Chapter 16:

Writing Part 3
Homework Tasks (p.208)
A. What is boustrophedon writing and during which period
was it used?
The term “boustrophedon” means “as the ox turns” in a
reference to how a field was plowed at the time.
It describes a way of writing in which each successive line goes
in the opposite direction.
That is, if you write the first line from right-to-left, you
continue on the next line from left-to-right, then go from right-
to-left on the next line, and so on.
In some versions all symbols faced the same way, but in other
versions, some of the symbols changed (∃ , E) in accordance
with the direction of writing.
Homework Tasks (p.208)
A. What is boustrophedon writing and during which period
was it used?
This pattern of writing appears in many early scripts dated between
2,000 and 3,000 years ago, including those of the Phoenicians and
the early Greeks.
The stabilisation of writing direction in Semitic languages settled
on a fixed right-to-left direction, as in modern Arabic, whereas in
those scripts derived from Greek, the direction became fixed as
left-to-right, as in modern European languages.
For more, read: Comrie, B., S. Matthews and M. Polinsky (eds.)
(2003) The Atlas of Languages (204206) Facts On File Inc.
Homework Tasks (p.208)
B. What kind of writing systems are known as abjads
and abugidas and what is the basic difference between
them?
Abjad is the Arabic word for “alphabet” and this term is
used in the description of writing systems to refer to
scripts that are based on a consonantal alphabet.
The term is derived from the first four letters of the older
Arabic abjad (alif, ba, jeem, dal).
The Semitic scripts, used for Arabic, Aramaic and
Hebrew, which developed from the older Phoenician
writing system all used abjads.
Homework Tasks (p.208)
B. What kind of writing systems are known as abjads and
abugidas and what is the basic difference between them?
When the letters of the Semitic abjads were adopted for
languages such as Amharic in north Africa, they were modified
with small marks to indicate vowels.
This type of script is known as an abugida, a term formed from
the first four symbols of the Ge’ez script, used in Ethiopia.
Similar modifications to the earlier Semitic scripts (additional
marks for vowels on some consonant symbols) resulted in
abugidas being developed as writing systems throughout south
Asia, as in the Brahmic scripts of India.
Homework Tasks (p.208)
B. What kind of writing systems are known as abjads
and abugidas and what is the basic difference between
them?
For more, read: Daniels, P. and W. Bright (eds.) (1996) The
World’s Writing Systems (chapter 1) Oxford University
Press Rogers, H. (2005) Writing Systems: A Linguistic
Approach (chapter 7) Blackwell
Homework Tasks (p.208)
C. What kind of writing system is Hangul, where is it used and
how are forms written on the page?
Hangul (or Han’gŭl or Hankul) is literally “Han (= Korean)
writing.”
It is a writing system that was designed specially for the Korean
language by King Sejong and introduced in the years 1443-1446
as “Correct Sounds for the Instruction of the People.”
It retains aspects of Chinese writing, but is quite unique in its
combination of alphabetic and syllabic writing.
It is an alphabetic system, with distinct symbols or letters for
consonants and vowels.
These letters are combined to form syllables inside squarish
blocks, reminiscent of how Chinese characters are written.
Homework Tasks (p.208)
C. What kind of writing system is Hangul, where is it
used and how are forms written on the page?
The symbols for consonants are based on distinctions in the
place and manner of articulation.
For example, the consonant /s/ is treated as a dental
articulation, represented by the sign ㅅ, reportedly depicting
a tooth.
Vowels are represented by lines, some with small
distinguishing marks.
They are either vertical, as in | for /i/ and ㅏ for /a/, or
horizontal, as in ㅡ for /u/ and ㅗ for /o/.
Homework Tasks (p.208)
C. What kind of writing system is Hangul, where is it used and
how are forms written on the page?
When a consonant and a vowel are written as a syllable, they are
combined in a square-like block.
Vertical vowels follow the consonant, while horizontal vowels are
written below the consonant.
This highly original writing system has been described as an
alphabetic syllabary.
For more, read: Coulmas, F. (2003) Writing Systems (156-167)
Cambridge University Press King, R. (1996) “Korean writing” In
P. Daniels and W. Bright (eds.) The World’s Writing Systems
(218-227) Oxford University Press