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Johannes Gutenberg and the Shadow of Bi Sheng

How Language Developed. Why Writing Developed in China – and Printing in Europe. And Whether That Can Tell Us Anything for the Future.

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  • © 2023

Overview

  • The first book on the interrelation of the development of language, writing, printing, technological progress
  • A cross-disciplinary study
  • Human development from the point of view of language

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About this book

Without language, not much else would exist: no writing, no computer – as a matter of fact, no technical or medical progress that make our lives less painful, and easier indeed; but also not some horrors that characterize our world. In fact, language is what defines humans and distinguishes them from other living beings – and is the basis of all other developments. How is it possible that something as complex and fascinating as 'language' has come into being at all? How does language 'work'? And how did it develop? What is common to all languages – and why are there so many? Further questions are how man began to write, and how printing developed – in which languages? Why not in any language? And does this teach us anything for further developments? In trying to answer these and other questions, we experience an exciting history of scientific research.

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Table of contents (1 chapter)

Authors and Affiliations

  • Saarbrücken, Germany

    Hans Giessen

About the author

Hans Giessen is a double habilitated professor and affiliated with the University of Helsinki (Finland), Jan Kochanowski University in Kielce (Poland), and Saarland University in Saarbrücken (Germany). He was knighted, as a Chevalier de l’Ordre national du Mérite, by the French president. His works have been translated into several languages.

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Johannes Gutenberg and the Shadow of Bi Sheng

  • Book Subtitle: How Language Developed. Why Writing Developed in China – and Printing in Europe. And Whether That Can Tell Us Anything for the Future.

  • Authors: Hans Giessen

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-42865-5

  • Publisher: Springer VS Wiesbaden

  • eBook Packages: History, History (R0)

  • Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH, part of Springer Nature 2023

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-658-42864-8Published: 13 October 2023

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-658-42865-5Published: 12 October 2023

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: VIII, 124

  • Number of Illustrations: 9 b/w illustrations, 24 illustrations in colour

  • Topics: European History, History of China, Asian Languages, Language History

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