(Ebook) The Poetics of Grammar and the Metaphysics of Sound and Sign (Jerusalem Studies in Religion and Culture) by S. La Porta, D. Shulman ISBN 9789004158108, 9004158103

(Ebook) The Poetics of Grammar and the Metaphysics of Sound and Sign (Jerusalem Studies in Religion and Culture) by S. La Porta, D. Shulman ISBN 9789004158108, 9004158103

This book examines the seemingly universal notion of a grammatical cosmos. Individual essays discuss how many of the great civilizations provide cognitive maps that emerge from a metaphysical linguistics in which sounds, syllables and other signs form the constructive elements of reality. The essays address cross-cultural issues such as: Why does grammar serve as a template in these cultures? How are such templates culturally contoured? To what end are they applied - i.e., what can one do with grammar - , and how does it work upon the world? The book is divided into three sections that deal with the metaphysics of linguistic creation; practices of encoding and decoding as a means of deciphering reality; and language in the widest sense as a medium for self- and cultural transformation. Contributors include: Jan Assman, Sara Sviri, Michael Stone, M. Finkelberg, Yigal Bronner, Martin Kern, Brouria Bitton-Ashkelony, Dan Martin, Jonathan Garb, Tom Hunter, David Shulman, and Sergio La Porta.