Words

Under the Spell of Words

by John Cavanagh

The first example of writing appeared roughly 6000 years ago in the form of pictographs. Pictographs are pictures that represent words. They were developed in the Middle East by the Sumerians and passed down to the Egyptians. Today we know them as hieroglyphs, which is Greek for 'sacred writing'. These picture symbols were developed so that the earliest cities could have a common form of written communication.

Stylized and fanciful, hieroglyphs set the standard for over a thousand years. Over time they went from representing words to representing sounds. For example, the modern word Hospital would be written with each letter corresponding to a particular hieroglyph:

The Phoenicians, traders and sailors of the ancient world, created the first alphabet. As we all know, the idea caught on. This effective writing system was adopted throughout North Africa and the Mediterranean. The Romans created the alphabet used today in Western European languages. In other cultures alternate writing forms developed, which produced systems such as "written Chinese," in which each character represents a syllable of spoken Chinese. Also, Mayans developed hieroglyphs, which developed independently in Central America around the year 200 C.E.

Since these ancient times, we have developed many ways to communicate language. For instance, take hospital, a word that has existed almost as long as written language. How might the idea of a hospital be expressed, or communicated in ways other than through our western alphabet?

Xhoisan "Click" Language

Isibhedlela is the word for hospital in the Zulu language, a dialect which uses specific clicks of the tongue to articulate consonants.

These clicking sounds are categorized into five types: bilabial, (loud) dental, (tongue over teeth) palatal, (sharp) postalveolar (popping), and lateral alveolar (abrupt) clicks.

Morse Code

Created for the electric telegraph in the 1840s, Morse code uses a standardized sequence of long and short sounds or marks in order to communicate letters, numbers, and punctuation.

The transmission or writing of the word hospital would be:

American Sign Language (ASL)

ASL is a complex form of communication often employed by those with hearing impairments. ASL uses signs made with the hand along with other movements that include facial expressions and postures of the body.

To express the concept hospital, make the ASL hand-shape for the letter H (index and middle finger together, other fingers and thumb folded) and outline a cross on the upper part of your arm.

British Sign Language (BSL)

Much like its American counterpart, BSL is a complex form of communication often employed by those with hearing impairments. BSL uses signs made with the hand along with other movements that include facial expressions and postures of the body.

To express the concept hospital, outline a cross on the upper part of your arm.

Braille

Developed in 1821, Braille is a system used primarily by those who are blind or visually impaired in order to read and write. In Braille, a varied arrangement of raised dots, representing letters and numerals, are identified by touch.

The word hospital would be represented as:

Shorthand

Stenography is the process of writing in shorthand, an abbreviated, symbolic writing method that improves speed of writing, allowing expert users to write as quickly as people speak. Shorthand was highly popular in the days before recording or dictation machines.

Hospital would be written as:

Graffiti

Graffiti is the type of writing used for hand-held personal digital assistants, (PDAs) often refered to as Palm Pilots. Developed in the 1990s, graffiti is a constucted script can be easily that drawn with a stylus on a touch-sensitive panel.

The word hospital would be constructed like this:

Abbreviate Electronic Language (AEL)

In the current generation of laptops, e-mail, and instant messaging, shorthand has taken the form of acronyms and emoticons (modern hieroglyphs that combine keyboard letters, symbols, or numbers to make a picture -- often viewed sideways.) A form of AEL known as

'text speak' is a system used for keyboards and mobile phone pads, in which vowels are removed so that the sequence of consonants remain and the shortened word is still recognizable. For example, hospital would be written as:

Since its development, language has always proved fascinating to people...and entertaining. Puns and wordplay are abound in literature and plays. People are even interested in examining the individual letters that make up a word. During the 1840s informal spelling bees became popular in schools and among neighbors. In 1874 East Coast newspapers began to report on public spelling matches with an admission fee and prizes for the competitors. Some of the contestants were actually a part of vaudeville shows. The spelling bee then moved west and quickly became a national craze. Although it waxed and waned in popularity for the next century or so, the spelling bee never went completely out of style. The modern National spelling competition began in 1925. Now, at the start of the 21st century, the spelling bee is enjoying a tremendous resurgence in popularity, particularly due to coverage from television, movies, and theater.

Such enthusiasm does not come from simply reciting a memorized sequence of letters to form obscure or antiquated words. On the contrary, the spelling bee demonstrates a passion for words which have intriguing roots, rich histories, and complex systems. By taking a single word and deconstructing it, you participate in that word's centuries old journey from idea to linguistic expression. The spelling bee is actually a tribute to the excitement of communication!

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