Visual Appeal: Alphabets

The look of a language

Let me ask you one thing, what exactly is it in a language you look at most? What about how it is appeal in written form? Is it the curvaceous letters? Or is it the sharp and jagged edges? I'm speaking of how a language is written. In our native tongues, we do not always give much attention to the to the way it is formed. We simply just look, and read without a taking a moment to realize where the characters originated from. Language changes constantly which is how the various writing systems exist today.

Here are the basic categories:

• Alphabets
• Abjads
• Ideographic
• Syllabic
• Sign Language

An alphabet, now that is something you should recognize right away. Why? Because you are using one to read this blog right now. An alphabet is a scripted system that consists of both vowels and consonants, representing nearly every sound made in the spoken language (Ager, 2012). English, French, Spanish, are just a few of the many languages that use this type of writing system. Most will use a Latin-based alphabet, but have additional letters to accompany their own set of phonemes. For example, The Icelandic alphabet has two unique letters, and many accented and diacritical marks (Ager, 2012). That essentially can sum up the majority of European languages, and having knowledge of a Latin-based alphabet makes most languages seem less foreign. Not all alphabets use this base; there are a few others that can make you squint your eyes and wonder what they are saying. Cyrillic, Greek, and Hangul (Korean alphabet) are the other common bases. Let's take a look at them:

The Cyrillic alphabet:

Аа Бб Вв Гг Дд Ее Ёё Жж Зз Ии Йй Кк Лл Мм Нн Оо Пп Рр Сс Тт Уу Фф Хх Цц Чч
Шш Щщ Ъъ Ыы Ьь Ээ Юю Яя

The Greek alphabet:

Αα Ββ Γγ Δδ Εε Ζζ Ηη Θθ Ιι Κκ Λλ Μμ Νν Ξξ Οο Ππ Ρρ Σσ/ς Ττ Υυ Φφ Χχ Ψψ Ωω

The Hangul (Korean alphabet)

Consonants: ㄱㄴㄷ ㄹㅁㅂㅅㅇㅈㅊㅋㅌㅍㅎ
Vowelsㅏㅓㅗㅜㅡㅣㅑㅕㅛㅠ

For most people who are learning a secondary language, they will feel more comfortable using a script similar to the one they use in the one they speak now. So those using an alphabet will feel others that use one to be, "readable." Now all languages are readable, it's just a misconception that you can't read Greek, Farsi, or Chinese. It is just something you are not used to. To understand this, try to imagine you never learned to read (Ager, 2012). At first glance, you would have no idea how to comprehend it. It is that same feeling, and you just need to learn how to read. It's just starting all over again so do not anticipate to much about it.

Take a good look at the following samples of text in Icelandic, Russian, Greek, and Korean. Meditate on them. Evaluate all their curves, edges and overall view. Ask yourself, which one looks most appealing. There is no wrong answer. If you found what you are looking for then great! If alphabets are not what you are looking for, then look into the post on Abjads.

English: The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog.
Icelandic: Fljótur brúnn refur stökk yfir latur hundur.
Russian: Быстрая коричневая лиса перепрыгнула через ленивую собаку.
Greek: Η γρήγορη καφέ αλεπού πηδάει πάνω από τον τεμπέλη σκύλο.
Korean: 빠른 갈색 여우가 게으른 개를 뛰어 넘는.

Sources
Ager, S. (2012). Types of writing system. Retrieved from http://www.omniglot.com /writing/types.htm
Ager, S. (2012). Origin of writing in Korea. Retrieved from http://www.omniglot.com/writing/korean.htm
Ager, S. (2012). Cyrillic alphabet. Retrieved from http://www.omniglot.com/writing/cyrillic.htm
Ager, S. (2012). Cyrillic alphabet. Retrieved from http://www.omniglot.com/writing/greek.htm