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Roy Harris, Rethinking writing. London: Athlone Press, 2000. Pp. xvi, 254. Hb $39.95.

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 September 2002

David R. Olson
David R. Olson
Affiliation:
Ontario Institute for Studies of Education, University of Toronto, Toronto, ONT M5S 1V6, Canada, [email protected]
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Extract

Most of us content ourselves with passing on our alphabetical literacy to others all the while extolling the virtues of both the alphabet and of literacy; but Roy Harris, Emeritus Professor of Linguistics of Oxford University, sets out to challenge our fundamental (mis)conceptions about writing. Rather than extol the virtues of the alphabet, he threatens to reveal the “tyranny of the alphabet.” Arguing about literacy, he says, is likely to be unproductive until writing itself is better understood.

Type
REVIEWS
Information
Language in Society , Volume 31 , Issue 3 , July 2002 , pp. 449 - 452
Copyright
© 2002 Cambridge University Press

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