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The review analyzes the contributions of Meletis and Dürscheid's book on writing systems, assessing its implications for signed languages.

May 20, 2026Open Access

A Review of Meletis and Dürscheid (2022)

Key Points

The review analyzes the contributions of Meletis and Dürscheid's book on writing systems, assessing its implications for signed languages.
Evaluated the theoretical framework of writing systems as presented in Meletis and Dürscheid's book.
Discussed the implications of signed-language writing on typology and existing writing structures.
Identified strengths in the book's handling of writing's internal structure and materiality.
Concluded that the framework is typologically incomplete concerning signed writing and its unique features.

Abstract

This working review evaluates Dimitrios Meletis and Christa Dürscheid's Writing Systems and Their Use as a strong recent comparative theory of writing and a useful pressure test for signed-language writing. The review treats the book's layer-level contribution as correct and useful: it moves beyond crude speech-dependence, gives writing internal structure, takes visual form and materiality seriously, and handles typology with real self-awareness. Its full-path judgment is that the framework remains typologically incomplete once signed writing and SignWriting are treated as real writing on their own terms, with plane-based written units, authored spatial composition, and signed-text infrastructure. This document DOI record includes the signed-writing pressure-test companion paper as a companion packet file for the review.

A Review of Meletis and Dürscheid (2022)

Key Points

Abstract

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