Writing Systems and Course Engagement

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Questions and Answers

What is the duration of the grace period for assignment submissions after the original deadline?

60 minutes

30 minutes

240 minutes

120 minutes (correct)

If an assignment is due at 3:00 PM, what time does the grace period end?

4:30 PM

3:30 PM

5:00 PM (correct)

4:00 PM

What happens if a student submits their assignment during the grace period?

The submission is not accepted.

They receive a 5% penalty.

They can submit without penalty. (correct)

They receive a 10% penalty.

What is the primary basis for assessing engagement grade in this course?

Attendance and active participation with ticket-out-the-door submissions Signup and view all the answers

How much of the total course grade will engagement count towards?

6% Signup and view all the answers

When are the 'ticket-out-the-door' submissions due at each lecture?

At the end of the lecture. Signup and view all the answers

How long are the in-person quizzes and what are the breaks between them and the lecture?

40 minute quiz with a 20 minute break Signup and view all the answers

Which language is written from left to right?

Mongolian Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following languages can be written in multiple directions?

Japanese Signup and view all the answers

In which direction is Chinese predominantly written?

From right to left Signup and view all the answers

Which writing system follows a right-to-left orientation?

Chinese Signup and view all the answers

What is an example of writing system optionality?

Chinese, Japanese, and Korean can have more than one writing direction Signup and view all the answers

What is one interpretation of the term 'writing' as mentioned?

Skill at drawing letters Signup and view all the answers

What aspect of writing refers to the elegance of language used?

Literary style Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following best describes 'graphic marks' in the context of writing?

Marks that denote language Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is NOT identified as an aspect of writing?

Digital communication Signup and view all the answers

How can writing be defined in broader terms?

Graphic representation of ideas Signup and view all the answers

What skill is particularly emphasized in the concept of penmanship?

Aesthetics of letters Signup and view all the answers

Which term is associated with conveying a high level of language proficiency in writing?

Literary style Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following represents a physical aspect of writing?

Penmanship Signup and view all the answers

What component is least likely to be included under the umbrella of 'writing'?

Visual art illustrations Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary subject of the excerpt from Virgil's Aeneid?

The wrath of Juno Signup and view all the answers

What writing direction is commonly used by the majority of writing systems?

Horizontal, left to right Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following writing systems is mentioned as using horizontal lines?

Cyrillic Signup and view all the answers

Who is the author of the text referenced at the beginning?

Virgil Signup and view all the answers

In the phrase 'fato profugus,' what does 'profugus' suggest about the character's situation?

He is fleeing Signup and view all the answers

The term 'iactatus' in the passage most closely relates to which meaning?

To be thrown Signup and view all the answers

Which goddess is identified as having a significant influence over Aeneas's journey?

Juno Signup and view all the answers

What is the thematic focus of Aeneas's experience as described in the passage?

Struggle and perseverance Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is NOT a writing system mentioned that uses horizontal lines?

Georgian Signup and view all the answers

What emotion is primarily associated with Juno's influence over Aeneas?

Anger Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary theme presented in the opening lines of Virgil's Aeneid?

The journey and suffering of a hero Signup and view all the answers

Which goddess is mentioned as a source of conflict in the Aeneid?

Juno Signup and view all the answers

In what direction do some writing systems, such as Arabic and Hebrew, flow?

Right to left Signup and view all the answers

What is the significance of the mention of 'Lavinia' in the opening lines of the Aeneid?

It symbolizes a new beginning Signup and view all the answers

What does the term 'fato profugus' imply about Aeneas's condition?

He is a refugee driven by fate Signup and view all the answers

What literary device is prominently featured in the lines of Aeneid presented?

Personification Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following languages descends from Aramaic?

Arabic Signup and view all the answers

What is the emotional tone conveyed through the phrase 'multum ille et terris iactatus et alto'?

Despair and suffering Signup and view all the answers

What does the phrase 'vi superum saevae memorem Iunonis ob iram' suggest about divine influence?

Divine punishment from Juno's wrath Signup and view all the answers

How does Virgil's Aeneid relate to the concept of fate?

It illustrates fate's inevitable guiding force Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Introduction

This course is about how writing systems work, their internal rules and structure, their relationship to linguistic structure, and their historical development, including language change versus writing change.
It is not about literature, style, tone, or grammar in essays or papers, or how to "write better."

Topics of the Day

Course Overview (Syllabus, course schedule, and course policies)
What is Writing?
Writing vs. Language
Linearity
Variability in writing direction
Graphemes
Free vs. Bound graphemes
Allographs
Orthography & Transliteration
Scripts vs. Orthographies
Transliteration vs. Transcription

Course Overview

A series of 12 lectures from January 6 to March 31.
Graded assessments include 2 assignments (12% each), 3 quizzes (10% each), a 40% in-person final exam, and 6% for engagement.
Lecture slides will be posted after each lecture.
Do take notes on important points and main ideas.
A 120 minute "Grace Period" follows each assignment deadline, allowing students to submit their assignments.

What is This Course About?

The course focuses on the analysis of writing systems.

What is Writing?

Writing is a systematic representation of language.
Writing is not language; all cultures use language, but not all cultures use writing.
Writing represents an utterance (rather than a semantic concept), with a unique systematic structure independent of spoken language.
Picture writing is used in many contexts (e.g., signs).

Picture Writing

Picture writing is prevalent today due to its convenience in diverse contexts and not being restricted to any particular language.
Picture writing, despite being widespread, may have shortcomings due to not easily conveying abstract notions, possessing ambiguity, and not being able to reproduce every string of words.
Complex picture writing may require cultural background and training.
Real writing sometimes needs to supplement pictures for clarity, giving examples.

Linearity

Writing and speech are both linear.
Speech flows along a single dimension (time), while writing flows from grapheme to grapheme across the writing surface.
Writing direction can be along a line, using a line order on a page, and based on page order within a document, or direction labeled within an image.
The majority of writing systems use horizontal lines from top-to-bottom and left to right..
Some writing systems have right-to-left directionality.
Boustrophedon is a writing style that reverses direction with each line

Linearity: Horizontal, boustrophedon

Ancient manuscripts and inscriptions, notably Ancient Greek.
Writing may start from left to right or right to left on the first line and reverse direction with each subsequent line.
Example of Rongorongo on Easter Island.

Linearity: Vertical

Some writing systems have vertical direction.
Lines can be ordered to the right in some languages or to the left in others. Examples include Mongolian and Chinese.

Variability in Direction

Writing direction can be optional, with examples such as Chinese, Japanese, and Korean being written in columns from top to bottom or rows left to right or right to left.
Other writing systems (such as the example from Hong Kong) may contain examples of how the same text can be written in apparently reverse directions.

Graphemes

Graphemes can be free standing or bound.
Free graphemes are used independently in various writing systems, including letters in the English alphabet or Chinese characters.
Bound graphemes are dependent and need to be combined with another grapheme; examples include accents on letters.

Graphemes: Diacritics

Diacritics are bound graphemes that modify other free graphemes.
Placement can be above, below, after, or before a free grapheme.
Placement varies widely, potentially affecting the linear flow of the graphemes.

Graphemes: Devanagari

Devanagari, an Indic script, is written left-to-right.
Vowels are indicated by diacritics, positioned above, below, after, or before the consonants.

Graphemes: Diacritic vs. Whole Graphemes

German uses an umlaut - (a) (a) + (^^)
Finnish (ä) is a single grapheme

Graphemes: Digraphs/Polygraphs, Diphones/Polyphones

Digraphs/polygraphs are examples of two or more graphemes forming a single phoneme.
Diphones/polyphones signify two or more phonemes that form a single grapheme.

Graphemes: Allographs

Allographs are non-contrastive variants of graphemes (similar to allophones).
Allographs in complementary distribution are determined based on context.
Allographs vary predictably for (e.g.) Greek sigma; (σ) word-initially and (s) word-finally.

Graphemes: Different Typefaces

Allographs can vary across different writing styles (e.g., sans, serif, or monospace fonts).
A letter may appear differently depending on the type font used.

Graphemes: Capitalization

Some scripts use capital and lower case variants, contrastively distinguishing proper and common nouns (e.g., English), while others lack this feature.
Examples include capitalizing "Bath" for a city in England, versus "bath" for the location for bathing

Graphemes: Ligatures

Free graphemes may fuse to create ligatures; ligatures are classified as non-structural, structural, or quasi-ligatures.
Non-structural ligatures are largely esthetic (joining two graphemes together). Examples are aesthetic, first, flower, efficient or affluent.
Structural ligatures and quasi-ligatures form distinct graphemes. An example is Danish (æ).
Quasi-ligatures are structural ligatures not actually connected; examples include Spanish (ch) and (ll).

Orthography

Orthography is the way a language is written or spelled; combining graphemes.
Orthography corresponds regularly to pronunciation in some languages (examples include Finnish, Italian, & Hindi).
Some languages have less direct orthography-sound relationships due to factors such as linguistic change, tradition, missing or implied phonological information, or borrowings of writing systems.

Transcription

International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is a standard for transcribing speech sounds.
IPA was created in 1888, and has been under revisions.
The latest revision was in 2005.
IPA symbols represent segments and suprasegments.
Transcription is writing something down as text.

Transliteration

Transliteration is when a text written in one language is transformed into a different written language.
Transliteration may involve changing writing from one script to another; many writing systems feature standard Roman transliteration systems.
Example: Russian (Cyrillic) to Roman.

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Description

This quiz covers various aspects of writing systems, including their orientations and optionality, as well as key elements of course engagement grading. It also includes questions regarding assignment submissions and quiz formats in the course. Test your knowledge on these topics today!