Words out of wood : proposals for the decipherment of the Easter Island script / M. de Laat.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Laat, M. de, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Inscriptions--Easter Island.

Inscriptions.

Rongorongo script.

Rapa Nui language--Writing.

Rapa Nui language.

Wood-carving--Easter Island.

Wood-carving.

Easter Island--Antiquities.

Easter Island.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (301 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Delft, Netherlands : Eburon, 2009.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Two dozen or so wooden tablets discovered on Easter Island late in the nineteenth century are all that remain of rongorongo--a series of glyphs thought to be the writing system of the island's lost people. In Words Out of Wood , M. de Laat explores the construction and use of these enigmatic figures and makes a compelling case that rongorongo, despite its resistance to decipherment, constitutes nothing less than a fully developed script. Reproduced here in clear, full-page illustrations, the glyphs stand alongside the great moai statues as lasting monuments of the inventiveness and artistry of the remote Pacific island.

Contents:

Intro

To my parents

Foreword

Contents

Introduction

1 Script

1.1 Syllables

1.2 Signs

1.3 Words

1.3.2.1 Types of fusion

1.3.2.2 Reading order

1.3.2.3 Reduplication of phonetic value

1.3.3.1 (h)a

1.3.3.2 (h)e

1.3.3.3 (h)i

1.3.3.4 (h)o

1.3.3.5 (h)u

1.3.3.6 nga

1.3.3.7 ngi

1.3.3.8 ngo

1.3.3.9 ka

1.3.3.10 ke

1.3.3.11 ki

1.3.3.12 ko

1.3.3.13 ku

1.3.3.14 ma

1.3.3.15 me

1.3.3.16 mo

1.3.3.17 na

1.3.3.18 no

1.3.3.19 pa

1.3.3.20 pe

1.3.3.21 pi

1.3.3.22 po

1.3.3.23 pu

1.3.3.24 ra

1.3.3.25 re

1.3.3.26 ri

1.3.3.27 ro

1.3.3.28 ta

1.3.3.29 te

1.3.3.30 ti

1.3.3.31 to

1.3.3.32 tu

1.3.3.33 va

1.3.3.34 ve

1.3.3.35 vi

1.3.3.36 Missing syllables

1.3.3.37 Indication of phonetic value reduplication

1.3.3.38 Punctuation

1.3.4.1 Causative 'haka'

1.3.4.2 ina

1.3.4.3 kai

1.3.4.4 ma(a)i

1.3.4.5 nei

1.3.4.6 nui

1.3.4.7 to(h)u

1.3.4.8 vae

1.3.5.1 Personal pronouns

1.3.5.2 Possessive pronouns (indefinite)

1.3.5.3 Possessive pronouns (definite)

1.3.5.4 Personal pronouns in benefactive case

1.3.5.5 Overview of personal pronouns

1.3.5.6 Interrogative pronouns

1.4 Frames

2 Texts

2.1 The murder investigation

2.2 The unwanted resurrection

2.3 The magic eyes

3 Conclusions

A: Vocabulary

B: Index on tablet transliterations

C: Sources of illustrations

References.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

90-5972-866-1

OCLC:

878145728