Ancient Writing and the History of the Alphabet

By: John McWhorter, The Great Courses

Narrated by: John McWhorter

Length: 6 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

The ubiquity of the written word in our everyday lives can make it easy to forget how recent the development of writing and literacy are in the span of human history. But writing is, in fact, a very recent phenomenon if we take a step back and look at the big picture of human development. Even if we simply limit our view to the existence of language, writing still occupies a small segment of time. Writing in its earliest forms, particularly, is very different than what we are familiar with today.

So, when—and where—did writing first emerge? Why did early humans find it necessary to record their thoughts in a visual medium? How did cultures that had relied solely on spoken language for thousands of years create symbols that could carry meaning? And how did all the many scripts and systems that developed over the centuries lead us to the 26-letter alphabet of the English language?

Embark on a journey to the very beginning of writing as a tool of language and see how the many threads of history and linguistics came together to create the alphabet that forms the foundation of English writing. Your guide is Professor John McWhorter of Columbia University and in the 16 lectures of Ancient Writing and the History of the Alphabet, he will help you navigate the complex linguistic and cultural history behind one of our most crucial tools of communication. With his trademark humor and conversational style, Professor McWhorter makes this larger-than-life history as entertaining as it is enlightening.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2023 The Great Courses (P)2023 The Teaching Company, LLC

One of the best!

I have listened to dozens of great courses, with subject matters as diverse as Shakespearean tragedies to Quantum Physics. Professor McWorther is one of the best and this subject matter is absolutely fascinating. Five stars!

Great performance by John McWhorter

I love the theme and how the story evolves. it really captures my interest, also John has this funny geek jokes that really made me smile many times.
this course opened up my mind about human language's evolution.

lots of fun facts to open up conversations!!

I wish he was my teacher

I’ll buy any of his lectures in a heartbeat the moment they’re published:/ Funny and informative.

Typical McWhorter

If you've never listened to John McWhorter you owe it to yourself to give him a try. He has an unusual mind, and an amazing narrative style.

Highly entertaining, funny and informative

John McWhorter may be my favorite Great Courses lecturer. He has a knack for transforming what traditionally is one of the more tedious subjects into one of the most fascinating stories ever told. You will never see words and language the same way again. His lectures are infused with a Seinfeld like comedy which while maybe a bit hit and miss really helps highlight the absurdity of language evolution and makes for a highly entertaining listening experience.

Smart, Funny, Quirky

Who even knew to be curious about the origins of the actual letters? John McWhorter did and I am grateful for it!

Much less interesting than the rest of his stuff

I've listened to most of McWhorter's books and lectures. I'm always a bit disappointed when he "repeats" topicd between books, so this one seemed like it would be right up my alley. On the one hand, it was what I asked for: all new stuff! On the other hand, it just wasn't that interesting...

A gift for McWhorter fans

When you know, you know. Enjoy. (Nine more words are required for an official review.)

Fun little series

Anything McWhorter is delightful, every time he says, "And you know" I think there's a showtune coming

Fantastic narration & interesting content

As always, I really enjoy the narrator's work. His voice is easy to follow and just dramatic enough to hold my attention. Some of his pop culture references go over my head, but I still enjoy listening. The subject matter was fascinating. I was entertained and learned a lot from this short series. I know that through Great Courses or Wondrium, this lecture series is also provided as a video series, and there were multiple places where a video would've been better than just audio. Perhaps that is because it was written to be a video lecture, but I also believe, seeing the forms of the letters in their various historical stages is helpful. The accompanying PDF was an aide, but did not fully resolve my issue. There were times I was googling stuff to gain the visual, because it wasn't in the PDF and I didn't understand a concept through the audio.
Overall, I would recommend this one.