OTʜᴇB's logographic adventure (Scratchpad)
Posted: 29 May 2017 22:02
I think I am using "scratchpad" correctly here, but essentially what I'll be posting here is occasional updates on my logographic writing system intended to either complement or replace the featural alphasyllabary I currently have for Dijo. In this first post, I'll outline what I'm planning to do, and in further posts, I'll just dump bits of explanation and the like. I'm hoping to get some feedback on various bits - particularly any advice on creating these systems if possible (looking at you clawgrip - master conscript-ist [don't feel obligated to do anything though ]).
Anyway, on to what this whole thread is about:
I want this logography to follow a somewhat similar theme as my alphasyllabary. For future reference, this is a small sample text using the alphasyllabary:
The system is based around a 6x6 grid in which lines connect the points of this grid. There are no closed shapes, no diagonals, and no deviations from the grid - with the exception of the space and comma punctuation which you can see it the form of the small and large lines between symbols. I intend to use all the same punctuation, and generally want the two to fit together nicely in the event that I do decide to use both - somewhat like the syllabary and logography mixture in Japanese, just a little less complicated.
As a 6x6 grid will be too small for a logography as far as I can tell, I'll use a larger grid. I'm torn between a 9x9 grid that should be sufficiently big, or a much larger 11x11 grid that would create a more appealing symmetry with the alphasyllabary - what with it adding an extra line between the 6x6 grid, keeping many lines that will line up. I'm more tempted by the 11x11 grid as it would likely be easier to cram logographs into it, but the 9x9 grid will be less dense and would be of a similar density to what kanji and Hanzi I have seen - leading me to believe that it would be very feasible, especially considering my lexicon will likely never reach such a size where it would be competing with these real-world lexicons. I'm anticipating that I'll never exceed 2000 words unless I am able to teach it to at least a few people that would end up using it frequently enough to run into missing words.
I do have some restraints planned that will give it the theme I want. I want the system to function better as one to be displayed on computer screens than one to be written as I see it more appropriate. Dijo has no conpeople, but whilst making it, I have been linking it to a conpeople that doesn't exist, but follows specific themes - one of them being heavy reliance on technology. I'm not going to be as limiting on it as with the alphasyllabary, allowing square or rectangular closed shapes, but no other closed shapes. The alphasyllabary has a lenient stroke order - downward or rightward strokes only - and I intend to include this in the logography, but of course any font I make for it will not show any of it much like the font for the alphasyllabary. This is so it will display well on a screen as well as me really not being very good at making fonts (I can't make curves consistent for the life of me).
My general approach for creating logographs is going to be to produce a pictograph or ideograph for each word root I have. I'd then gradually mould these into my system's constraints - simplifying shapes and stretching/squashing sections. This would leave me with 253 root primitives and 17 productive affix primitives. From there, I can fit these together as they fit, then stretch and squash as needed. As I get into more complicated words that I'm deriving from existing words, I can simplify the logograph for the word if needed - I can see it being like a little game of tetris.
That is all to begin with. I've made this post just before starting some pictographs, and I'll post some pictures of me going from pictograph to primitive soon.
I hope to get plenty of comments or questions and things as I go, and I'm very open to opinions on some of the symbols I've made and how I got to them.
Anyway, on to what this whole thread is about:
I want this logography to follow a somewhat similar theme as my alphasyllabary. For future reference, this is a small sample text using the alphasyllabary:
The system is based around a 6x6 grid in which lines connect the points of this grid. There are no closed shapes, no diagonals, and no deviations from the grid - with the exception of the space and comma punctuation which you can see it the form of the small and large lines between symbols. I intend to use all the same punctuation, and generally want the two to fit together nicely in the event that I do decide to use both - somewhat like the syllabary and logography mixture in Japanese, just a little less complicated.
As a 6x6 grid will be too small for a logography as far as I can tell, I'll use a larger grid. I'm torn between a 9x9 grid that should be sufficiently big, or a much larger 11x11 grid that would create a more appealing symmetry with the alphasyllabary - what with it adding an extra line between the 6x6 grid, keeping many lines that will line up. I'm more tempted by the 11x11 grid as it would likely be easier to cram logographs into it, but the 9x9 grid will be less dense and would be of a similar density to what kanji and Hanzi I have seen - leading me to believe that it would be very feasible, especially considering my lexicon will likely never reach such a size where it would be competing with these real-world lexicons. I'm anticipating that I'll never exceed 2000 words unless I am able to teach it to at least a few people that would end up using it frequently enough to run into missing words.
I do have some restraints planned that will give it the theme I want. I want the system to function better as one to be displayed on computer screens than one to be written as I see it more appropriate. Dijo has no conpeople, but whilst making it, I have been linking it to a conpeople that doesn't exist, but follows specific themes - one of them being heavy reliance on technology. I'm not going to be as limiting on it as with the alphasyllabary, allowing square or rectangular closed shapes, but no other closed shapes. The alphasyllabary has a lenient stroke order - downward or rightward strokes only - and I intend to include this in the logography, but of course any font I make for it will not show any of it much like the font for the alphasyllabary. This is so it will display well on a screen as well as me really not being very good at making fonts (I can't make curves consistent for the life of me).
My general approach for creating logographs is going to be to produce a pictograph or ideograph for each word root I have. I'd then gradually mould these into my system's constraints - simplifying shapes and stretching/squashing sections. This would leave me with 253 root primitives and 17 productive affix primitives. From there, I can fit these together as they fit, then stretch and squash as needed. As I get into more complicated words that I'm deriving from existing words, I can simplify the logograph for the word if needed - I can see it being like a little game of tetris.
That is all to begin with. I've made this post just before starting some pictographs, and I'll post some pictures of me going from pictograph to primitive soon.
I hope to get plenty of comments or questions and things as I go, and I'm very open to opinions on some of the symbols I've made and how I got to them.