Abstract
This paper considers the early history of the alphabet and how it developed from pictorial representations into something that actually represented language in the form of phonemes or sounds, from early symbols through the true alphabet of the Phoenicians and the alphabets of the Greek and Roman worlds to the alphabet used today, with variations in different parts of the world.

From the Paper
"The alphabet used in English and other Indo-European languages has been extensively studied to determine how the letters developed over time. Not all languages use an alphabet, and not all alphabets are exactly alike. There are similarities among many of these alphabets, showing a common history. A.C. Moorhouse notes the steps in the development of the alphabet over time. Writing began with picture-writing, offering a synoptic view of a scene or event, as seen or imagined by the artist. This gave way to pictograms, or the separation of the different items in the picture so that they were then portrayed using a number of distinct signs, each standing directly for the object shown. "

Tags:alphabet, history, development

Abstract
The writer of this paper details the characteristics of the Roman alphabet which is comprised of 26 letters, ranging from A-Z. This paper discusses how this particular form of communication came into being by tracing its roots back to the Roman empire. The writer contends and explains the manner in which the Roman alphabet came to represent the development of phonetic alphabets in early society in which the Greeks and Romans were considered equal cultures. This paper discusses the ongoing disagreements of various historians in regards to the actual birth of the Roman alphabet which has been adopted by many societies and countries around the world. This paper examines the phonetic aspects of this alphabet and how it's used in numerous world languages. This paper also analyzes the manner in which the alphabet relates to general speech and communication and its relevance in a literate society.

Table of Contents:
Introduction
Characteristics and History
Speech, Writing and the Roman Alphabet
Conclusion
Bibliography

From the Paper
"The Roman alphabet is not recognizably hieroglyphic like some examples of hieroglyphic alphabets like ancient Egyptian, in which you can really see the pictogram and say that it is supposed to look like a hawk, or a person, or a temple. Looking at the letter A for example you couldn't really say that it is supposed to look like anything because it just looks like a symbol. Also the Roman alphabet is not syllabic. Some alphabets, such as Korean, have character symbol that means a whole syllabic word or can be combined with radicals to form other wirds. But the Roman alphabet is arranged in a different manner in terms of suggested sounds instead of syllables. There are many perspectives on how the alphabet has helped us."

Tags:history, roman, greek, literature, communication, letters, phonetics

From the Paper
"During the fifth and fourth centuries B.C., the civilization of ancient Greece underwent a cultural shift which has often been referred as the "Greek Miracle." The Golden Age which resulted from this shift is historically important because many of the Greek innovations from that time have had a powerful influence on the subsequent development of Western civilization. One of the most notable features of the Greek (or Hellene) culture is that it was strongly concerned with the concept of humanism. The Greeks recognized that the powers of intelligence and reason made human beings unique among the creatures of the world. This pride in human affairs was reflected in such things as the treatment of deities as human-like beings and the glorification of the human body in sculpture. Related to their concern for humanism, the Greeks were also responsible for the development of the concept..."

Abstract
This paper argues that while the alphabetic, competitive grading system has undeniable flaws and inadequacies, it remains the best grading system of all those that have been attempted to date at the post-secondary level in the western world. As such, it is shown that reform of the alphabetic grading system, as opposed to wholesale change to another system, remains the best option for most post-secondary institutions today.

From the Paper
""Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time." (Winston Churchill) The above quote, from the famous British statesman, represents a useful introduction to the contentious debate over the use of alphabetic grading as a means of assessment in post-secondary institutions. This essay will argue, as per Churchill, that while the alphabetic, competitive grading system has undeniable flaws and inadequacies, it remains the best grading..."

Tags:academic, competitive, grading

Abstract
A history of the written word, examining writing from its Sumerian origins through the development of the Greek alphabet. The focus is the shift from pictographic characters to a phonetic alphabet. This paper discusses the Old Canaanite, Phoenician, Egyptian, Hebrew, and Aramaic scripts as well.

From the Paper
"The calling and constant challenge of the poet has been to express, in writing, the highly dynamic and abstractly imaginal feeling of the human condition. Similarly, individuals have long attempted to preserve facets of life for convenience, future reference, or posterity. Writing, now a virtual necessity, was not used until the advent of civilizations, when life became complex enough that memory could not keep track of all of those things one needed to remember. It is a much younger art than that of the spoken language "which has existed for tens of thousands of years" but has come far from the early days of writing to today. The first forms of writing are results of the ancient Sumerian and Egyptian civilizations."

Tags:canaanite, character, egypt, hebrew, linear, phoenicia, phonetic, pictograph, script, written

Abstract
Cumulative records reveal a history of behavioural and learning problems. In kindergarten John showed difficulties with learning the alphabet and numbers, as well as printing letters. He also displayed problems with focusing on tasks, which led to outbursts of frustration.

From the Paper
Track 2 Individualized Program Plans Case 1 Student Information Name: John Grade: 7 Age: 12 School: Brookville Junior High School Relevant Background Information John lives with his father, stepmother and younger sister. Parents have demonstrated willingness to work with John at home, reading assignments to him and scribing written answers for him.

Tags:plan, program, individual

Abstract
This paper describes an experiment to examine the systems of the human memory responsible for language processing. It is designed to show how visual information is stored in a visual spatial sketchpad that is involved in manipulating visuo-spatial images. The experiment explores the average storage capacity of this spatial pad and the number of subsystems that might be involved in the processing of various languages. Once verified it establishes a firm ground for comprehension of how languages are processed.

From the Paper
"Long term memory is the capacity store that can store large amounts of information up to long periods of time. Long term memory is used in this experiment for the storage of letters because it has a larger capacity and items entered in the LTM have a bigger retention interval. Short term memory can store up to 5 to 7 letters and hence for the encoding and retrieval of 12 to 13 letters, LTM has to be employed."

Tags:alzheimer, disease, interference, proactive, release

Abstract
The paper relates that the Chinese script is indigenous to China and has shown itself to be adaptable through many centuries, a pictographic and ideographic medium that can be read and used by speakers of various Han languages. The paper notes its usefulness to an imperial power and to classical literature and scholarship, and shows how it was used after 1958 to serve the Communist campaign towards mass literacy.

From the Paper
"China did not develop as an alphabetical language for reasons to come into view when one recognizes that its script is the first language of about 25 per cent of the world's population. It was used earlier in Japan, Korea and Vietnam and remains the written or printed medium of Mandarin and several other important Chinese languages. David Crystal explained how it is a single method of writing that unites Chinese and a shared literary and cultural history. (1987, 137-138) The Chinese refer to eight languages as dialects of Mandarin that are really distinct, about as close as French..."

Tags:chinese, adaptation, closed society

Abstract
The following paper discusses the "Three Eras of Communication,? that Sarah Russell Hankins? talks about in her essay. According to her essay, three eras of communication can be divided roughly as existing in three distinct eras or forms of idea transmission. The author discusses the primary orality era, the literary era and the secondary literary orality.

From the paper:

" The second of these eras is that of the secondary or literary era of communication. To a certain extent, to call this era secondary is disingenuous, as many cultures, such as that of the early Celtic culture in Ireland, never moved onto a literary form of communication, and obviously oral transmission occurs on a daily basis in literate cultures. However, Hankins' point is that the introduction of literacy changes the nature of both written and oral communication, as well as introducing a new venue for that communication. This era moves stretches through the invention of the first alphabet to the introduction of the printing press in the Middle Ages".

Tags:alphabet, greek, traditions

Abstract
This paper will discuss the book "The Spell of the Sensuous" by David Abrams and seek to understand his definitions of language in chapters three and four in this book. By studying 'The Flesh of the Language' and the 'Animism of the Alphabet', we can understand how this magician/ philosopher brings us to a new realization of the way perception can be realized.