Graphology

ge differences Graphology, in its linguistic sense, is the study of appear as A, a, a, or in other forms, u;::,.<:1.~~

ieges sometimes differ the systems of symbols that have been devised to handwriting sryle or rypeface cho
choice of allographs to communicate language in written form. Ir must be possible forms is known as a graph (cf.
nguistic units. clearly distinguished from the psychological sense of There is a vast amount of physical Vd.H·<lUII",-'_

ord dasses the term, which refers to the study of handwriting as of graphs that does not affect the und
ere are several differences a guide to character and personaliry (p. 197). It also the grapheme. Whether a word is prin
een personal pronouns: needs to be seen in contrast with graphetics, the study or even caT or cAt, we still recognize it
English I, you of the physical properties of manuscript, print, and three graphemes <C>, <a>, <t>.
German ich (I), Sie (you) other forms of graphic expression (§32). Linguistic
French je (I), vous (you) graphology is an abstract study (as is its counterpart in Variants and features
Spanish yo (I), Vd. (= usted), the study of speech, phonology, §28), dealing with the When graphs are analysed as variants
Vds. (= ustedes) (singular kind of elements used in a language's writing system, the they are known as allographs (analogo
and plural forms of 'you') number of elements there are and how they interrelate, p. 168). It is sometimes possible to wo
Nouns in German all begin with and the rules governing the way these elements combine governing the use of particular allogra
a capital letter: in written texts. for example, we find 'capital letters' (u"".-_'-:--
English the lamp, a hammer beginning of a sentence or proper nam
German die Lampe, ein Graphemes other contexts; otherwise, 'small letters'
Hammer used. However, the choice of most all ~
The term graphology was coined on analogy with
Days and months phonology, and several of the phonological notions be dictated by factors that are little und
English Monday, Tuesday ... fashion, prominence, elegance, or perso
used in the study of speech have also been applied to
French lundi, mardi ... Graphology also makes use of
the study of written language. In particular, the idea of
Spanish lunes, martes ... distinctive features (p. 170). A grapheme
a grapheme has been developed, analogous to phoneme
English January, February .
(p. 168). Graphemes are the smallest units in a writing a single configuration, or gestalt, and nor
German Januar, Februar .
system capable of causing a contrast in meaning. In the and dots; but it is nonetheless possible -
Spanish enero, febrero ...
English alphabet, the switch from cat to bat introduces shapes into their components, to dere
Language names
a meaning change; therefore, c and b represent different salient parameters of contrast are - curve -
English 1speak Portuguese.
graphemes. It is usual to transcribe graphemes within presence vs absence of dot, left-facing
Portuguese Falo portugues.
angle brackets, to show their special status: <C>, -cb». curve, and so on. In French, accents ar
Questions and exdamations
The main graphemes of English are the 26 units that (as in «e», <D, and <b). In Chinese and ...-,.. _
In Spanish, question marks and
make up the alphabet. Other graphemes include the contrasts are carried by the strokes that rr'~--
exclamation marks are used
various marks of punctuation: <.>, -c;», etc., and such characters. However, no general typology
both at the beginning and at the
end of a sentence, the first one special symbols as <@>, <&>, and «E», graphological features has yet been estab - -
being inverted: Graphemes are abstract units, which may adopt a
ieomo se llama este pueblo? variery of forms. The grapheme <a>, for example, may Functional differences
What is this village called?' The analogy berween graphology and
iQue dial What a day!' important, but there is no identity of fun
Graphemes may signal phonemes, but they ~, ••.. ~L~.~_

words or word parts (as with the numerals.

grapheme < 1>, <2>, ete. is spoken as a wo
SPECIAL WRITING SYSTEMS
from language to language). Graphemes of .,....... _
Graphological studies have a functional as well as Stenography A system that enables writing to show links and boundaries berween units
~ 'oma dimension. Within a language, several take place at speed, as in the many systems of that may have nothing to do with the so
nos of system may be invented in order to shorthand (p. 216).
(notably, the use of the hyphen (p. 215)).
::' a specialized set of functions. One
I
Cryptography A system devised to keep a the morphological relationships berween wo
- ca on recognizes five types, differentiated written message secret (p. 60). conveyed by graphology more clearly than ph
'0 e purpose for which they were
Paedography A system devised to help children example, the link berween sign and signaturr
~;'er ountford, 1973):
to read, as in such alphabets as i.t.a. (p. 227). writing than in speech (where the g is prono
onhol~l)by The writing system in standard Technography A system that enables a second word, but not in the first), and the SaJIl<:
B!::nG:~~se. '~\t-jch consequently attracts most specialized field to perform its function, such as such sets as telegraph / telegraphy / telegraphic,
phonetic transcription (p. 166), chemical notation, are several stress and vowel changes in speech
cartography, or computer coding. in writing.
 33 • GRAPHOlOG 205

GRAPHOLOGY AT BREAKFAST

A comparative study of writing systems • Loanwords (from languages other - showing long vowels). The final word
usually deals with different languages; than Chinese) are expressed in the in the sentence [mid right]. tappuri, is an
out it is important to remember that angular katakana syllabic script (p. 211). unusual use of katakana to emphasize a
different systems may coexist w~hin For example cornflake emerges [mid native Japanese word.
a single language. Runic and Latin right] as ko·nfu-re·ku (with two uses of
alphabets are both found in Old
English. In Chinese, there is now the
JSe of the romanized alphabet pin-yin
alongside the use of characters (p. IBest to you every morning.
322). In Japan, however, four writing ~1!lJiW" no (possessive)
Io.!. _. ~",~~,. ""'IIe- '1;- ••... = 'Kellogg's Quality
systems are in regular daily use (five, ~;I.; •• It.,I.'''' rlt
•.•:'••·~·tl..t
r'lUU-'*""I;au.,e'''!-Utll Guarantee'
'4'~'~:!"''',· "I.iI.:.""'·flnl'I\'~."
.s arabic numbers are counted as a " 0; 0{; 0:1;' I;tP?, 1:':';' <;4!.t; ~(7)tt':II:ftlll Lf~Q)
iI.•.
-t:.~ 1,1) ",.r;'~tl"

separate system), as can be seen from 1.' L.Io oj ';JH;tSJNt lPiQ) ...•.•••
:,. :1 ~&q)l,tl:EIJ* 1-. ~~!~'~·'o~ arabic numerals
.~T ...•..••
;.:1,4~Pf7~~~MLE.tLtl-~.
-e back of this 1995 cornflakes packet: "O;o{;O:1;'';'fI!?/I:I1;i?f;(7)1;t.1492if.1::7'J ~"77 -, :l 0 ~
:1~,;''''' ;1-I,q)4 ~p! 7 ~,;,<;It<;t1t; f O;o{;O:1:"€: 3- 0 -III
• The English alphabet is noticeable 1:1~~4oi?f;(7),;'l!?,;'It ttl';")l()olf·tnt~~l >? ~I: 3- 0 -I".
7') 7. 77 'J ""tl1;';'I). pt'l'I;tl!!WT"2~AUj:q)AkQ) l:1tt f.<?TPt-t.
- the brand names and international ;lFll~:j.)t.'I' -~"?I!PI:i1it1T1t? f 0;0{; 0:1;' ;;:*ft~(7)IU'I: 9 ~":7n. ke.ro.g.gu
: oduct design, including (on the side V<7i. 1::'9; ~A. 1::'9, ~Bf.<I:~~r.;.. ~ r,1:lIin/j7r';\1>f.«.:1"'~7'o-)t.t;,~ = kellogg
'" -tt1•• Ill'l!(7):l:ftl:.I. ~ 1>L\ > " 0; -1: 0:1 ;.q)~1t1.'T.
-- :he packet) the slogan 'Best to you
_ ery morning' (advertising is a variety
hich English script and loanwords ~~ keroggu
('Kellogg')
very common, p. 410).
• "he more complex-looking
..~~
-1'- ~.
"\. ..•.• ...
kotokono
:J->~ konfureku
racters are kanji logograms (p. 210), ....••.
0'\.2 -, :
('Cornflake')
,;.."'- (;,.. J',- -, ?:,
ed from Chinese. For example, 'C·J~l>l~t:J'~""
•..&?" ".-"1,
....
-.1
kotokono
statement mid right contains the
."'f ?",,"'~Vt&..IIl~
,:-.t"'t't;"C,,"'l'D,
m ni wa (particles)
~~~~~'/"~·1n6·~•. hirogono
- cters for 'nature' (shizen) and mA shizen ('nature')
cy' (megum/). kanji
Several graphemes from the 0) no (particle)
hirogono
ded hiragana syllabic script
D megumi
be seen on the page. They ('mercy') kanji
= .sed for various particles that g~7'J tappuri (,full
of') kotokono
ess grammatical distinctions.
= 'Kellogg's
- - anslation of Kellogg's is itself Cornflakes are full of
3ting: [top right] the English nature's mercy'
(i.e. 'nourishment')
: retained, but the's particle is *""D';J~ ::J-/7v-?0) *
ed by the hiragana symbol 0)
_ essing possession; [mid right] 1t;tt14A~
l!h';JT-;/7-XC. ~ )"?O)~';J?A

-to 1'7 :J-:'-7"-'740gX4A~ tl7Y-:'~-A30gX4A~

*Jl7OCX:X4A~ "'I- ~ "'J*~
1;1~X4A~ l.••.-f:.-~r (.X4A~

_: ISa loanword in Japanese, T.Jo:e;*~t,;I",X4A'9 vt:.-t1).!R: (..•.IJJj?l..kbt1) I_it

ItJ'Jn O:fJ77-:'T-~ta;:!"t,. 1\1' ~ 7 dt:$l' vt;...~tt~t!~t>ttf't,

...•katakana (ke-ro-g-gu); a no $Gt:?'"c '1 '7 ::J-:'-7t.--?t.".T.):! ?EM:'; l,"( hf!'t •

.:nt.: 1 tl1~1,1"'li?l,t.:vt:,..t1)li:t.;'IJ .• I't?(n"l'a"tfIJ,"(T
~ ...,ight have been used here,
instance is not.

SOMALI PROBLEM
re stated aims of the 1969 accompanying Latin equivalents (from influence of Ethiopic scripts. Arabic The Osmanian alphabet was not
- n Somalia was to solve the Diringer, 1968). influence is found in the order of the successful. In January 1973 a Latin script
which writing system to use The role of Latin script, mainly deriving letters, and in the ways of representing was finally adopted, and given official
" untry's main language, Somali. from Italian influence in the area, is long vowels (not shown here). status.
eral years, the question had evident in the way vowels as well as
7- controversial, with the merits consonants are symbolized (unlike
-.rabic, and Osmanian scripts in Arabic), and also in the left-to-right S't'l../Hh!l77J
~ ocated. The last of these direction of the writing. Some letter 'b tg~ha,., s
eo after its early 20th-century shapes are taken over from the Latin
Osman Yusuf, and shows an
5 ...,ixture of Arabic, Italian, and
alphabet, though they are not given the
same phonetic values; others are arbitrary
cK!n~z~C't
:-e ents. It is drawn (right) with inventions, displaying the general
<jk lmnwh..':/
206 P RT V • THE MEDIUM OF LANGUAGE: WRITING AND READING

THE HISTORY OF WRITING The matter is complicated by the fact that, ;:...'
~---
period, it is by no means easy to decide whether
Myths and legends of the supernatural shroud the
graphic expression should be counted as an
early history of writing, as they do of speech (§§3, 49).
or as a symbol of primitive writing. In p . n

Archaeological discoveries provide enthralling pinholes

difference is clear: the artistic images convey
of illumination along with frustrating problems of
subjective meanings, and do not combine in
interpretation. An account of the early history of writing
of recurring symbols with accepted values; b
has gradually emerged, but it contains many gaps and
writing is conventional and institurionalizec
ambiguities.
of being understood in the same way by
using the system. When the product is a rock
PRIMITIVE PICTURE-WRITING painting of an animal, there is little doubt that ~.,~-
is non-linguistic (though whether it has
Exploration has revealed (i) Coloured river pebbles from the Azilian culture of southern
many primitive pictures and
religious, or other function is debatable). Ho
signs that resemble writing
but lack the systematization
we expect of a writing system.
Human figures, geometric
~"i@~®-~' the product is a series of apparent geometrica.
tiny characters, the distinction between an
becomes less obvious. The languages may eve
problem: in early Greek, and in Egyptian, the ~--,-
signs, and other shapes have (ii) Geometric signs on stones found in Spain was used for both 'write' and 'draw'.
been found carved or painted One point, at least, is fairly dear. Ir now
above and below ground on likely that writing systems evolved independen
rocks (petroglyphs'), buildings, other at different times in several parts of the
tombs, pottery, and other
in Mesopotamia, China, Meso-America, and
objects in many parts of the (iii) Various patterns found in California
There is nothing to support a theory of cornm
world. Their significance is
There are of course similarities between these
generally unknown. (From
Diringer, 1968.) but these are not altogether surprising, given rhe c==-
ways of devising a system of written communi

Precursors
The earliest examples of a conventional use
CLAY TOKENS
symbols are on clay tablets discovered in YaD
These tokens from Susa, dating from around 3000 BC, appear in many different shapes. Some of of the Middle East and south-east Europe fro~
the commonest shapes are here compared with the incised characters in the earliest Sumerian 3500 Be. Large numbers of tablets ma
inscriptions (only some of which have been interpreted). Sumerians have been found in sites around -
Tigris and Euphrates in present day Iraq an
example, on tablets from the city-state of L,--, "'-_
1,500 symbols have been listed, most of rh
in character. They seem to have recorded such
land sales, business transactions, and tax acco e-

Several correspondences have been nor

the symbols used on these tablets and the clay
were used throughout the area for several tho
before the advent of writing. These tokens.
distinctive shapes, seem to have been used
of accounting from at least the 9th millenni

•
selection of tokens from Susa, dating from the

to e
SEAT
]!!!>
NUMERAl 1
~ 4IIIIP
WOOl.
~
METAL
4th millennium BC, is shown left. The adjacent
shows the relationship between some of the
the incised characters that appear in the earliest:''-,~~-
tablet inscriptions (not all of which can be in=,F---
- ()
(j
....
The similarity between the three-dimensio
~ lEGAl
DECISION. CI> ~ and the two-dimensional inscriptions is srri
TRIAL, PEACE
Oil ~
. ~••. -1
GRANARY
Schmandt-Besserat, 1978.)

~ ~
DOG
~
.~-'-

~
"
.
'
C?
cow EIJ
-.,: .• - [B f'ltf7
. ::.':, ANiMAl?

(UNIDENTIfiED)
 33 • G RAP OlO 207

TYPES OF WRITING SYSTEM PICTOGRAPHIC SYMBOLS

- is possible to talk about writing systems on the basis Below: Some of the pictographic symbols parts, animals, and other everyday objects. 0
; such grapheric factors (§32) as the size, style, and used on seals and tablets in the early Minoan everything is immediately recognizable, sho g
nfiguration of the symbols, or the direction in which period in Crete (from Diringer, 1968). Over that there has been some development towards
ey are written; but this does not help us to understand 100 symbols represent human figures, body an ideographic system.
at the graphemes are and how they are used. In principle,
-y of the systems to be described below could be written
almost any set of graphetic conventions. Sometimes,
example, several directions are used during the history
; a language, as in early Greek, which at different periods
written righr-ro-lefr, left-to-right, and even using
zernate directions (in boustrophedon writing, p. 193).
A more useful approach is to classify systems into
that show a clear relationship between the sounds of Below: A drawing of one of the wooden tablets the tablet upside down at the end of each line.
carved with symbols, found on Easter Island The pictographic character of many symbols
language (phonological systems) and those that do not
(from Diringer, 1968). The direction of writing is clear (e.g. birds, fish), but others cannot be
n-phonological systems). The vast majority of present-
alternates (boustrophedon, p. 193), with the interpreted. The script as a whole has not been
. systems are phonological; the non-phonological
alternate rows inverted: the reader has to turn deciphered.
ems are mainly found in the early history of writing.

n-phonological systems
- rtographic
this system, the graphemes (often referred to as
;ographs or pictograms) provide a recognizable picture
entities as they exist in the world. For example, a set of
;' lines might represent the sea or a river, and outlines
people and animals represent their living counterparts.
re is no intention to draw the reality artistically or
y, but the symbols must be sufficiently clear and Knot', (b) '9 Monkey, (c) '1 Owl', and (d) 'Treble
le to enable them to be immediately recognized and Scroll'. In front of the latter is a place name, (e)
uced, as occasion demands, as part of a narrative. 'Hill of 1 Jaguar', and (I) the name of the Zapotec
-:-0 'read' such a script, it is enough only to recognize ruler, which is not fully decipherable.
.TIlbols, and the sequence may then be verbally
d in a variety of ways, in whatever language
ppens to speak. There is thus a great deal of
e ambiguity when it comes to reading sequences
ograms, and many of these scripts have proved
t or impossible to decipher. The problem can be
red with a modern pictogram, such as the first
isn (below right). Without knowing the context,
_ could be 'read' in all kinds of ways - someone
Below: Some modern pictographic road signs,
nlwill be/is digging/clearing/stopping a landslide alongside an Indian rock drawing from New
~-en (as was discovered in a competition to find the Mexico. The parallel between the two cultures
absurd road-sign interpretation) struggling to put is instructive. In the one case, the road leads to
umbrella on a windy day! Modern drivers know the water, and vehicles should take care; in the other,
context, so ambiguity is uncommon. When we are
o 5,000-year-old pictograms, the likely context

t be known. The many undeciphered or partly

ered pictographic scripts of ancient Crete illustrate
~of the problem (cf. the Phaistos disc, p. 191).
ograms constitute the earliest system of writing
found in many parts of the world where the
of early people have been discovered. They have
=0 c.scovered in Egypt and Mesopotamia from around
3C and in China from around 1500 Be.
208 PART V • THE MEDIUM OF LANGUAGE: WRITING AND READING

Today's ideograms Ideographic Cuneiform

Modem signs are frequently
Ideographic writing is usually distinguished as a later The cuneiform method of writing dates -
ideographic, as with the
development of pictographic. Ideograms, or ideographs, millennium Be, and was used to expr
diagona lines used to express
have an abstract or conventional meaning, no longer phonological and phonological writing S) [
prohb n e.g. no right turn).
displaying a clear pictorial link with external reality. Two languages. The name derives from me
SI s SUG as 'no dogs allowed'
a d'do 0 Iron' mix pictograms factors account for this. The shape of an ideogram may 'wedge-shaped', and refers to the techni
a deograms. so alter that it is no longer recognizable as a pictorial make the symbols. A stylus was pressed in
representation of an object; and its original meaning may soft clay to make a sequence of short s~'
extend to include notions that lack any clear pictorial form. later periods, harder materials were used. T;
In early Sumerian writing, for example, the picture of a thickest at the top and to the left, reflecting ••.••..,..---
starry sky came to mean 'night', 'dark', or 'black'; a foot of writing: at first, symbols were wrirte
came to represent 'go', 'stand', and other such notions. bottom; later, [hey were turned onto rh -.
It is rare to find a 'pure' ideographic writing system - written from left to right.
that is, one in which the symbols refer directly to notions The earliest cuneiform was a d~,rlol===-
or things. Most systems that have been called ideographic pictographic symbols. Subsequently,
in fact contain linguistic elements. The symbols stand used to write words and syllables, and to •.•.•.••.••
1<-----
for words in the language, or parts of the symbols elements. It was used for over 3,000 years ~~:::::::=
represent sounds. The Sumerian, Egyptian, Hittite, and ear East by such cultures as the Sumeri
other scripts of the early period were all mixtures of Assyrians, and Hittites, finally dying our as
pictographic, ideographic, and linguistic elements. era approached. The latest cuneiform
the l st century BC The script could not
EARLY IDEOGRAMS Married love, with 19th century, when several of the languages i:: J::;==-==-

The Black Obelisk of

Some Hittite ideograms, used
in the 2nd millennium BC l pillows for head and feet
(a sign of wealth).

Qua rrel between

were finally deciphered.
The
pictograms,
columns below show
first vertically, then in me
a seri
-
Shalmanazer III (858-824 BC),
discovered at Nimrud. The
monument is carved with
})
stool
D city
ox
)]( husband and wife (a
pillow is between them).
used by later cuneiform.
shown - an illustration
from the later period,
Two versions
from the early •
when sirnplif
0: '""-'-'-_

X
scenes showing tribute bearers A woman with six
introduced by the Assyrians (after Diring
and Assyrian cuneiform texts. A god
children, a husband, and
a pillow.
@ c:IIIn>

t A man comes to a ~ ~
king
~ woman who has a
husband and asks her to ~ ~ ~
river
~ live with him.
W l7

*
speak ~
~ Three men seek the
<::> 0°0 (7(7
n great
same married woman. o C>
P
[) og
Below: Seal inscriptions from the
We>
=.::. ~
Below: Ideograms from Nsibidi, Indus Valley, north-west India.
The writing system has not been
D ~ JfA'
a system discovered in southern
Nigeria in 1904. Most of the deciphered, but it is thought to \f @? ~
signs express a range of marital contain a mixture of ideographic
situations and relationships, as in and phonetic graphemes, ~ ([> ~
the following examples: representing proper names.
~ b IHJ
Married love.
VUfi!~ ~ \\ ff
VD IIIW ~ i!7 ~

frH f (\)llIeJQ \7- ~ ~

Married love, with
pillow.
(Examples all from Diringer,
~ ( tFf
1968.) p ~
X-
t7 1> tt>
V C> At>
 33 • GR P 0

- yptian hieroglyphic Royal names

hieroglyphic, this convention was used to express two-
Two Egyptian rova
Egypt, a form of pictography developed around 3000 consonant sequences as well as single consonants,
hieroglyphic, showmg a -~e
which came to be called hieroglyphic (from the Greek
ed carving'), because of its prominent use in temples,
~m-n m m-s ~n royal-divine names, (b) the
personal names.
mbs, and other special places. The term has also come Determinative symbols are signs that have no phonetic
Amen-em-het I (reigned
be used for scripts of a similar character from other value but are placed next ro other symbols ro tell the
199/-/962 BC)
rures, such as the Hittite, Mayan, or Indus Valley; bur reader what kind of meaning a word has. Words chat
most fully developed system of hieroglyphic writing would otherwise appear to be identical could thus be
undoubtedly the Egyptian. The system continued in differemiated. An analogy might again be drawn with
for three millennia, until it was finally replaced by the a word game in English that could distinguish the
- pric-based script of the early Christian era. rwo senses of the word table by adding a chair (for the
The units of the writing system are known as item of furniture) and an eye (for the rypographical
nogLyphs. They tend to be written from right ro left, arrangement). Egyptian symbols that were commonly
th the symbols generally facing the beginning of a row; used as dererminatives included the following:
r verrical rows are also found, following the line of a
. ding. The script gives the general impression of being
o sun, sun god, dayrime ...",... ~ moon, month

orial, bur in fact it contains three rypes of symbol that Below: Alexander the Great
"echer represem words:

orne symbols are used as ideograms, representing

*
e
star, hour, time to pray

city, town
~ mountain

:@.. see
(356-323 BC)

real-world entities or notions:

~ pray, adore, praise ~ weep, grief
~ swallow go
A combined example
~ beede find The hieroglyph ;: is composed of rwo elements: -..--
which is the ideographic symbol for 'wood', and ~ando
~ eat fresh which are the phonetic symbols for hand t respectively.
Combined, these would represem the word hti. However,
orne symbols (phonograms) stand for one or more hti had rwo meanings: 'carve' and 'retreat'. These are
The names are surrounded by
consonants, in much the same way as the rebus therefore distinguished by the addition of a determinative: a ring, or cartouche, which was
system is used in present-day text-messaging (p, 417). the addition of a knife symbol produces ;:"""carve', and intended to protect the bearer
For example, in English we might use a picture of a the addition of a pair oflegs walking backwards produces of the name from harm (from
bee followed by the letter (phonogram) R to represem ;:l\. 'retreat' (after Brunner, 1975). Diringer, 1968).
the word beer, or followed by K
to represem the word beak. In THE ROSETTA STONE

Egyptian hieroglyphic remained

A hieroglyphic inscription from
undeciphered until the 19th century.
Thebes, 18th Dynasty (c. 1490
Members of Napoleon's Egyptian
BC). The statue is of Sennefer,
expedition of 1799 discovered a black
Chancellor and Superintendent
basalt stone, measuring 114 x 72 cm, at
of the Palace at the time of
Rashid (Rosetta). The stone was carved
Hatshepsut or Tuthmosis
with three different scripts: hieroglyphic,
1/1.The inscnjJtion consists
the derived demotic script, used for
of a prayer to Osiris, a list
everyday purposes, and Greek.
of Sennefer's positions and
The Greek version could of course
achievements, and a request
be translated, and this provided the
for a happy afterlife. The
key to the other texts. The stone
statue, of black granite, is 87
commemorates the accession of
cm high.
Ptolemy V Epiphanes (205-180 BC).
It thus contains several royal names,
whose phonetic values could be related
to those of the names in Greek. The
text was finally published in 1822 by
the French Egyptologist lean-Francois
Champollion (1790-1832). The Rosetta
stone is now in the British Museum.
210 P RT V • THE MEDIUM OF LANGUAGE: WRITING AND READING

Logographic CHINESE CHARACTERS

Logographic writing systems are those
Traditionally, Chinese characters are phonetic indicator. The meaning of of a character to proc ~
w rhere me graphemes represenr words.
divided into six types (liOshO 'six the ma character when used alone related meaning, e.g. --:.
The best-known cases are Chinese, and its scripts'). (horse') is disregarded for 'corpse' F derves rr
derivative script, Japanese kanji (pp. 205, • xingshmg. Most characters.are of ~ 'mother' ,~ 'scold' 'man' A...
3-3 . The symbols are variously referred to this type, containing two elements. • zhishi These characters represent • jiOjie Characters " .
as logographs, logograms, or - in me case of There is a semantic element abstract ideas and are closest to borrowed from others
oriental languages - characters. But mere known as a 'radical' (similar to the ideograms, e.g. pronunciation, e.g.;iJt _
are two terminological complications. First, 'determinatives' of hieroglyphic, Charader English thousand' derives fro-i ._=
because Chinese writing derives from an p. 209). This is combined with a tF 'middle' this character for wan sc
ideographic script, with severalpictographic phonetic element, whose function *- 'large' • xiongxing A sma I
elements, me characters are commonly is to remind the reader of how the ,J, 'small' characters that retan a
word is to be pronounced. 'one' connection with ong
referred to as ideographs. However, this
For example, the word 'mother' • huiyi Compound characters in e.g. the forms for (a
term is really not appropriate, as me
mo is expressed by the semantic which the elements have a semantic (b) 'mountain' (shan
characters refer to linguistic units, and not
element 'woman' *followed by a connection, e.g. (tion).
directly to concepts or things. Secondly, phonetic indicator mo ,~ The word 'sun' + 'moon' = 'bright' 1lJ.J Ancient form
me characters in fact often represenr parts for 'scold' is also me (with a different 'woman' + 'woman' = 'Hquarrel'
of words (morphemes, p. 94) as well tone, p. 180), and this is expressed 'man' + 'man' + 'man' = ,,"A.'crowd' (a) 0
as whole words, so mat even me term by the semantic element 'mouth' • zhuonzhU Characters formed by (b) A
'logographic' is somewhat misleading; but P (repeated) followed by the same modifying the shape or orientation
(c) EEl
in me absence of a more appropriate term
(such as 'morphographic'), it conrinues to
be used.
Several thousand graphemes are
-1
I 2
r e.
r
25

26 rp
49

50
E:]73

fJ 74
Jf!,... 97 .ff; 121
!t. 98 ~ 122
*
it? 146
14S r'169 ~

>t
193

194
-'- 170
involved in a logographic system. The
great Chinese dictionary ofKangxi (1662- " 3
T27 f"51 *75 1)-99 .f- 123 YL 147 :t 171 ~ ..• 195
,,~,
1722) conrains nearly 50,000 characters, J 4
/:.. 28 i 52 X 76
i..loo ;:pj 124 ~ 148
1i 172 •~ 196
but most of these are archaic or higWy
specialized. In me modern language, basic
~s 5129 r 53
..11:77 m 101 ~ 125 1; 149 WJ 173 if 197

literacy requires knowledge of some 2,000 1 6 P 30 ~54 778 W 102 J7i) 126 ~ 150 *174 £198

characters. Similarly, in Japanese, 1,850 .:.... 7

Q31 *55 9: 79 ;(. 103 -*- 127 .it 151 qf 175 $-199
characters are prescribed by me Japanese ..±.. 32 -t 56 -I}J:80 :j'"104 .JF. 128 ¥- 152 ifiI176 J#.2oo
Ministry of Education and adopted by law
as those most essenrial for everyday use. Of A.9 ±33 '1 57 tt 81 ~105 $" 129 ~ 153 $-177 *201

these, 1,006 are taught during the six years JL 10 jt34 3.58 ~82 E7 106 Ii] 130 JQ 154 *178 ~202
of elementary school.
Most languages make use of some
All jt35 ~
;/ S9 J,\ 83 Jt 107 If 131 $' 155 ft 179 "Y
......• 203
logograms: a selection of widely used i\..12 )7 36 i 60 ~84 .lilt 108 m 132 k 156 1t- if 180 204
graphemes is given below.
n 13
*....37 ,~61 7j<.85 ro 109 ~ 133 R-157 Ji 181 ~205

S 134 !f 158 lit 182 ~1J;206

k86
*
,...... 14
*38 ~62 ~110
MODERN LOGOGRAMS

These symbols are widely used in modern

~ 15 -7- 39 p63 ~87 *111 -6135 159 1R: 183 !i 207

-t
written languages. Their spoken equivalents, of
course, vary from language to language. The
most developed logographic systems are found
n scientific notations, such as in logic and
JL 16
Ul1

7J 18
>j-4\ ~55

.t
64

66
~88
l..
jf90
89
;{fll2
.r.
Pi
\\3

114
*
~

Ft
136

\37

138
-f"160

Jtt 161
Jt 152
*184

it
"186
185
l\
-*-
1f21O
208

209
Left: Chinese c-
Japanese the:_-
classified on .-=
athematics (p. 401).
JJ 19 JL43 .x. 67 J:l 91 *115 e e .'-1139 163 187 j; 211 the number
+-x ~20 F44 -4- !f 68 92 'k. 116 # 140 if -fi,212
used to wrr.e -
= 7 +0:::::::
164 ;t188
..:-
The increasr ::

><~~y' ~ 21 1f' 45 IT 69 4- 93 .::Lll7 IE 141 *-.165 r6J 189 .213 graphic corr- -
be seen in tl:_
xS?d e22 J.J46 7i 70 R.94 it 118 ~ 142 .E 166 -lJ 190 .-214
primary thot. -
C23 JII 47 .x. 71 "i: 95 *-119 .mr. 143 1t 167
r'191 Chinese, Whi -
- e= f)dt .•.n_17eZ!'f'{l)dt=lt+12
+24
-=t,.48 a 72
..£. 96 ,~ 120 11"144 -k 168 ~ 192
used individu
part of campo:
 33 • GRAP 0 211

_ ological systems KATAKANA

e :>IC The Japanese katakana syllabary contains element in a contrast. The system is used a
rem of syllabic writing (a syllabary), each grapheme 75 graphemes, three of which enter into to write foreign words which have come to be
combinations to produce a further 36 forms. used in Japanese (other than those of Chinese
nds (Q a spoken syllable, usually a consonanc-
The system contains a few phonetic features, origin):
pair. Such sysrems have been found from earliest
such as the regular use of" to mark the voiced
e.g. Mycenean Greek) and in modern rimes can
in Amharic, Cherokee, and Japanese kana. The 7 .I .) :IJ :1-l:- :;i",,:/;f.:;i;L'I ~
r of graphemes in a syllabary varies - from around America coffee jumbo jet
several hundred.
;t- A ~ 7 I} l' A
:;i..••• rt,..t:
Australia jazz television
PRIOT

earest example of a syllabic script in classical times comes 7 IJ 'If

~ -+r '1 l' + I" 1'( /'( '7 "7 r; 7-:
Cyprus, where it was used from about the 6th to the 3rd a ka ga sa za ta da na ha ba pa ma ra wa fa

_ BC Typical symbols are shown below, along with an -1 ~ s- ';/ 1- -f .:=. t c: t' , I) 7-f
~ etation of the sound values (from Masson, 1961). i ""
ki gi shi ji chi ji ni hi bi pi mi ri fi
'--
--e Cypriot (or Cypriote) syllabary was deciphered towards r'J 7 l' :J... ;( "J -'/ 'J 7 "/ -r J.,.. )1;
: d of the 19th century; the inscriptions are mostly in u ku gu su zu tsu zu nu fu bu pu mu ru
~ though the script seems to have been designed for a
:I- T 7' -e -e' T T ""
* '" "" } i>
_ eo language. There is no way of indicating vowel length,
e ke ge se ze te de ne he be pe me re fe
~ Greek sounds cannot be distinguished, and syllables
::t :J :f -r l- I-' J ;f, ;f, .:c 7;t
- fling two consonants have to be expanded as two
- es (e.g. ptolin ~ po-to-li-ne), much as modern Japanese 0 ko go
'/
so zo to do no *
ho be po mo
0
ro
~fo
do with foreign loanwords. The script is mainly written ~ ~ ~~ :",.~';/~ "h -f~ .:=.~ \:~ C:~ t'~ 2.~ I) -t"
ght to left. The system may be distantly related to the ya kya gya sha ja cha ja nya hya bya pya my a rya
near script known as Linear B (p. 311), which was also ::L ,,".:z.~.:z. :"".:z.';/.:z.1-.:z.-f.:z..::-v. \:.:z.C:.:z.t'.:z.~.:L I) .:z.
_ syllabic in character. yu kyu gyu shu ju chu ju nyu hyu byu pyu myu ryu

3 ,,"3 ~3 :""3 ';/3 1-3 -f3 ':='3 \:3 C:3 t'3 2.3 1)3

a e i 0 u 'l yo kyo jo cho jo nyo hyo bye pyo myo ryo

gyo sho

x ~ *- ;t 'Y'
CHEROKEE
y \) V¥
This syllabary was invented in 1821 by a half- of the Roman alphabet, but the Latinate symbols
Cherokee Indian named Sequoya, and came to are not used with their original sounds. (From
),..( I >1< 1- be used by the people and missionaries for many Gleason, 1955.)
I
r S2 'Ii' .1 ~ )~
years. Its 85 symbols show the strong influence

I ~ 8 L
+ (u\
D R T 0 (Y 1
f 1'" y A J E
1m >"'< ~. y CD ~
.A
I
or ~ l- f' Jr
d
In. T I~I i- 7; >: W d f' <b 1'1 ~ tr
JI' Oi H 3 :y
5' G
I P f S ¥ ~
9 11 fi Z q o- ~
It t ~ + F Fn I .;) ~ eN"" c;) ~
q, VII
or
k 1 « Y f\ ~
H
\,~
4
f
b
.A. A S
R
6'a
!A
£
V ~ ~ ~ A L G ~. 7 P
5 ~ '&
c 'V 1"1' K J c:
z )~
z.7 >~ G. ..n
.p
6) V S S-

Ix )( (~ b) ~ R G'" B
 RT • THE MEDIUM OF LANGUAGE: WRITING AND READING

Iphabetic NEW ALPHABETS FROM OLD

ith alphabetic writing, there is a direct correspondence The development of the earlyalphabet, and fivemodern alphabets.
between graphemes and phonemes, which makes it the
most economic and adaptable of all the writing systems. Modem Arabic Greek Hebrew
Instead of several thousand logograms, or several dozen Roman
letter letter Name TransiiteralJOn letter Name Transl,teratJon letter Name TransfiteratJon
syllables, the system needs only a relatively small number
of units, which it then proves easy to adapt to a wide range A a al~ Aa alpha 1\ aleph • Of ' ;\2

oflanguages. Most alphabets contain 20-30 symbols, but E'

B b '-:-' ba
B~ beta :J belll b, v
the relative complexity of the sound system (§28) leads to B.
W ta
alphabets of varying size. The smallest alphabet seems to C c fy gamma 9 gimel fr
be Rorokas, used in the Solomon Islands, with 11 letters,
D d
~ III III

The largest is Khmer, with 74 letters.

60 delta i dalelll ~
jim
E e ~ Ee
In a perfectly regular system, as In some of the EE epsilon e
ha :1 he
alphabets that have been devised by linguists to record F f
C )K

previously unwritten languages, there is one grapheme t kha kh z~ zeta

yay, waw v, w 3~
G g
for each phoneme. However, most alphabets in present- ~ H.
dal HI] eta e, ~
day use fail to meet this criterion, to some degree, either zayin
H h
j dhal dh n
because the writing system has not kept pace with changes e6 theta III
n helll K
in pronunciation, or because the language is using an .J ra
It iota
alphabet not originally designed for it. Languages vary ;, A
tell1
j zay
greatly in their graphemic/phonemic regularity. At one KIC kappa k •f
K k sin
U" yod y, j, i
extreme we find such languages as Spanish and Finnish, H
which have a very regular system; at the other, we find L J. shin sh
AA lambda I
kaph k, kh 0
J"
such cases as English and Gaelic, where there is a marked M m 0"" ~ MIL mu m n
degree of irregularity. The extent to which there is a lack ':> lamed
p
of correspondence between graphemes and phonemes is N n u"" \lad Nv nu
.b IJO mem m C
inevitably reflected in the number of arbitrary 'spelling 0 0 ta
:::~ xi
rules' that children have to learn (p. 223). 1. T
za II nun
P p
There are also many alphabets where only certain 00 omicron 0

phonemes are represented graphemically. These are the

,
Q q e ain
'. nn pi
0 samekh s <II
consonantal' alphabets, such as Aramaic, Hebrew, and
R r
t ghain gh
11 ayln X
Arabic, where the marking of vowels (using diacritics) U Pp rho
fa U
is optional. There are also cases, such as the alphabets S s ~. pe p, f
of India, where diacritics are used for vowels, but. the ~ qaf L(J",S' sigma s ':lot
T t
marking is obligatory, with the diacritics being attached ~ kaf TT tau
:if sade ill

to the consonantal letters. U u ill

J lam
Yv V qoph
upsilon Y
v b~
The earliest alphabet The earliest-knawn alphabet has long
V
e mim m
<I>.p phi ph
., resh
hi
been thought to be the North Semitic, which developed around Ww
0 nun
!J} h.
1700 Be in Palestine and Syria. It consisted of 22 consonant letters. Xx chi ch, kh shin sh, S
X x ha
The Hebrew, Arabic, and Phoenician alphabets were based on this 3l
'ft tv sin
model. Then, around 1000 Be, the Phoenician alphabet was itself Y y .J waw w psi ps
10
used as a model by the Greeks, who added letters for vowels. Greek t.j .ow
Z z ya omega 0,0 n lay, taw t jj
in tum became the model for Etruscan (c 800 Be), whence came
the letters of the ancient Roman alphabet and ultimately all western glottal Slop atendo/\WlI'd at end 0/ \WlI'd
alphabets. However, two inscriptions discovered in the 1990s at the I voic:cdpharyngeal fncatM'

Wadi el-Hol, near Luxor in Egyp~ represent a phonetic alphabet

which dates from c 1800 Be

4- '9 1 A ~ 1 1Z ~B EB 1 f U 7 '1 $; 0 7 r 9f <1 IN tx I,

-~ I
\- I
~ 1\ <i ~
l{, /-.j ~t3. 0 '\..>..J 11 ~ Vf~ ~ )(
I
0 7 '\ V '\ \.'ft rt! ~
I·tq:;."",; ~81111/,<W 3J~YYv I ElH ED0 ~ S 1K l'\l r1 1/ 0 If M'1 ?f <1f> 7 T
~
c.ao
i· B r L1 E Y IZ H e I K A M N .!:. 0 IT P L T <D X
ALPHABETIC SCRIPTS ANGLO-SAXON TIMES

"he range of the world's alphabetic scripts can be seen in this The earliest English alphabet was devised by sounds, and in the Middle English DPrl<OC<;~"II'
selection of extracts mostly from biblical texts. Other examples missionaries in Britain, who used the Irish forms were replaced by tho Curiously, b has 5 ec
are found on pp. 196,313 (from Gunnemark & Kenrick, 1985). of the Latin alphabet to present the sounds of to the present day, in such artificial forms as e
Anglo-Saxon as phonetically as possible. But they aide English Tea Shoppe', where the Y real,
Ii'l '1'';'i,,,J (r,., ~ r» 4,.6/1"~ '"W4 ran into difficulties when they encountered four stands for a badly made b
~enian IJ,,,:,,,J (" ':;"/lI/fUI, I.• J""L
u.:L:"ullr
sounds which had no counterpart in Latin. • la/ (as in modern English hat) was
• Iwl came to be written with a runic symbol p, pronounced quite high in the mouth, almost
"~e~""••.~.,s;t\lr CIIum nC.,.t'''.'''llC'} ')'
with the quality of [e] (p. 162). This quality was
3a' nese known as 'wynn'. It was replaced by uu or w in
':!-€~'t"Ju..q.C)f~t~'9~~·
Middle English and is rarely found after 1300. represented by using the Latin digraph if, which
~A~ v'!",..,..'-'''. N')r,.-o",·~~ • 181 and 101 (as in modern English thin and came to be called 'ash', after the name of the
ginese ,.....""".<r.--,\,.,. ... ,... runic symbol that represented the same sound.
,..."...;"',..,.,
< ...• this) came to be written by a runic symbol,
known as 'thorn', b. Later a further symbol, 0, By the Middle English period it had fallen out of
rmese was devised by drawing a line through the Latin use, probably because sound changes (§54) had
d; this came to be called 'eth'. However, the two made it no longer needed.
new letters were not used to separate the two
n"'pHt •••.p •. ~t a.t.tnp< ""IOU'O(
r ptic 2."KT( n~qWHp' ':".LUIiroT •• TtI i'IiTn-lTMlq 2.ln •.

~ cf; ~ 1l ~ l«f ~I
RUNES H
~ ~
~nagari
~m-rtt~~~1
:- °PIC
,.: ••••s .
""-oorMI. :: 'I.t1I."
f/HI: "-"'~:.,,::
: ,,: • .I.~ :
A.1:.0<\:1t
tI7~: A."'~: _fir:
•••~::
The runic alphabet was used
in north-west Europe, mainly
in Scandinavia and the British
names of its first six letters.
Several variant shapes of the
letters exist. The version found
1'\

~
'tt ~
r
Isles, and has been preserved in Britain used extra letters to ~ t f:-
:I~)"') c:aJ~a)6 ""''!lJI::'n :?". in about 4,000 inscriptions and cope with the range of Anglo- R. ~y Ii\
rgian 3" •• ><'>3JI!? ~) '"3~n iIb"'c::'<"I~-
a few manuscripts. It dates Saxon sounds. No one knows ~
+
r rati
"\..,.1 ~ltl~
"' ;"Q.
t.o.~l 't~ "'t.~l ~~\~ .'l~l
-U'l\.u ~~\~'leM'l.<1.~a .;
from around the 3rd century
AD and continued to be used
on charms and monuments
where the alphabet came from
but it is probably derived from
the Roman alphabet; there
X
P
~
M
*
"t'
l'
.,~ ..••A-ts, ••,- •• ...e'.•.•.-a' ••.._..,Q,!••.•_., th
anese JJIr •• _~ ••• Ag,_.,w,,':lf M•.•~~M_.,•. fc..tI.
until the 17th century. The
common runic alphabet (given
were many trade contacts
between Roman and Germanic
t=t M
i- ~ ~
at right) consisted of 24 letters, peoples in the Rhine area
d(dcIJ tS.ttYCS ~~ ~~ b~~~ and is usually known as the during the first centuries of I ~ W
~ ~ ••'tl~ dJ~oI. """.,s!i1.>;tt3('$~ 'futhork' or 'futhark', from the our era.

er
lcill;,III·"I1'l9fll!"'l11l\."11''''
•
••~.~MlflAI'~.'1I\."''''

<>,I~" oJ1•.•Jeru.••••<m oQl:lJC'00 m •.•')"11

- alam
G"-,,.&>OC·,,'" m,)~&'lOJn!> ~1 __ ",,')CTII>

>c ••.. 0< ••• ,~( .(~<>

- ivian (.?J"'> A,s _:7M r/.# A,".r-"A
:> ~
> -::. .
< •••••• ~
~-"""""--
•••
.•. .
.."... ... " .,...,.

- alese i)d08lD>li .~e'I:IIH)CDIIf." tIfl.oD 6.

dlDl:Sl SI'2lOD.4f;1If ~..., IDcS. e.ch:slCl:.Cl ~

~.,.:~.:;:o~, ~'::,.,o 1-"" ~ 1 ~u

\~~ '..,b\>..o~; o,L.,..,o 1~, ]....,.
.'-~.;, I'~_'-/IJ ~CI CI.I~. etA' One side of the Franks Casket, an 8th-century AD carved box, with a narrative inscribed in runes
,..Ii#_ ~ •• "#INa9(!!)C~",.- .,..,.~

OGHAM
gu
~~ ""'r:s,,~.\oS"' ~~~. -r.,.. c 1
~ 601 "~~'~I6ISo"'" ~II rb The origins of the ogham (or ogam) alphabet are unknown, b
though links have been proposed with both runic and Etruscan. z d
''''\1 ;, "'"';, IIU in 111n. ,,,"""111111'"""I{": It was used for writing Irish and Pictish from around the 4th h
••.: .:u) u•••
,••-'. II~''In"" ~ lW1.,,, ""It": ng e
century AD. There are about 500 inscriptions, mainly on stone n
monuments in southern Ireland. The alphabet has 20 letters, g u
~·~!TIf·~·fI·~·Qj·~·Q,~"'I·*·Q·
[an
divided into four sets of five letters. The letters were simple
-
.
m
~1"\~1f:·SC.·~·~·~~1:!'~·Ol·~EC:· 0

strokes or notches cut into the edge of a stone. They are usually q v
-
read from bottom to top, or from right to left.
214 PART V • THE MEDIUM OF LANGUAGE: WRITING AND READING

GRAPHOLOGICAL CONTRASTS symbols may also be used to help organize a

text (such as asterisks or superscript numbers r
Once a writing system has been devised, it can be used to
foornotes) or to draw attention to part of it (such a:
convey a wide range of graphological contrasts. These are
star before a name in an advertisement). An import
best illustrated from the range of possibilities available in
of the asterisk has been to show omitted letters,
alphabetic systems.
in taboo words (p. 63).
Spelling The essential identity of words is conveyed
Abbreviations Shortened forms of words are
by the correct selection and sequence of graphemes - the
feature of written language, as in the use 0:
spelling rules of the language. This is the main component
contractions and abbreviations such as Mr, Dr.•
of any graphological description. It is a study that needs
and Capt, or the use of acronyms, such as COD,
to include, not only the 'normal' rules that have to be
NATO. The abbreviations may even come from a
learned in order to read and write, but any dialectal,
language, and the full form may not be known, :.
stylistic, or 'free' variations. Dialectal variation is illustrated
exempli gratia), i.e. (= id est), and etc. Some abb
by American-British differences such as color/colour or the
are spoken as words (e.g. NATO is usually I'neil;)
use of thru for through. Stylistic variation can be illustrated
are spelled out (e.g. VIP is always I'vi'ai'pi:/);
by the way authors adapt the spelling system to reflect or
automatically expanded (e.g, Mr is I'm sto/),
suggest the pronunciation of non-standard speech (p. 188).
permit a choice (e.g. viz. spoken as lvnl or as 7Ul
An interesting example is the use of shuvvle for shovel, in
texting abbreviations, see p. 417.
portrayals of Cockney speech: the two forms have identical
pronunciations, in fact, but the former manages to convey Graphic contrasts Italic, boldface, capitalizario
the impression of a non-standard accent. Free variations (p. and other graphic variations are all ways of -.-~
169) include such alternatives as judgmentljudgement and semantic contrasts, some of which are illustrat
DEVI T
SPELL! G -ise/-ize. 188-9, 202-3, and in §32. The size of the t:

for example, is a major way of conveying th

Special symbols A large number of symbols are available
importance of parts of a message, such as in ad\'e==~
to express frequently occurring meanings in an economical
or invitations. The switch from Roman to Gothic
way. Most of these are logograms (p. 210), such as +, @,
convey an 'old world' connotation, as in many '--~_
£; but some do not relate to individual words, such as ~,
cards and shop signs. However, it should be norec
used to mark the place where paper may be cut; w, which
all languages have the same set of possibilities - for
indicates a direction; 'fi', marking a telephone number;
there is no use of italics or capitalization in Heb
and the dagger (t), showing that a person is dead. Special
Capitalization Initial capital letters mark bor
and grammatical units (p. 204), usually se
words. A single graphic contrast is involved: b·:
The graphic contrast between large and small cap
(A vs A) conveys no conventional meaning diffe
capitalization does not apply to numbers: if _
appear at the beginning of a sentence, it wo
written 33.

Bar-B-
EZ Lem (US r.."",,...,,.
.. ~:Ylll Spatial organization
Fetherwate The general disposition of symbols on a p~ae
Firetuf format) can itself convey semantic contr
Hywaylnn something newspaper editors are very mu
Kilzum (insea spr, when they juxtapose stories on the same pag -
Koffee Kake case, a story about the Ethiopian famine or
Kwik Koin Wash placed next to a story about the mountains 0 r- -

Loc-tite stored in Europe. If the stories had been 0-

Masqit
pages, the effect would have been lost. Oth
No-glu
of contrastive layout include the use of cap
Resistoyl
pictures (particularly noticeable when the
Rol-it-on
placed under the wrong picture), the placing
Savmor (discount store)
Strippit or titles, the layout of headings and subh
Tini-plugs script or report, and the layout of Internet
Wundertowl texts, especially poetry (pp. 74, 202-3, 408 .
 33 • GR P 0 0

Punctuation on e
_~_.
__
"-'-"'_Lion THE SEMANTICS OF LAYOUT The Internet has n
::~=:!la.lrion system of a language has two functions.
several new punctua -
• purpose is (0 enable stretches of written The importance of layout for semantic effect can be seen in
conventions.
-=:;::;;:.:!'!·wbe read in a coherent way; its secondary role is this poem of Jose Paulo Paes (translated by Edwin Morgan).
• Asterisks, to express emp
The spacing between the words gives time for the reader (who
'cation of the rhythm and colour of speech
knows Descartes' famous dictum) to build up an expectation This is a *very* big issue
-er consistently). It roughly corresponds (0
that the last word is going to be sum. The effect would be lost if or to draw attention to a
prasegmemal features (§29), but it differs
the poem had been printed in a single line. correction, as in instant
in that its contrasts are (0 some extent taught messaging:
and norms of punctuation are conventionally The Suicide, or Descartes a Rebours let's go by era
• publishing houses in their style manuals. *car
• Underbars (underscores),
-c- separate cogito to highlight words or to link
==~n ismainly used (0 separate units of grammar elements in e-addresses:
1£==l:S,dauses, phrases, words, §16) from each other. _Hamiec
marks are organized in a broadly hierarchical DavidJrystal
e identify large units of writing, such as • @ in email addresses.
ergo
~=::z:ts:;olhersidentify small units of intermediate size • Angle brackets for
-=~a:i~:'.
The main English-language conventions e-addresses:
<www.cambridge.org>
• Single and double forward
res words; identifies paragraphs - the
boom slashes, as well as periods, to
- ce begins a new line, with the first word
separate e-address elements:
ented; extra space may also be inserted
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graphs, especially (0 mark a break in the
shakespeareswords.com/
Default.aspx
common in handwritten and typed material, and in
_~_,,;A""!UlP): identifies the end of a sentence, along
American priming. • The hash (pound) sign,
"on and exclamation marks; sometimes to show a special function
hyphen: marks rwo kinds of divisions within a word
• a wider space than is usual between on phone keypads, or to
- (0 show that a word has been split in two because
ring and typing conventions differ); also identify a fragment in some
=:::.ID i:~'"abbreviations (though practice varies); a
of the end of a line (a feature that has no spoken
e-addresses:
=== of- usually three) periods indicates that the
counterpart),
compound
and
word (0
(0 relate the parts of a phrase or
each other (as in pickled-herring
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plere. orgjaction/stream? pageld
merchant - vs pickled herring-merchant - and washing- =3716#Bookmarking
=?.c~"""" entifies the coordinate parts of a complex
machine); practice varies greatly in the latter use, with • In informal usage, long
separates complex points in a list (as in
British English using hyphens in many contexts sequences of marks may
~;:::::,rim::.s paragraph).
where American English would omit them. appear:
mainly (0 show that what follows it is an
==:::..:::=aaon or explanation of what precedes it - as No way!!!!!!!!!!
r sentence.
Features that convey meaning • Minimal use of marks in some
Some punctuation features express a meaning in their exchanges via email, chat,
ide range of uses, such as marking a
own right, regardless of the grammatical context in which texting. or instant messaging.
t: zrammatical units, or a unit used inside
lays a great deal of personal variation
they occur. (Special symbols of this kind are illustrated on see you around 7
the facing page.) ok
ether it should be used before and in such
Question mark: usually expresses a question, but • New combinations of
.=,z;.c::;~ p~ars, and plums).
occasionally found with other functions, such as punctuation marks can be
and brackets []: used as an alternative (0
marking silence (p. 188) or uncertainty (e.g. this is an given fresh values, as in the
mark the inclusion of a grammatical unit
interesting (?) point). case of emoticons (see also
::-. ,",,:~.:Heor at the end of a sentence.
Exclamation mark: shows varying degrees of p.416).
in pairs with the same function as
exclamatory force (e.g.!!!); also, some special uses
~=:::eS(S or brackets; used singly (0 separate a
(e.g. John (!) was there).
afterthought occurring at the end of a
Apostrophe: most commonly used (0 mark the genitive
o express an incomplete utterance: in
singular or plural teats, cats'), and grammatical
ring, often replaces other marks.
contractions (I'm, won't); found also in certain words
rks (inverted commas): identify the
(o'clock, fish 'n' chips); subject (0 a great deal of usage
d end of an extract of speech, a title, a
variation (St Johns or St John's? Harrods or Harrod's?)
e ' pecial' use of a word. The choice of
and uncertainty (*ice cream cone's, "todays bargains).
=,.~
•.•.
-tc."hle qUOtes is variable: the latter are more
216 PART V • THE MEDIUM OF LANGUAGE: WRITING AND READING

SHORTHAND SAMUEL PEPYS'S DIARY

Shorthand is a method of writing at speed using special A page from Samuel Pepys's original shorthand abbreviated words, and 2~ _
symbols or abbreviations for the usual letters and words diary. The diary was written between 1660 and such as 2 for to, a larger 2 :~
1669, when Pepys was forced to stop writing 6 for us, etc. There are a
of speech. It is a system intended for a limited readership
because of failing eyesight. It consists of six small symbols, used presuma
(usually only one person, the writer) and for short-
volumes, totalling over 3,000 pages, written of the work, and severa
term preservation (apart from the occasional literary or
in a system devised by the early 17th-century passages are written in V2r'[cst:::=--
scientific diary). It is therefore prone to idiosyncratic use:
translator Thomas Shelton. The system contains The diary remained u r
=-
it is quite common for secretaries rrained in the same reduced forms of letters, dots for vowels, decades, as Pepys left no
system to be unable to read each other's shorthand. it was not deciphered urc _.",_1-=--
The practice of shorthand writing is variously known Samuel Pepys (1633-1703) 19th century. It was first - -
as stenography ('narrow writing'), tachygraphy ('quick
writing'), and brachygraphy ('shon writing'). It is best
known from its use in press reporting and in clerical and
secretarial work - mainly the verbatim recording of legal
proceedings and the dictation of business correspondence ,.-,~?
- though in recenr years the advent of voice-recording 'L) l .
a,
equipment has somewhat reduced the demand for
\ll:C\t~",\.()~a\.",~()nh.';illd",killi,. M ( 'v r ,- . t '\
'Snormano. "VdS 'e\\ \;no""", 'm .mC:\e~tGreece .mo. <'-1 sr: \ J_ />
Rome - the earliest recorded instance is the system used e y;; {) kj ,. ~1

by the historian Xenophon to write the memoirs of < r

o 'J .:
Socrates. In 63 Be, a Roman freeman, Marcus Tullius
"I" f.. 7 l-." ~,v

Tiro, invented a system for recording the speeches of

/ .;. ) ( .I Y y t' l
Cicero - a system that continued in use for over 1,000 r .,

"~I ( 'j I ...•••.

I~:
years. Julius Caesar was one of many in this early period I ~

f'
who learned the use 0 shorthand. Individual symbols v- v If{ ,,(11 ' ,'V ";,
influenced other languages: the symbol for et 'and' (7) <. I 'it' 'l y~J .. / fA~A
..
r11r It.

was used in Old English, and may still be seen in Irish

VI "'l~,: L <' ~ A"
Gaelic.
'd Ill/' I. , 7 Y 'fi
The use of shorthand started to die out in the Middle
IV :><lrf', ' I r; I 1 3 'if') 2.
Ages because of its imagined association with witchcraft.
The 16th century saw a revival, and produced the first
printed manual in English: Timothy Bright's Characterie:
An Arte ofSho/U, u~:r, and Secrete Writing by Character
~ -yo
(1588). Shorthand became extremely popular in l Zth- " "'.?"" ,It
.'. :2'2
century England, especially in relation to the aims of the ,r
! -4' I"
movement ro find a universal language (§58). Several '\ / 2,

h
v

I
,
2

systems were invented - notably, those of John Willis, I v • 7

Thomas helton, Jeremiah Rich and William Mason. It
came to be studied in school. In church, sermons would / /- i': v 'f (. IV

,~ r,
be written down and taken home for later study. In the
o: v , .~ '" r -, If e+
l Sth century, the demands of the Indusrrial Revolution
promoted the use of shorthand in business administration,
r, ~ V 9rY' ?'rtI J/(" '" f
and its popularity grew in Europe. Finally, the 19th
century saw the invention of the main shorthand systems
that are still in present -day use.
GENERAL BERTRAND'S DIARY shorthand is probably quite wideso=-
diarists. An interpretation of the pesse
There is a variety of methods of writing shorthand. N. so. Ie mat. en col: il dej. bi. se. trv. un. peu fat...
Napoleon sort Ie matin en coleche.
Some abbreviate the normal spelling of words; others are This is part of an entry (for 20 January 1821)
bien, se trouve un peu fatigue (' a-:-
based on ways of representing the sounds of speech; still from the diary of General Henri-Gatien Bertrand,
out in the morning in a carriage: he _
others require the user to learn a list of arbitrary symbols; who was companion to Napoleon during his exile
finds himself a little tired').
and there are several combinations of these approaches. on the island of Saint Helena. The diary is written
The result is that over 400 shorthand systems have been in such an abbreviated style that it is tantamount
to a shorthand system. This kind of private
devised for the English language alone.
 33 • GR

PIT AN (1813-97)
2000 Pitmanscript Gregg
topluc Sound Hand, published in 1837, was
~ ~
- ~ sounds of English. The system uses a combination amateurs
--15''' ~"..>.curves, dots, and dashes, as well as a contrast in

~ __ ~-,a shading (heavy vs light). Several of the graphic thieves

___ :='L=.e systematically to the sound system (§27); for
fastened
p consonants are shown by straight lines; all labial
---::"-::<;QonP backwards; and the distinction between voiced
neighbour
__ ,~'--=':>:l sounds is indicated by line thickness. Most vowels
security
::-.",....C: s the main system in use in Britain, and is widely
= ISh-speaking countries. The phonetic principles
'-::!::!!:!JrMm also make it relatively easy to adapt for use with
Outlines compared Five words transcribed in Pitman 2000, Pitmanscript, Gregg. and - a relative
newcomer - Teeline, a combination of shorthand and speedwriting that became increasingly popular
in the 19805.

SHORTHAND BY MACHINE

A stenotype machine, invented in 1906 by W. S. printed (without noise) on a roll of paper. The
Ireland, an American court reporter. It is mainly printout looks strange, because some words are
used to record the verbatim proceedings of law abbreviated, and some letters have to be typed
courts and legislative meetings. using combinations of other letters.
It is a small machine, with a keyboard of An experienced stenotype operator has no
22 keys that the operator strikes using both difficulty keeping up with normal conversational
hands simultaneously. The left-hand fingers speed (p. 279). The system is standard, so that
type consonants occurring before vowels, and the output of different operators is mutually
these are printed on the left of the paper; the intelligible (not always the case with pen
right-hand fingers type consonants occurring shorthand). However, the expense of the
after vowels, and these appear on the right. machines, and the training of operators, has
The thumbs type the vowels, which appear in limited the application of the approach.
the centre. The sequences of letters are then

T
TK A U Pfl
0 F
H EJ 9
T a E II
P H A P8
H A S
I;T A [,1 0
T a
KP H U P8
K A ['J T
WH EU 9
T P E L
Hq 0 E S
A PI! ~
T 0
R 0 R 0
E T GREGG (1867-1948) & P E RP8 5
T H A L I)

:: 'ematlVe to Pitman which avoided the 0 TS

~ d ng and positioning. His approach uses w E S

e
-,--,\, Sr consonants and vowels, and all symbols
T P 0 II
e In the same thickness. His symbols TKPW a T
loops and circles, compared with E P8
~ •• ~. ~r-~ and the line of writing more closely F P L T

scnpt It is now the main system in use A sample of stenotype shorthand

adapted to several other languages.