Lecture VI.

22.11.2012

Introduction to Linguistics with Elements of History of English

THE DEVELOPMENT OF WRITING:

• WRITING → a visual representation of language, non- gestural representation of language.

• CAVE DRAWINGS:

• 20 000 years ago, 15 000 years BC

• first traces of writing

• Altamira Cave (Spain)

• represents of people and animals → ordinary life as it was

• are considered to be first steps of Pictograms

• PICTOGRAMS:

• pictures which represent objects directly

• 
  → represents just one object (eye)

• the picture system writing

• IDEOGRAMS:

• pictures which represent more than one object

• 
  → represents eye, seeing, looping after, God

• CUNEIFORM WRITING:

• wedge- shaped → it was cut by stylus on clay tablets, and results in carves

• the Sumerians → people of Mesopotamia, who were commercially- oriented people and felt the desire to record their writing, needed some material

• first there were ideograms, but then they must have been simpler to be drawn using stylus

• LOGOGRAPHIC WRITING → word writing system

• SYLLABIC WRITING:

→ they represented the sound of syllables

• Egypt → HIEROGLIPHIC

• THE WEST SEMITIC SYLLABERY:

→ the Phoenicians

→ each single sign stood for a syllable

• THE GREEK WRITING SYSTEM:

→ they developed Phoenicians' writing

→ ALPHABETIC SYSTEM → each sign represents a sound [α + β]

• THE ETRUSCANS:

→ thanks to them the alphabet became known to the Romans

• THE ROMANS:

→ Latin alphabet

• THE CYRYLIC ALPHABET:

→ Eastern Europe

→ different from Roman's alphabet, because those areas weren't forced to accept Christianity

CATEGORY	SPEECH	WRITING
PRODUCT	sound	a visible mark on a certain surface
PLACEMENT	face to face interaction	both participants are usually in distant places
TIME DELAY	seconds	longer delays (e. g. Mickiewicz's works are read even now)
SITUATIONAL REFERENCE	possibility to use certain object which is in specific situation (e. g. A table is broken. → Look!)	cannot make reference to present situation, because presence is totally different for sender and for receiver
NON- VERBAL COMMUNICATION	used	non- existent, only attempts through punctuation or emoticons
EFFORD PUT INTO PRODUCTION	effortless	several types of effort: learning how to write, rules of grammar, punctuation, how to reveal something in writing
SPONTANEITY	spontaneous	should be prepared
DYNAMICS	dynamic (changeable topics)	static (plan of revealing thoughts)
CORRECTNESS	thinking & speaking at the same time → slips of tongue	no errors are expected
POSSIBILTY OF CORRECTION	a chance to correct mistakes immediately	no chance to correct mistakes
DIRECTION OF COMMUNICATION	dialogue	monologue
DURABILITY	non- existent, sound once produced disappears immediately	More durable than speech, but limited to the durability of material
CHARACTERISTIC TOPICS	not binding information, everyday & casual topics	transmission information requiring long- lasing information

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