The Routledge Handbook of the English Writing System

by Vivian Cook (Editor), Des Ryan (Editor)

Overview

The Routledge Handbook of the English Writing System provides a comprehensive account of the English writing system, both in its current iteration and highlighting the developing trends that will influence its future. Twenty-nine chapters written by specialists from around the world cover core linguistic and psychological aspects, and also include areas from other disciplines such as typography and computer-mediated communication.

Divided into five parts, the volume encompasses a wide range of approaches and addresses issues in the following areas:

• theory and the English writing system, discussing the effects of etymology and phonology;
• the history of the English writing system from its earliest development, including spelling, pronunciation and typography;
• the acquisition and teaching of writing, with discussions of literacy issues and dyslexia;
• English writing in use around the world, both in the UK and America, and also across Europe and Japan;
• computer-mediated communication and developments in writing online and on social media.

The Routledge Handbook of the English Writing System is essential reading for researchers and postgraduate students working in this area.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780367581565
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	06/30/2020
Series:	Routledge Handbooks in Linguistics
Pages:	564
Product dimensions:	6.88(w) x 9.69(h) x (d)

About the Author

Vivian Cook is Emeritus Professor of Applied Linguistics at Newcastle University, UK, and founding co-editor of the journal Writing Systems Research.

Des Ryan works at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1. Introduction
Chapter 2. Background to the English Writing System

Theory and the English writing system
Chapter 3. English among the world's writing systems
Chapter 4. Modern theories of English spelling
Chapter 5. Phonology and English spelling
Chapter 6. Punctuation

The history and development of the EWS
Chapter 7. The etymological inputs into English spelling
Chapter 8. Changing Functions: English Spelling before 1600
Chapter 9. Modernization and standardization since the 17th century
Chapter 10. Historical spelling variation as documented in historical dictionaries: the OED as a test case
Chapter 11. Accent variation reflected in the standard writing system of English

Learning and teaching English
Chapter 12. Children’s first language acquis­ition of the English writing system
Chapter 13. Teaching literacy to English children; policy and practice
Chapter 14. Dyslexia and the English writing Liory Fern Pollak and Jackie Masterson
Chapter 15. The structure of Literacy teaching: a case study from England

Society and the English writing system in the world
Chapter 16. Sociolinguistics and the English writing system
Chapter 17. The evolution of British and American style spelling
Chapter 18. The spelling of Scots: tradition, adaptation and reform
Chapter 19. Irish English and the English Writing System
Chapter 20. Eye Dialect and Pronunciation Respelling in the USA
Chapter 21. The Orthography of English-lexicon Pidgins and Creoles
Chapter 22. The English writing system in the linguistic landscapes of the world
Chapter 23. Japanese users of the English writing system: a case study
Chapter 24. Spelling reform

Processing the written symbol
Chapter 25. Typography and the printed English text
Chapter 26. Processing the written word
Chapter 27. Computer-mediated communication and the English writing system
Chapter 28. Texting and other messaging
Chapter 29. Spell checkers

Editorial Reviews

"No longer in the shadows, the study of writing systems is drawing increasing interest among language researchers, as may be seen in this impressive collection by Vivian Cook and Des Ryan, which brings together insights by established and emerging scholars on a broad range of topics and approaches to the study of the English writing system, from its history and evolution, to its structure, processing, acquisition, and sociolinguistic aspects."
Jyotsna Vaid, Texas A&M University, USA

"The Handbook is an authoritative and comprehensive collection of a wide range of topics related to the English writing system. Written by a stellar cast of scholars, the volume for the first time brings together an amazing variety of approaches and topics, from theoretical to applied, from historical to futuristic, all presented in an accessible and fresh way. This unique and fascinating work will establish itself as an invaluable reference tool for researchers, teachers and postgraduate students, as well as a captivating read for anyone with an interest in the English writing system, for time to come."
Benedetta Bassetti, University of Warwick, UK

"This Handbook covers an extremely broad range of topics that are suitable both for beginning and more advanced students of language. It is extremely well written and organized. I recommend it enthusiastically."
Zohar Eviatar, University of Haifa, Israel

From the Publisher