ABSTRACT
THOUGH the problem of the origin of language does not admit of any satisfactory solution, such is not the case with the problem of the origin of writing. This can be directly attacked and viewed from every angle and in all its bearings, for the origin of writing is comparatively recent. The ancient languages are known to us only from the time when they were written down; but many are known to us from that very moment, and often the first text that comes into our possession is also the first one which enshrined this ancient tongue in writing. On the other hand, there are quite recent languages which have not been written down until our own time, and almost under our very eyes. Thus, we can study living examples of the processes by which a spoken tongue became a written one, and judge of the results of the mechanism.
