Pictographic language
Introduction
A pictographic language allows people to communicate via pictograms. The content of a "sentence" typically would include a sequence of standardized pictures (pictograms, icons,...). It thus could replace more difficult to learn trade languages or International auxiliary langauges like Esperanto or Volapük.
The earliest systems can be found in the neolithic period and later in some mesoamerican writing systems (Wikipedia), e.g. Aztec.
Today's systems represent constructed languages (conlangs). Its best known ones were invented in the last century.
Pictographic language systems
Iconji
According to Wikipedia, “iConji is a free pictographic communication system based on an open, visual vocabulary of characters with built-in translations for most major languages.”. A first version was released for the Apple iOS and Web browsers in 2010.
iConji, according to its homepage, uses about 1200 colorful characters. Apps can then translate from and to several languages. i.e. Chinese, English, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Spanish, Swahili, and Swedish.
There is an online search form (e.g. see "problem") and a list of iConji pictures for reverse search.
Blissymbols
According to Wikipedia, Blissymbols or Blissymbolics was conceived as an ideographic writing system called Semantography consisting of several hundred basic symbols, each representing a concept, which can be composed together to generate new symbols that represent new concepts.
Bliss systems are a standardized font in ISO 15924
Systems used with primates
“Research into great ape language has involved teaching chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, and orangutans to communicate with human beings and with each other using sign language, physical tokens, and lexigrams; see Yerkish. Some primatologists argue that the primates' use of these tools indicates their ability to use "language", although this is not consistent with some definitions of that term.” (Wikipeida, retrieved oct 2015).
Yerkish
According to Wikipedia, Yerkish is an artificial language developed for use by non-human primates. It employs a keyboard whose keys contain lexigrams, symbols corresponding to objects or ideas.
Related systems
There exist many other pictographic systems, e.g.,
- Ideograms, the kind of icons that are used in airports or in other public areas to signal places and objects.
- Formal languages used in computer science to model systems or workflows
- Specialized notation languages, such as Therblig, 18 kinds of elemental motions used in the study of motion economy in the workplace.
- Picture languages like Isotype that allow to convey more complex concepts through a single icon or a combination.
- Sign languages for people with hearing disabilities also (implicitly) contain pictograms.
Links
Summaries of various languages
- IConji (Wikipedia)
- Blisssymbols
Home pages
How to
- The Language Construction Kit (meant for "real" constructed spoken and written languages, but nevertheless useful)
- LangMake (dead website, available through wayback machine). For example, its long list of Neographies