A Computational Theory of Writing Systems

A Computational Theory of Writing Systems PDF Author: Richard William Sproat
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521663403
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 260

Get Book Here

Book Description
This book develops a formal computational theory of writing systems. It offers specific proposals about the linguistic objects that are represented by orthographic elements; what levels of linguistic representation are involved and how they may differ across writing systems; and what formal constraints hold of the mapping relation between linguistic and orthographic elements. Based on the insights gained, Sproat then proposes a taxonomy of writing systems. The treatment of theoretical linguistic issues and their computational implementation is complemented with discussion of empirical psycholinguistic work on reading and its relevance for the computational model developed here. Throughout, the model is illustrated with a number of detailed case studies of writing systems around the world. This book will be of interest to students and researchers in a variety of fields, including theoretical and computational linguistics, the psycholinguistics of reading and writing, and speech technology.

A Computational Theory of Writing Systems

A Computational Theory of Writing Systems PDF Author: Richard William Sproat
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521663403
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 260

Get Book Here

Book Description
This book develops a formal computational theory of writing systems. It offers specific proposals about the linguistic objects that are represented by orthographic elements; what levels of linguistic representation are involved and how they may differ across writing systems; and what formal constraints hold of the mapping relation between linguistic and orthographic elements. Based on the insights gained, Sproat then proposes a taxonomy of writing systems. The treatment of theoretical linguistic issues and their computational implementation is complemented with discussion of empirical psycholinguistic work on reading and its relevance for the computational model developed here. Throughout, the model is illustrated with a number of detailed case studies of writing systems around the world. This book will be of interest to students and researchers in a variety of fields, including theoretical and computational linguistics, the psycholinguistics of reading and writing, and speech technology.

A Computational Theory of Writing Systems

A Computational Theory of Writing Systems PDF Author: Richard Sproat
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521034227
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 256

Get Book Here

Book Description
This innovative book develops a formal computational theory of writing systems and relates it to psycholinguistic results. Drawing on case studies of writing systems around the world, it offers specific proposals about the linguistic objects that are represented by orthographic elements and the formal constraints that hold of the mapping relation between them. Based on the insights gained, it posits a new taxonomy of writing systems. The book will be of interest to students and researchers in theoretical and computational linguistics, the psycholinguistics of reading and writing, and speech technology.

The Routledge Handbook of the English Writing System

The Routledge Handbook of the English Writing System PDF Author: Vivian Cook
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317365801
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 660

Get Book Here

Book Description
The Routledge Handbook of the English Writing System provides a comprehensive account of the English writing system, both in its current iteration and highlighting the developing trends that will influence its future. Twenty-nine chapters written by specialists from around the world cover core linguistic and psychological aspects, and also include areas from other disciplines such as typography and computer-mediated communication. Divided into five parts, the volume encompasses a wide range of approaches and addresses issues in the following areas: theory and the English writing system, discussing the effects of etymology and phonology; the history of the English writing system from its earliest development, including spelling, pronunciation and typography; the acquisition and teaching of writing, with discussions of literacy issues and dyslexia; English writing in use around the world, both in the UK and America, and also across Europe and Japan; computer-mediated communication and developments in writing online and on social media. The Routledge Handbook of the English Writing System is essential reading for researchers and postgraduate students working in this area.

Writing Systems of the World

Writing Systems of the World PDF Author: Florian Coulmas
Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
ISBN: 9780631180289
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 316

Get Book Here

Book Description
This book is an account of the writing systems of the world from earliest times to the present. Its aim is to explore the complex ways in which writing systems relate to the language they depict. Writing, Coulmas contends, is not only the guide or garment of spoken language, but has a deep and lasting effect on the development of language itself. His study takes in Egyptian hieroglyphics and the cuneiform system of the ancient Near East; he describes Chinese writing, discussing why an apparently cumbersome system has been used continuously for more than 3,000 years; he ranges across the writing systems of western Asia and the Middle East, the Indian families and the various alphabetic traditions which had its origins in the multifarious world of Semitic writing and came to full bloom in pre-Classical Greece.

The English Writing System

The English Writing System PDF Author: Vivian J Cook
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 144411901X
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 238

Get Book Here

Book Description
English is increasingly becoming the world's lingua franca. If we are not native speakers of one of the many varieties of English, then we may be students of English, or use English regularly for academic or business purposes. The English Language series, which is international in focus, aims to synthesize the wealth of existing linguistic research both on and in English. Each volume in the series is designed to present these findings in an accessible, enlightening and entertaining way not only to students of English linguistics but to learners and users of English across the globe. The English Writing System describes how writing is not simply ancillary to other aspects of language but vitally important to almost everything we do, from signing our wills to sending a text message. This book discusses the mechanics of the writing systems of English; the different ways people process words on a page and the mistakes they can make; how children and second language learners acquire these systems; the historical development of the language and the progress of writing technology: in short, the effectiveness of the writing systems of English. Combining an academic perspective from linguistics and psychology with insights into everyday spelling mistakes, The English Writing System will interest students and teachers of linguistics, literature, the English language, psychology and education.

Typology of Writing Systems

Typology of Writing Systems PDF Author: Susanne R. Borgwaldt
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing
ISBN: 9027271852
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 174

Get Book Here

Book Description
Typology research is extremely important in both proposing classification frameworks and in promoting the careful investigation and analysis of the core concepts inherent within the classification contrasts employed. More exemplary of the latter aspect, the present collection of papers on the typology of writing systems address a number of significant linguistic and psycholinguistic issues surrounding the classification of writing systems. The seven contributions within this volume, which originally appeared as a special issue of Written Language and Literacy 14:1 (2011), cover a wide variety of issues, ranging from an overview of writing system typology research, comparative graphematics, letter-shape similarities, the morphographic principle, tone orthography typology, measuring graphematic transparency, to unconventional spellings within online chat. Reflecting the growing interest in writing, the book will be of interest to advanced students and researchers working on writing systems, written language, and reading research.

Writing Systems and Their Use

Writing Systems and Their Use PDF Author: Dimitrios Meletis
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN: 3110757834
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 328

Get Book Here

Book Description
Grapholinguistics, the multifaceted study of writing systems, is growing increasingly popular, yet to date no coherent account covering and connecting its major branches exists. This book now gives an overview of the core theoretical and empirical questions of this field. A treatment of the structure of writing systems—their relation to speech and language, their material features, linguistic functions, and norms, as well as the different types in which they come—is complemented by perspectives centring on the use of writing, incorporating psycholinguistic and sociolinguistic issues such as reading processes or orthographic variation as social action. Examples stem from a variety of diverse systems such as Chinese, English, Japanese, Arabic, Thai, German, and Korean, which allows defining concepts in a broadly applicable way and thereby constructing a comparative grapholinguistic framework that provides readers with important tools for studying any writing system. The book emphasizes that grapholinguistics is a discipline in its own right, inviting discussion and further research in this up-and-coming field as well as an overdue integration of writing into general linguistic discussion.

The Semantics of Word Division in Northwest Semitic Writing Systems

The Semantics of Word Division in Northwest Semitic Writing Systems PDF Author: Robert S.D. Crellin
Publisher: Oxbow Books
ISBN: 178925678X
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 336

Get Book Here

Book Description
Much focus in research on alphabetic writing systems has been on correspondences between graphemes and phonemes. The present study sets out to complement these by examining the linguistic denotation of markers of word division in several ancient Northwest Semitic (NWS) writing systems, namely, Ugaritic, Phoenician, Moabite, and Hebrew, as well as alphabetic Greek. While in Modern European languages words on the page are separated on the basis of morphosyntax, I argue that in most NWS writing systems words are divided on the basis of prosody: ‘words’ are units which must be pronounced together with a single primary accent or stress, or as a single phrase. After an introduction providing the necessary theoretical groundwork, Part I considers word division in Phoenician inscriptions. I show that word division at the levels of both the prosodic word and of the prosodic phrase may be found in Phoenician, and that the distributions match those of prosodic words and prosodic phrases in Tiberian Hebrew. The latter is a source where, unlike the rest of the material considered, the prosody is well represented. In Part II, word division in Ugaritic alphabetic cuneiform is analyzed. Here two-word division strategies are identified, corresponding broadly to two genres of text: viz, literary, and administrative documents. Word division in the orthography of literary and of some other texts separates prosodic words. By contrast, in many administrative (and some other) documents, words are separated on the basis of morphosyntax, anticipating later word division strategies in Europe by several centuries. Part III considers word division in the consonantal text of the Masoretic tradition of Biblical Hebrew. Here word division is found to mark out ‘minimal prosodic words’. I show that this word division orthography is also found in early Moabite and Hebrew inscriptions. Word division in alphabetic Greek inscriptions is the topic of Part IV. Whilst it is agreed that word division marks out prosodic words, the precise relationship of these units to the pitch accent and the rhythm of the language is not so clear, and consequently this issue is addressed in detail. Finally, the Epilogue considers the societal context of word division in each of the writing systems examined, to attempt to discern the rationales for the prosodic word division strategies adopted. Contexts of and Relations between Early Writing Systems (CREWS) is a project funded by the European Research Council under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (grant agreement No. 677758), and based in the Faculty of Classics, University of Cambridge.

Second Language Writing Systems

Second Language Writing Systems PDF Author: Vivian Cook
Publisher: Multilingual Matters
ISBN: 9781853597930
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 466

Get Book Here

Book Description
Second Language Writing Systems looks at how people learn and use a second language writing system, arguing that they are affected by characteristics of the first and second writing systems, to a certain extent independently of the languages involved. This book for the first time presents the effects of writing systems on second language reading and writing and on second language awareness, and provides a new platform for discussing bilingualism, biliteracy and writing systems.

Writing Systems and Phonetics

Writing Systems and Phonetics PDF Author: Alan Cruttenden
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 100033404X
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 210

Get Book Here

Book Description
Writing Systems and Phonetics provides students with a critical understanding of the writing systems of the world. Beginning by exploring the spelling of English, including how it arose and how it works today, the book goes on to address over 60 major languages from around the globe and includes detailed descriptions and worked examples of writing systems which foreground the phonetics of these languages. Key areas covered include: the use of the Latin alphabet in and beyond Europe; writing systems of the eastern Mediterranean, Greek and its Cyrillic offshoot, Arabic and Hebrew; languages in south and south-east Asia, including Hindi, Tamil, Burmese and Thai, as well as in east Asia, including Chinese, Japanese and Korean; reflections on ancient languages such as Sumerian, Egyptian, Linear B and Mayan; a final chapter which sets out a typology of writing systems. All of the languages covered are contextualised by authentic illustrations, including road signs, personal names and tables, to demonstrate how theoretical research can be applied to the real world. Taking a unique geographical focus that guides the reader on a journey across time and continents, this book offers an engaging introduction for students approaching for the first time the phonetics of writing systems, their typology and the origins of scripts.