Alphabet to Email: How Written English Evolved and Where It's Headed by Naomi S. Baron

From the Publisher

How is technology changing the way we write?
In the fast-moving world of email, content is far more important than spelling and punctuation. Is it time to throw away the old rules—or should we hurry to the rescue?
From pen-and-parchment to the email revolution, Naomi Baron's provocative account shows how a surprising variety of factors-not just technology, but also religious beliefs, the law, nationalism, and economics - shape the ways we read, write and communicate. Along the way, readers will discover that:
- Long before keyboards and carpal tunnel syndrome, monks grumbled about the ergonomics of the medieval scriptorium
- The Stationers of England once declared that "Authors are too mercenary that write books for money."
- In 1902 the Times of London proclaimed of the telephone: "An overwhelming majority of the population do not use it and are not likely to use it at all."
- Many children who seldom spoke to their parents at home now communicate with them through email
- Studies show that whether or not you use a signature on emails can depend on your status
- And much more.
From Alphabet to Email is for anyone who is interested in the history of language and writing, who is concerned about the impact of the digital age on literacy and education, and for everyone who cares about the future of the language.

David Crystal

Alphabet to Email is one of those rare publishing hybrids: scholarly yet accessible, historically full yet currently relevant, theoretically aware yet practically illustrated. It refreshed the parts that other books on the history of writing have not so far been able to reach.

Choice

Written in a lively, anecdotal style, it should be useful in undergraduate collections and enjoyed by its intended audience of linguists, teachers of composition and TESOL, computer specialists, and the educated lay person.

Boston Sunday Globe

Offers a broad, and broadly informal, overview of the evolution of literacy.

What People Are Saying

Roger Shuy
Email touches all our lives. Try to name another book with such wide appeal. Alphabet to Email is a delightful and enlightening read.
—(Roger Shuy, Georgetown University)

Product Details

• Table of Contents

Table of Contents