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Lost Languages: The Enigma of the World's Undeciphered Scripts, by Andrew Robinson
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"Andrew Robinson has now followed up his beautifully illustrated The Story of Writing with a highly appropriate sequelLost Languages, on undeciphered scripts. Many, it seems likely, will never be deciphered ..."Sir Arthur C. Clarke, C.B.E.
A landmark study of the world's most important undeciphered writing systems and the current race to crack them
Maybe it's the tantalizing possibility of giving new voice to long-hushed peoples and civilizations. Perhaps it's the puzzle solver's delight in the mental challenges posed by breaking their codes. Whatever the reasons, the public has long been fascinated with undeciphered ancient scripts and the ongoing efforts to crack them. In Lost Languages, Andrew Robinson reports from the front lines of the global efforts now under way to crack the Meroitic hieroglyphs of ancient Nubia, the Etruscan alphabet, the Indus Valley Sealstones, the Zapotec scriptthe earliest in the Americasand five other major "lost languages." An enthralling story of genius, passion, and competition, Lost Languages provides a revealing look at how decipherment is done. In what is truly an archaeological mystery book, the author examines each script in detail and reviews what is known about the people who created it, while weaving in the intriguing cast of characters currently competing for the glory of cracking these ancient codes.
- Sales Rank: #799527 in Books
- Published on: 2002-04-25
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 9.40" h x 1.10" w x 7.50" l, 2.20 pounds
- Binding: Hardcover
- 352 pages
From Publishers Weekly
This richly illustrated book, which highlights the thrills of archeological sleuthing, recounts the many attempts at understanding ancient civilizations through the decipherment of their long-lost writing. Major breakthroughs, such as the Rosetta Stone and its key to Egyptian hieroglyphs, and continuing enigmas such as the undeciphered scripts of the Etruscans and Easter Islanders are explored with all the fervor of a contemporary news story. Whether conveying the gradual discoveries in cracking Minoan writing and Mayan glyphs or the ongoing frustrations with the mysterious texts of ancient Sudan, Crete, Iran and India, Robinson (The Story of Writing: Alphabets, Hieroglyphs and Pictograms) is always careful to address the lay reader in clear prose, and to offer relevant photos, drawings, charts and maps. He also honors the translators themselves and is sympathetic to the obstacles they faced: he describes, for instance, a 16th-century bishop who destroyed Mayan codices even as he left "essential clues" for the decipherment of those that remained; he hails the young 18th-century Englishman whose friends called him "Phenomenon Young" as the man who "really launched the decipherment" of the Rosetta Stone. The decipherers had to challenge conventional wisdom, especially the thinking that ancient glyphs were largely representative icons rather than phonetic symbols like our own alphabets. Readers might be disappointed to learn that decades of decoding were spent on an inventory of goods and accounts and not on grand narratives, but at least they'll never struggle to decipher the book's terms. (Apr.)Forecast: Archeology and linguistics buffs will be delighted with this, as will those familiar with Jacques Derrida's theory of the history of writing systems.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Journalist Robinson (Times Higher Education Supplement) opens the world of deciphering ancient scripts to general readers by surveying three deciphered scripts, including Egyptian hieroglyphics, and in contrast to Maurice Pope's respected Story of Decipherment nine undeciphered scripts, such as Sudan's Meroitic script. Consistently encouraging readers to consider themselves potential decipherers, Robinson initially offers background discussion, including the distinction between deciphering and cracking wartime codes. Next, he identifies hurdles to success, such as whether or not the unknown script can be related to another known language. Finally, Robinson effectively uses numerous graphics of the ancient scripts in brief "assignments" for readers' own deciphering attempts. The three successful deciphering projects are set as examples to prepare readers for the description of unsuccessful or controversial deciphering efforts. Overall, Robinson is successful in making his material accessible, but a more systematic presentation of established deciphering methods would have strengthened his approach. Recommended for academic and large public libraries. Marianne Orme, Des Plaines P.L., IL
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From Scientific American
It is baffling and humbling to confront an incomprehensible form of writing, such as Chinese for most Westerners. People who try to decipher the scripts of lost languages face an even sterner challenge, because there are no contemporary speakers or writers to help. That is the challenge depicted learnedly and fascinatingly by Robinson, literary editor of the Times Higher Education Supplement in London. He sets the stage by describing the hard work that went into the three great decipherments: Egyptian hieroglyphs, Linear B of Crete, and Mayan glyphs. Then he poses the problems presented by nine undeciphered scripts, among them the languages of the Etruscans and the people of Easter Island. Success at deciphering, Robinson writes, requires fanatical perseverance and devotion to detail and wide linguistic and cultural knowledge. The books's many illustrations of the enigmatic scripts make vivid the difficulty of the decipherer's task.
Editors of Scientific American
Most helpful customer reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful.
Lost and Found Languages
By Michael Gunther
If I could have any one thing come to pass (within reason) in linguistics, it would be a decipherment of the Indus Valley script. But no matter what your personal obsession - Rongorongo, perhaps, or Linear "A", or maybe just a basic interest in how linguists try (and sometimes succeed) to decipher the unknown writings of the world - there is likely to be much in "Lost Languages" that will interest and entertain you. It is primarily an introduction to the subject for the general reader, although it seems likely that even a specialist will not necessarily be familiar with all the languages included here.
Robinson begins with the story of three formerly undeciphered scripts that have now been (more or less) successfully deciphered: Egyptian hieroglyphs, Linear B, and (to a somewhat lesser extent) Mayan glyphs. This sets the stage for short chapters on important but so-far undeciphered scripts: Meroitic, Etruscan, Linear A, Proto-Elamite, Rongorongo, Zapotec, Isthmian (Mexico), Indus Valley, and the Phaistos Disc. Robinson shows how the principles of decipherment have been applied to these scripts, explains why they remain largely undeciphered at present, and offers a reasoned estimate of their chances for successful decipherment in the future.
As an introduction to the field of decipherment this is, I think, a very successful book. Naturally it lacks the details to be found in more specialized studies, but Robinson clearly articulates the basic principles of decipherment and their application to these very interesting scripts. Examples are given for the reader to work out, and other examples show how would-be decipherers, both famous and not-so-famous, have sometimes gone wrong. One could only wish for the inclusion of more scripts (why not cunieform?) and more in-depth coverage, but as an introduction, "Lost Languages" fulfills its purpose admirably. Maybe someone who reads this book will "catch the bug," go on to more advanced study, and - who knows? - someday find the key to one of these enigmatic writings.
46 of 47 people found the following review helpful.
Fascinating and informative
By Christian Wheeler
An altogether extraordinary and fascinating work, "Lost Languages" is an engaging and engrossing look at the ways that anthropologists and linguists have deciphered lost or forgotten languages. The first part of the book deals with the translation of three key languages: Egyptian hieroglyphics, the Mayan glyphs, and Greek Linear B, and how the decoding of these languages led to major breakthroughs in our knowledge of those cultures. Robinson provides a wealth of detail on the processes needed to overcome the difficulties of translating a lost language, giving the reader an inside view of the workings of the world of linguists and the often laborious tasks they undertake when attempting to decode texts from a sparse handful of clues--and how anthropological information can sometimes be the key that finally opens the door. The thrill of discovery, of unlocking the door to knowledge, is vividly presented here. Robinson's own excitement is nearly palpable, expressed in writing that is almost giddy at times. The author also makes good use of numerous charts, graphs, and illustrations to highlight his points and to clarify textual information.
The second part of the book deals with nine languages that have so far eluded translation, most notable Greek Linear A, the language of Easter Island, and the Etruscan language. Here, Robinson chronicles the frustrations and difficulties of the efforts to finally break the mystery of these forgotten languages. All of the joy of the first part of the book--the thrill of discovery--is muted here, with disappointment and frustration frequently holding court. There may be a key out there somewhere (another Rosetta Stone, perhaps) but for now--and maybe forever--these languages remain tantalizingly out of reach.
Written in a clear, reader-friendly style, with good doses of wit and anecdotal information, "Lost Languages" serves as a fine introduction to the world of ancient languages and those who seek to crack their hidden meanings. One of the best things I can say about it, though, is that it is likely to make the reader want to learn more about its subject--always a good sign. Excellent work.
32 of 33 people found the following review helpful.
a most enjoyable read!
By David W. Straight
A wonderfully entertaining book--part archaelogy, part detective
novel-like, part art. Lavishly illustrated (black-and-white with
blue to highlight): maps (showing locations where fragments
and tablets, etc, were found, historical influences, such as
Kush on Upper Egypt); hieroglyphs, symbols, etc; photographs;
drawings, etc. You can spend a lot of time just on these
illustrations alone.
The book starts off with chapters on three deciphered (more or
less) languages: Egyptian hieroglyphs, Linear B, and Mayan
glyphs, and describes how these languages were finally solved.
Problems arise because some languages are based on logograms,
where a symbol represents a word (e.g. "man"), some have symbols
representing a syllable, and some have symbols representing
just a letter--a part of a syllable--as in English. To make
matters worse, some languages have mixtures of these types.
It can be helpful for decipherers to have an idea of the
spoken language--Linear B turned out to be a form of Greek,
but the written symbols were not the familiar Greek letters.
Bilingual stelae--such as the Rosetta Stone--are very helpful--
if they can be found.
After showing how the three aforementioned languages were
solved, the author then spends the second half of the book on
8 languages which have not been deciphered, beyond, perhaps,
a few words. Some of these languages are "isolates" which
have no other modern or ancient language which is similar--
nobody speaks Etruscan, which died out in the first century B.C.
(Basque is a modern-day isolate, bearing no relation to other
languages). One of the most interesting of these undeciphered
languages is rongorongo, found on Easter Island, which is 2000
miles from the nearest other human habitation (Pitcairn Island,
of Bounty fame, is 1400 miles away). It is suspected that the
inhabitants of Easter Island came from Polynesia, and that
rongorongo is a written form of Polynesian. So with rongorongo
and the other languages, the author leads you through clues,
hypotheses, hopeful leads, false trails to show why each
language is still undeciphered, even though bits and pieces
may have been solved.
So we have, in essence, a detective novel that isn't fiction.
No crime, no murder, but clues and curiosities and detectives.
It's like reading about Turing, Bletchley Park, and the Enigma
machine--but as the author notes, the German codes were
"malicious"--designed to hinder decipherment--and these lost
languages are not malicious, but pose very different kinds
of problems for the would-be decipherer.
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