Linguistics Reading- Writing Systems

Introduction

• Quote from Gelb (1963:199): "No pure systems of writing, races, or languages exist."

• Core Concept: Writing systems are rarely isolated; they exist on a continuum. While we categorize them (e.g., alphabetic, syllabic), most contain elements of others.

• Overview: This study explores the categorization, evolution, and cognitive impacts of writing on human language and society.

Writing and Grammology

• Definition of Writing System: A system of visual or tactile signs representing units of a language, allowing communication to occur without the immediate context of the issuer (Ager 2011; Coulmas 1996).

• Functional vs. Symbolic Purposes:

  • Communication & Records: Facilitates long-distance trade, law, and historical preservation.

  • Cultural Identity: Scripts like Cyrillic or Arabic often serve as markers of religious or national identity.

  • Aesthetics: The visual beauty of calligraphy (e.g., Islamic or Chinese) elevates writing to an art form.

• Grammology: The formal study of writing systems (Senner 1989).

  • Historically sidelined in linguistics in favor of phonology.

  • Interdependence Debate: Does writing only record speech, or does it shape it? Some argue writing preserves archaic forms (e.g., English "knight" reflecting old pronunciation).

• Cognitive Impact: Some studies suggest that the direction of writing (left-to-right vs. right-to-left) or the nature of the script (logographic vs. phonemic) affects how humans perceive spatial orientation and time (Chan and Bergen 2005).

The Origins of Writing

• Partial vs. Full Writing:

  • Partial Writing (Semasiography): Symbols that convey meaning directly without being tied to specific sounds or grammar (e.g., mathematical symbols like $+$ or $\%$).

  • Examples: Petroglyphs, musical notation, and international road signs.

  • Full Writing (Glottography): Systems capable of expressing any thought through symbols that map directly to language units (DeFrancis 1989).

  • Key ancient independent developments include:

    1. Sumerian Cuneiform: Originating around $3000\ B.C.$

    2. Chinese Characters: Originating around $1500\ B.C.$

    3. Mayan Glyphs: Originating around $200\text{--}300\ B.C.$

Logographic Writing and the Rebus Principle

• Logograms: Symbols representing entire words or morphemes (e.g., Greek hieroglyphs, Chinese characters).

• The Rebus Principle: A pivotal evolutionary step where a symbol for a concrete object is used to represent a sound-alike word for an abstract concept.

  • Example: In Sumerian, the sign for an arrow ('ti') was used to write the abstract word for 'life' ('ti') because they shared the same phonetic value.

  • Example: In Egyptian, the swallow ('wr') represented the word for 'big' ('wr').

• Grapheme: The smallest functional unit of a writing system (e.g., the letter 't' in English or a single stroke-set in Chinese).

• Duality Principle: Writing functions via sound-related symbols (phonetics) and non-sound-related symbols (determinatives or semantic markers). If a system is less efficient in one, it relies more on the other.

Types of Full Writing Systems

1. Logographic Systems

   • Example: Chinese characters (Hanzi).

   • Advantages: Communication across mutually unintelligible dialects; readers of Cantonese and Mandarin can read the same newspaper.

   • Disadvantages: High cognitive load; basic literacy requires roughly $3,000$ characters, while scholarship requires $6,000$ or more.

2. Syllabaries

   • Definition: Each symbol represents a syllable (usually Consonant + Vowel structure).

   • Example: Japanese Kana (Hiragana for grammatical particles, Katakana for foreign loanwords) and the Cherokee syllabary developed by Sequoyah.

3. Alphabets (Segmental Systems)

   • True Alphabets: Represent both consonants and vowels (e.g., Latin, Greek, Finnish).

   • Abjads (Consonant-based): Primarily represent consonants. Vowels are either omitted or indicated by optional diacritics.

     • Example: Arabic. The root $k-t-b$ relates to writing; variations like 'Kataba' (he wrote) or 'Kitab' (book) are derived by adding vowels.

4. Abugidas (Inherent-Vowel Alphabets)

   • Consonants have an inherent vowel (often /a/). To change the vowel, a diacritic (matra) is added.

   • Example: Devanagari (used for Hindi and Sanskrit).

5. Featural Alphabets

   • Example: Hangul (Korean). Created by King Sejong the Great in 1443, the shapes of the consonants mimic the actual position of the tongue and mouth during articulation (e.g., 'ㄴ' [n] mimics the tongue touching the upper gums).

Applications and Language Conservation

• Language Documentation: Choosing an orthography (writing system) is critical for preserving endangered languages. It involves political and cultural preferences (Seifart 2006).

• Revitalization: The re-adoption or creation of a script can foster community pride and identity, such as the revival of Hangul in Korea post-1945 or the development of the N'Ko alphabet for West African languages.

Conclusion

Writing systems are not merely tools for recording speech but are complex cultural and cognitive structures. Understanding the transition from logographic to phonetic systems offers insights into the history of human intelligence and social organization.