (Neuropsychology and Cognition, 6)

Springer

£150.34 19 Dec 2025
The Routledge Handbook of Scripts and Alphabets
96% match

The Routledge Handbook of Scripts and Alphabets

Routledge

£44.99 09 Feb 2026
An Archaeological Discussion of Writing Practice: Deconstruction of the Ancient Egyptian Scribe: 23 (GHP Egyptology)
96% match

An Archaeological Discussion of Writing Practice: Deconstruction of the Ancient Egyptian Scribe: 23 (GHP Egyptology)

Golden House Publications

£25.00 25 Jan 2026
Their Way of Writing: Scripts, Signs, and Pictographies in Pre-Columbian America (Dumbarton Oaks Pre-Columbian Symposia and Colloquia)
95% match

Their Way of Writing: Scripts, Signs, and Pictographies in Pre-Columbian America (Dumbarton Oaks Pre-Columbian Symposia and Colloquia)

Random House Books for Young Readers

£41.38 06 Mar 2026
The Development of Arabic as a Written Language: v. 40: Supplement to the Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies: Supplement to the ... Seminar for Arabian Studies Volume 40 2010
95% match

The Development of Arabic as a Written Language: v. 40: Supplement to the Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies: Supplement to the ... Seminar for Arabian Studies Volume 40 2010

Archaeopress Archaeology

£30.94 31 Mar 2026
Geschichte des Schreibens, Band 1, Von der Antike bis zum Buchdruck
95% match

Geschichte des Schreibens, Band 1, Von der Antike bis zum Buchdruck

De Gruyter

£171.38 09 Mar 2026
Learning to Read across Languages and Writing Systems
95% match

Learning to Read across Languages and Writing Systems

Cambridge University Press

£40.00 24 Feb 2026
Philosophie der Schrift: 285 (Reihe Germanistische Linguistik)
95% match

Philosophie der Schrift: 285 (Reihe Germanistische Linguistik)

De Gruyter

£101.37 08 Mar 2026
When Writing Met Art: From Symbol to Story
95% match

When Writing Met Art: From Symbol to Story

University of Texas Press

£38.99 04 Mar 2026
The Origins of the West Semitic Alphabet in Egyptian Scripts: 40 (Catholic Biblical Quarterly Monograph Series)
95% match

The Origins of the West Semitic Alphabet in Egyptian Scripts: 40 (Catholic Biblical Quarterly Monograph Series)

£40.00 18 Feb 2026
Literacy Traditional Societies
95% match

Literacy Traditional Societies

Cambridge University Press

£49.66 22 Feb 2026
The Routledge Handbook of Scripts and Alphabets
95% match

The Routledge Handbook of Scripts and Alphabets

Routledge

£140.00 08 Apr 2026
Writing and Society in Ancient Cyprus (Cambridge Classical Studies)
95% match

Writing and Society in Ancient Cyprus (Cambridge Classical Studies)

Cambridge University Press

£81.54 08 Mar 2026
Epigraphic Culture in the Eastern Mediterranean in Antiquity (Routledge Monographs in Classical Studies)
95% match

Epigraphic Culture in the Eastern Mediterranean in Antiquity (Routledge Monographs in Classical Studies)

Routledge

£41.03 07 Mar 2026
Why Writing Still Matters: Written Communication in Changing Times
95% match

Why Writing Still Matters: Written Communication in Changing Times

Cambridge University Press

£70.37 27 Feb 2026
Writing and Society: An Introduction (Key Topics in Sociolinguistics)
95% match

Writing and Society: An Introduction (Key Topics in Sociolinguistics)

Cambridge University Press

£49.99 15 Apr 2026
Planning Chinese Characters: Reaction, Evolution or Revolution?: 9 (Language Policy, 9)
95% match

Planning Chinese Characters: Reaction, Evolution or Revolution?: 9 (Language Policy, 9)

Springer

£99.99 08 Mar 2026
The Oxford Handbook of Cuneiform Culture (Oxford Handbooks)
95% match

The Oxford Handbook of Cuneiform Culture (Oxford Handbooks)

Oxford University Press

£40.01 11 Jan 2026
Bi-Scriptual: Typography and Graphic Design with Multiple Script Systems
95% match

Bi-Scriptual: Typography and Graphic Design with Multiple Script Systems

Thames & Hudson

£35.15 05 Apr 2026