Ancient and Medieval Eastern Texts as the Hypertext

Abstract

Being the object of study within various sciences including linguistics, the hypertext represents a complex phenomenon of modern human communication. The earlier concept of hypertext became widely used with the development of computer technologies. However, despite a relatively new term, it is possible to acknowledge the ancient origin of hypertext represented by a variety of famous manuscripts, such as the Panini’s eight books of grammar or eastern fairy tales. The hypertext represents the fourth stage in cognitive revolution of humankind leading to the shift in human thinking thus changing it from linear, typical for the Gutenberg era, to lateral thinking, which most likely was dominating during the ‘preliterate’ period. Oral, written and electronic communication are considered as development stages of a discourse consistently replacing each other. Reflections on the relation of hypertext to lateral thinking lead to the idea of unconventional thinking of geniuses, which found it hard to study at a standard school. The paper analyzes the structure of the One Thousand and One Nights fairy tales from the point of view of its hypertextuality.