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本中心於多間幼稚園, 小學及中學提供課外課程, 包括拼音, 口語對話, 文法, 閱讀, 講故事技巧及朗誦等。參與之學校、家長與學生反應熱烈。參與朗誦之同學更屢次獲得金、銀獎項, 本中心導師更獲得優秀導師獎。
各級英語拼音、創意寫作、英語話劇、機械人創作工作坊、閱讀能力提昇訓練、講故事技巧、朗誦研習、會考口語訓練、小學入學面試訓練等。參與之學校、家長與學生反應熱烈。參與朗誦之同學更屢次獲得金、銀獎項, 本中心導師更獲得優秀導師獎。
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Printable
Lesson Plans
Genki English CDs:
Volume 1
Volume 2
Volume 3
Volume 4
Volume 5
Volume 6
New CD Vol. 7
Click the letters, hear the sounds!
Phonics Games:
Which game can you do the fastest?
Be sure to tell your students about these games so they can study at home!
Phonics
Free Printables:
A4 Posters
"Islands" Game
Snakes & Ladders
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kids Phonics CD
10 Brand New genki songs, audio mini lessons and games for teaching phonics!
Out now!!
Or
if you are
Outside Japan.
本英語教育中心主要負責為各中小學及幼稚園之課外活動興趣班設計課程, 以及提供已培訓導師到校授課及評估。
本中心於多間幼稚園, 小學及中學提供課外課程, 包括拼音, 口語對話, 文法, 閱讀, 講故事技巧及朗誦等。參與之學校、家長與學生反應熱烈。參與朗誦之同學更屢次獲得金、銀獎項, 本中心導師更獲得優秀導師獎。
各級英語拼音、創意寫作、英語話劇、機械人創作工作坊、閱讀能力提昇訓練、講故事技巧、朗誦研習、會考口語訓練、小學入學面試訓練等。參與之學校、家長與學生反應熱烈。參與朗誦之同學更屢次獲得金、銀獎項, 本中心導師更獲得優秀導師獎。
Also check out the normal Genki English CDs in the CD Set
The idea of phonics is that you teach your students the various English sounds,
then the letters they correspond to. The advantage of this over simply teaching
the alphabet is that once they have mastered the main sounds, they can then read
many English words.
On this page kids will find enough material to cover all the basics. So tell
your students about the page so they can practise at home, it's a great way to
show parents how well you are teaching them in class!
The problem with traditional phonics is that if you have a printed book, you
can't hear the sounds, similarly if you have an audio cassette, you cannot see
the letters. So that's why I came up with this page, where you can hear the
sounds, see the letters and have full control over which ones to study.
In the table above you have the 5 vowels, the 21 consonants and several "blend"
and "combination" sounds where consonants are used together. Move your mouse
over the sounds to hear them pronounced, or click on the pictures to hear them.
Most areas of the World pronounce consonants in the same way, however regional
accents appear in the vowel sounds. New Yorkers have different vowels from
Texans, Londoners are different from Glaswegians. Here I've presented two
variations. When you teach, choose one, but make sure the kids know there are
many variations.
The games on here are great as the time limits really make sure the kids start
listening and not just looking at the letters (hence why kids will always beat
adults!). The pronunciation has no strange Japanese accents and above all they
are fiendishly addictive games!
�@
How to use this page
At Home: First of all the parent and child should play around with the talking
phonics table at the top of this page. When that gets a little boring, have a
try at one of the games. Take it in turns to see who can get the highest score!
Then play around a little more, then try the next game.
Private English Classes: Most private English classroom tend not to have
computers. So what I would recommend is to do a normal Phonics Course during the
lessons, and then give this page as homework. The kids can play their games at
their own pace, record their best times and then compare them in the next
lesson. And remember the golden rule "Losing doesn't mean losing. It's just
another chance to try again!"
Elementary School: According to the Ministry of Education the main aim in
Elementary School should be for the kids to develop a love for English and be
able to communicate in it. Hence have a look at my curriculum page. But if you
have the time then phonics can be a fantastic way to get the kids used to
English sounds. The best way to do this is to use the school's computer room.
Ideally it would be one kid per computer, but obviously this depends on how many
machines you have! First of all show the students this page, and let them play
around on the talking part at the top. Then after a few minutes let then try the
first game on their own. After a couple of tries, have a class competition! This
is where the games really work! The teacher says "Go!" and the kids all press
start at the same time. Who's the quickest? It's a great motivation builder and
as the tiles come up randomly it gives kids who are maybe weaker at English just
as much chance to win! Once you've done that a couple of times, let the kids
play freely on the next game, and then do another class challenge. And of course
this page is great as homework. The kids can do some great English practise at
home and their parents can see the progress they are making. That's the reason
why instead of making these games into a CD, I put them on the site for free, so
that anyone can freely use them and get the basic English sounds sorted! So tell
everyone you know about the page and let's get everyone genki about English!
Junior High School: Teaching the first year junior high students phonics makes a
huge difference. It is actually one of the methods recommended by the Ministry
of Education and the influence phonics has on the kids ability to read cannot be
underestimated. The best way to use the page is in the computer room just as I
describe above for elementary school. Of course for Junior High 2 or 3 it's a
bit late to be learning the sounds of English, but if you have a genki class it
can work really well! You probably also want to get yourself a copy of the Foxy
Phonics JHS book.
Adults: Kids will always be better than adults at these games, but if you are
studying English then this page can be really useful too! Just one thing to
watch out for is not to start saying the letters in your native language (such
as "bu", "da" etc. for Japanese speakers), but to really try with the real
English sounds. If you try really hard then most of the English sounds are
presented in these games, which means by using this page you should be able to
read almost any English!!
Let your students have a go and see how they get on!
If you have any comments or questions I'd like to hear them, please get in
touch!
And if you have any friends who you think would like this page, please tell them
about www.GenkiEnglish.com !!
I got the inspiration for this from working on a similar page for learning
Japanese "hiragana" and "katakana" - you can have a look on the Genki Japan
Page!
Or if you teach math, have a look my fun math games!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New Genki Phonics Songs!!
If you like this page you'll probably be interested in my new "Genki Phonics
CD".
On this audio CD there are 10 songs for the sounds b, c ( or k), d, f, g, h, j (
or the soft "g"), l, m & n. The melodies are infectious, the production is
up-to-date and best of all the lyrics for each song are just that sound i.e. for
the "b" song it's "b,b,b,b b,b,b,b " - so your kids will always remember the
lyrics!
To get the most out of the songs the kids have to first practise the sound and
then learn how to sing the song. To help with this each track has its own audio
"mini-lesson" where I teach the song, of course in a very Genki way. The
mini-lessons are all in English, but the kids can follow no problem, and these
mini-lessons mean it's much easier for you to teach!
Then as an extra bonus there is a simple "odd-one-out" audio quiz for each track
to see if they really do know the sounds ( check out the free worksheets below
to go with these games) !
So there you go, the genkiest way to learn phonics! Perfect as a stand alone 5
minute section of a regular class, or to genkify a more traditional phonics
course.
The Genki Phonics CD is available now priced 2,940 Yen ( including tax) + Post
and Packing
Or click here for the Fax order form. ( It's in Japanese so you can show it to
your school and hopefully get them to pay!)
If you live outside Japan you can now order the Genki Phonics CD by credit card
(Note: The Phonics CD is not included in the "6 CD Set" or "Superpack". Unlike
the other Genki English CDs, the Phonics CD only contains audio tracks)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Phonics Worksheets!
. Not only is there this talking Phonics pageon the site, I've now produced some
phonics worksheets for you to use in class.
The idea with these sheets is that they can be used to teach kids phonic
awareness, the relationship between written characters and their associated
sounds, in a very easy and fun way! These sheets are copyrighted, however you
may download them and use them in your own class.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New mini phonics worksheets
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A4 Phonics Worksheets featuring one letter:
example of 'b'
Great to put up on the board, each sheet features one lower case letter.
Use them with the songs on the new Genki Phonics CD.
Click on each letter to bring up the A4 print out.
a - b - c - d - e - f - g - h - i - j - k - l - m
n - o - p - q - r - s - t - u - v - w - x - y -z
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A4 Odd-One-Out Phonics Worksheets
Phonics worksheets to be used with the games on the new Genki Phonics CD!
Great to print out and give to students.
Click on each letter to bring up the A4 print out.
b - c - d - f - g - h - j - l - m - n
All feedback is much appreciated!!
Or try out the previous set of "odd-one-out" worksheets:
"H" Colour B&W Sound File (322 kb)
"K" Colour B&W Sound File (271 kb)
"L" Colour B&W Sound File (319kb)
How to use Genki Phonics Songs in Elementary School?
Do a normal themed lesson, similar to that described in my lesson plan page.
But as part of each lesson spend around 5/10 minutes introducing one new letter,
or sound. The beginning is a good time!
Put the A4 print out on the board..
Play the Mini-Lesson and sing the song from the Genki Phonics CD.
By introducing one letter/sound per lesson, you can still spend most of the time
doing songs and games, i.e. the important "communication English". But over time
you'll build up a great foundation which should help the kids speak with better
accents and give them a huge head start when they learn to read.
When the kids have computer lessons, try out the Talking Phonics Games or even
better, get them to do the games as homework!
If you're teaching in an English school, you probably have a good idea of how to
introduce phonics, so use these ideas to spice up your lessons and motivate the
kids!
The Genki Phonics CD is available now priced 2,940 Yen ( including tax) + Post
and Packing
If you live outside Japan you can now order the Genki Phonics CD by credit card!
Leave a comment
or ask a question:
Game/Song Name:
Comments/Question:
Name:
E-mail:
Email address will not be published.
If you like this page, please tell a friend.
If you have a blog, please send a link!
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About the site -|- Contact Me -|- 𡢢𦂥㿈纺㴒
Writing
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
"Write" redirects here. For other uses, see Write (disambiguation).
Illustration of a scribe writingWriting is the representation of language in a
textual medium through the use of a set of signs or symbols (known as a writing
system). It is distinguished from illustration, such as cave drawing and
painting, and the recording of language via a non-textual medium such as
magnetic tape audio.
Writing began as a consequence of the burgeoning needs of accounting. Around the
4th millennium BC, the complexity of trade and administration outgrew the power
of memory, and writing became a more dependable method of recording and
presenting transactions in a permanent form (Robinson, 2003, p. 36).
Contents [hide]
1 Writing as a category
2 Means for recording information
2.1 Writing systems
2.1.1 Logographies
2.1.2 Syllabaries
2.1.3 Alphabets
2.1.4 Featural scripts
2.1.5 Historical significance of writing systems
2.2 Tools and materials
3 History of early writing
3.1 Mesopotamia
3.2 Turkmenistan
3.3 China
3.4 Egypt
3.5 Indus Valley
3.6 Phoenician writing system and descendants
3.7 Mesoamerica
4 Creation of text or information
4.1 Creativity
4.2 Author
4.3 Writer
4.4 Critiques
5 See also
6 References
7 Further reading
8 External links
[edit] Writing as a category
Writing, more particularly, refers to two things: writing as a noun, the thing
that is written; and writing as a verb, which designates the activity of
writing. It refers to the inscription of characters on a medium, thereby forming
words, and larger units of language, known as texts. It also refers to the
creation of meaning and the information thereby generated. In that regard,
linguistics (and related sciences) distinguishes between the written language
and the spoken language. The significance of the medium by which meaning and
information is conveyed is indicated by the distinction made in the arts and
sciences. For example, while public speaking and poetry reading are both types
of speech, the former is governed by the rules of rhetoric and the latter by
poetics.
A person who composes a message or story in the form of text is generally known
as a writer or an author. However, more specific designations exist which are
dictated by the particular nature of the text such as that of poet, essayist,
novelist, playwright, journalist, and more. A person who transcribes, translates
or produces text to deliver a message authored by another person is known as a
scribe, typist or typesetter. A person who produces text with emphasis on the
aesthetics of glyphs is known as a calligrapher or graphic designer.
Writing is also a distinctly human activity. It has been said that a monkey,
randomly typing away on a typewriter (in the days when typewriters replaced the
pen or plume as the preferred instrument of writing) could re-create
Shakespeare-- but only if it lived long enough (this is known as the infinite
monkey theorem). Such writing has been speculatively designated as coincidental.
It is also speculated that extra-terrestrial beings exist who may possess
knowledge of writing. The fact is that the only known writing is human writing.
[edit] Means for recording information
Wells argues that writing has the ability to "put agreements, laws, commandments
on record. It made the growth of states larger than the old city states
possible. The command of the priest or king and his seal could go far beyond his
sight and voice and could survive his death" (Wells in Robinson, 2003, p. 35).
[edit] Writing systems
The major writing systems – methods of inscription – broadly fall into four
categories: logographic, syllabic, alphabetic, and featural. Another category,
ideographic (symbols for ideas), has never been developed sufficiently to
represent language. A sixth category, pictographic, is insufficient to represent
language on its own, but often forms the core of logographies.
[edit] Logographies
A logogram is a written character which represents a word or morpheme. The vast
number of logograms needed to write language, and the many years required to
learn them, are the major disadvantage of the logographic systems over
alphabetic systems. However, the efficiency of reading logographic writing once
it is learned is a major advantage. No writing system is wholly logographic: all
have phonetic components as well as logograms ("logosyllabic" components in the
case of Chinese characters, cuneiform, and Mayan, where a glyph may stand for a
morpheme, a syllable, or both; "logoconsonantal" in the case of hieroglyphs),
and many have an ideographic component (Chinese "radicals", hieroglyphic
"determiners"). For example, in Mayan, the glyph for "fin", pronounced "ka'",
was also used to represent the syllable "ka" whenever the pronunciation of a
logogram needed to be indicated, or when there was no logogram. In Chinese,
about 90% of characters are compounds of a semantic (meaning) element called a
radical with an existing character to indicate the pronunciation, called a
phonetic. However, such phonetic elements complement the logographic elements,
rather than vice versa.
The main logographic system in use today is Chinese characters, used with some
modification for various languages of China, Japanese, and, to a lesser extent,
Korean in South Korea. Another is the classical Yi script.
[edit] Syllabaries
A syllabary is a set of written symbols that represent (or approximate)
syllables. A glyph in a syllabary typically represents a consonant followed by a
vowel, or just a vowel alone, though in some scripts more complex syllables
(such as consonant-vowel-consonant, or consonant-consonant-vowel) may have
dedicated glyphs. Phonetically related syllables are not so indicated in the
script. For instance, the syllable "ka" may look nothing like the syllable "ki",
nor will syllables with the same vowels be similar.
Syllabaries are best suited to languages with relatively simple syllable
structure, such as Japanese. Other languages that use syllabic writing include
the Linear B script for Mycenaean Greek; Cherokee; Ndjuka, an English-based
creole language of Surinam; and the Vai script of Liberia. Most logographic
systems have a strong syllabic component. Ethiopic, though technically an
alphabet, has fused consonants and vowels together to the point that it's
learned as if it were a syllabary.
[edit] Alphabets
See also: History of the alphabet
An alphabet is a small set of symbols, each of which roughly represents or
historically represented a phoneme of the language. In a perfectly phonological
alphabet, the phonemes and letters would correspond perfectly in two directions:
a writer could predict the spelling of a word given its pronunciation, and a
speaker could predict the pronunciation of a word given its spelling. As
languages often evolve independently of their writing systems, and writing
systems have been borrowed for languages they were not designed for, the degree
to which letters of an alphabet correspond to phonemes of a language varies
greatly from one language to another and even within a single language.
In most of the alphabets of the Mid-East, only consonants are indicated, or
vowels may be indicated with optional diacritics. Such systems are called abjads.
In most of the alphabets of India and Southeast Asia, vowels are indicated
through diacritics or modification of the shape of the consonant. These are
called abugidas. Some abugidas, such as Ethiopic and Cree, are learned by
children as syllabaries, and so are often called "syllabics". However, unlike
true syllabaries, there is not an independent glyph for each syllable.
Sometimes the term "alphabet" is restricted to systems with separate letters for
consonants and vowels, such as the Latin alphabet. Because of this use, Greek is
often considered to be the first alphabet.
[edit] Featural scripts
A featural script notates the building blocks of the phonemes that make up a
language. For instance, all sounds pronounced with the lips ("labial" sounds)
may have some element in common. In the Latin alphabet, this is accidentally the
case with the letters "b" and "p"; however, labial "m" is completely dissimilar,
and the similar-looking "q" is not labial. In Korean hangul, however, all four
labial consonants are based on the same basic element. However, in practice,
Korean is learned by children as an ordinary alphabet, and the featural elements
tend to pass unnoticed.
Another featural script is SignWriting, the most popular writing system for many
sign languages, where the shapes and movements of the hands and face are
represented iconically. Featural scripts are also common in fictional or
invented systems, such as Tolkien's Tengwar.
[edit] Historical significance of writing systems
Historians draw a distinction between prehistory and history, with history
defined by the advent of writing. The cave paintings and petroglyphs of
prehistoric peoples can be considered precursors of writing, but are not
considered writing because they did not represent language directly.
Writing systems always develop and change based on the needs of the people who
use them. Sometimes the shape, orientation and meaning of individual signs also
changes over time. By tracing the development of a script it is possible to
learn about the needs of the people who used the script as well as how it
changed over time.
[edit] Tools and materials
This section does not cite any references or sources. (September 2007)
Please improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources.
Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.
The many tools and writing materials used throughout history include stone
tablets, clay tablets, wax tablets, vellum, parchment, paper, copperplate,
styluses, quills, ink brushes, pencils, pens, and many styles of lithography. It
is speculated that the Incas might have employed knotted threads known as quipu
(or khipu) as a writing system.
For more information see writing implements.
[edit] History of early writing
Main article: History of writing
By definition, history begins with written records; evidence of human culture
without writing is the realm of prehistory.
The evolution of writing was a process involving economic necessity in the
ancient near east. Archaeologist Denise Schmandt-Besserat determined the link
between previously uncategorized clay "tokens" and the first known writing,
cuneiform.[1] The clay tokens were used to represent commodities, and perhaps
even units of time spent in labor, and their number and type became more complex
as civilization advanced. A degree of complexity was reached when over a hundred
different kinds of tokens had to be accounted for, and tokens were wrapped and
fired in clay, with markings to indicate the kind of tokens inside. These
markings soon replaced the tokens themselves, and the clay envelopes were
demonstrably the prototype for clay writing tablets.[1]
[edit] Mesopotamia
The original Mesopotamian writing system was derived from this method of keeping
accounts, and by the end of the 4th millennium BC,[2] this had evolved into
using a triangular-shaped stylus pressed into soft clay for recording numbers.
This was gradually augmented with pictographic writing using a sharp stylus to
indicate what was being counted. Round-stylus and sharp-stylus writing was
gradually replaced by writing using a wedge-shaped stylus (hence the term
cuneiform), at first only for logograms, but evolved to include phonetic
elements by the 29th century BC. Around the 26th century BC, cuneiform began to
represent syllables of spoken Sumerian. Also in that period, cuneiform writing
became a general purpose writing system for logograms, syllables, and numbers,
and this script was adapted to another Mesopotamian language, Akkadian, and from
there to others such as Hurrian, and Hittite. Scripts similar in appearance to
this writing system include those for Ugaritic and Old Persian.
[edit] Turkmenistan
An unknown civilization in Central Asia 4,000 years ago, hundreds of years
before Chinese writing developed. An excavation near Ashgabat, the capital of
Turkmenistan, revealed an inscription on a piece of stone that was used as a
stamp seal. [3]
[edit] China
In China historians have found out a lot about the early Chinese dynasties from
the written documents left behind. From the Shang Dynasty most of this writing
has survived on bones or bronze implements. Markings on turtle shells have been
carbon-dated to around 1500 BC. Historians have found that the type of media
used had an effect on what the writing was documenting and how it was used.
There have recently been discoveries of tortoise-shell carvings dating back to
c. 6000 BC, but whether or not the carvings are of sufficient complexity to
qualify as writing is under debate.[4][5] If it is deemed to be a written
language, writing in China will predate Mesopotamian cuneiform, long
acknowledged as the first appearance of writing, by some 2000 years.
[edit] Egypt
The earliest known hieroglyphic inscriptions are the Narmer Palette, dating to
c.3200 BC, and several recent discoveries that may be slightly older, though the
glyphs were based on a much older artistic tradition. The hieroglyphic script
was logographic with phonetic adjuncts that included an effective alphabet.
Writing was very important in maintaining the Egyptian empire, and literacy was
concentrated among an educated elite of scribes. Only people from certain
backgrounds were allowed to train to become scribes, in the service of temple,
pharaonic, and military authorities. The hieroglyph system was always difficult
to learn, but in later centuries was purposely made even more so, as this
preserved the scribes' status.
The world's oldest known alphabet was developed in central Egypt around 2000 BC
from a hieroglyphic prototype, and over the next 500 years spread to Canaan and
eventually to the rest of the world.
[edit] Indus Valley
Main article: Indus script
Ten Indus scripts discovered near the northern gate of Dholavira (perhaps 5000
years old)The Indus Valley script is a mysterious aspect of ancient Indian
culture as it has not yet been deciphered. All known inscriptions are short.
[edit] Phoenician writing system and descendants
The Phoenician writing system was adapted from the Proto-Caananite script in
around the 11th century BC, which in turn borrowed ideas from Egyptian
hieroglyphics. This writing system was an abjad — that is, a writing system in
which only consonants are represented. This script was adapted by the Greeks,
who adapted certain consonantal signs to represent their vowels. The Cumae
alphabet, a variant of the early Greek alphabet gave rise to the Etruscan
alphabet, and its own descendants, such as the Latin alphabet and Runes. Other
descendants from the Greek alphabet include the Cyrillic alphabet, used to write
Russian, among others. The Phoenician system was also adapted into the Aramaic
script, from which the Hebrew script and also that of Arabic are descended.
The Tifinagh script (Berber languages) is descended from the Libyco-Berber
script which is assumed to be of Phoenician origin.
[edit] Mesoamerica
A stone slab with 3,000-year-old writing was discovered in the Mexican state of
Veracruz, and is an example of the oldest script in the Western Hemisphere
preceding the oldest Zapotec writing dated to about 500 BCE. [6] [7] [8]
Of several pre-Colombian scripts in Mesoamerica, the one that appears to have
been best developed, and the only one to be deciphered, is the Maya script. The
earliest inscriptions which are identifiably Maya date to the 3rd century BC,
and writing was in continuous use until shortly after the arrival of the Spanish
conquistadores in the 16th century AD. Maya writing used logograms complemented
by a set of syllabic glyphs, somewhat similar in function to modern Japanese
writing.
[edit] Creation of text or information
[edit] Creativity
Main articles: Creativity and Creative Writing
[edit] Author
Main article: Author
[edit] Writer
Main article: Writer
[edit] Critiques
This section does not cite any references or sources. (September 2007)
Please improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources.
Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.
Writers sometimes search out others to evaluate or criticize their work. To this
end, many writers join writing circles, often found at local libraries or
bookstores. With the evolution of the Internet, writing circles have started to
go online.
Wikibooks' [[wikibooks:|]] has more about this subject:
Fiction technique
[edit] See also
Author
Boustrophedon text
Calligraphy
Collaborative writing
Communication
Composition studies
Creative writing
Decipherment
Essay
Fiction writing
Grammar
Graphonomics
Interactive fiction
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[edit] References
^ a b Rudgley, Richard (2000). The Lost Civilizations of the Stone Age. New
York: Simon & Schuster, 48-57.
^ The Origin and Development of the Cuneiform System of Writing, Samuel Noah
Kramer, Thirty Nine Firsts In Recorded History pp 381-383
^ "Ancient writing found in Turkmenistan.", BBC. Retrieved on 2008-03-30. "A
previously unknown civilisation was using writing in Central Asia 4,000 years
ago, hundreds of years before Chinese writing developed, archaeologists have
discovered. An excavation near Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan, revealed
an inscription on a piece of stone that seems to have been used as a stamp
seal."
^ China Daily, 12 June 2003, Archaeologists Rewrite History, http://www.china.org.cn/english/2003/Jun/66806.htm
^ "'Earliest writing' found in China.", BBC. Retrieved on 2008-03-30. "Signs
carved into 8,600-year-old tortoise shells found in China may be the earliest
written words, say archaeologists."
^ "Writing May Be Oldest in Western Hemisphere.", New York Times. Retrieved on
2008-03-30. "A stone slab bearing 3,000-year-old writing previously unknown to
scholars has been found in the Mexican state of Veracruz, and archaeologists say
it is an example of the oldest script ever discovered in the Western
Hemisphere."
^ "'Oldest' New World writing found", BBC. Retrieved on 2008-03-30. "Ancient
civilisations in Mexico developed a writing system as early as 900 BC, new
evidence suggests."
^ "Oldest Writing in the New World", Science. Retrieved on 2008-03-30. "A block
with a hitherto unknown system of writing has been found in the Olmec heartland
of Veracruz, Mexico. Stylistic and other dating of the block places it in the
early first millennium before the common era, the oldest writing in the New
World, with features that firmly assign this pivotal development to the Olmec
civilization of Mesoamerica."
[edit] Further reading
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
WritingLook up Writing in
Wiktionary, the free dictionary.History of Writing
A History of Writing: From Hieroglyph to Multimedia, edited by Anne-Marie
Christin, Flammarion (in French, hardcover: 408 pages, 2002, ISBN 2-08-010887-5)
In the Beginning: A Short History of the Hebrew Language. By Joel M. Hoffman,
2004. Chapter 3 covers the invention of writing and its various stages.
Origins of writing on AncientScripts.com
Museum of Writing: UK Museum of Writing with information on writing history and
implements
On ERIC Digests: Writing Instruction: Current Practices in the Classroom;
Writing Development; Writing Instruction: Changing Views over the Years
Children of the Code: The Power of Writing - Online Video
Rogers, Henry. 2005. Writing Systems: A Linguistic Approach. Oxford: Blackwell.
ISBN 0-631-23463-2 (hardcover); ISBN 0-631-23464-0 (paperback)
Ankerl, Guy. 2000. Coexisting Contemporary Civilizations: Arabo-Muslim, Bharati,
Chinese, and Western. Geneva: INU Press, ISBN 2-88155-004-5, pp. 59-66, 235s.
Robinson, Andrew "The Origins of Writing" in David Crowley and Paul Heyer (eds)
Communication in History: Technology, Culture, Society (Allyn and Bacon, 2003).
[edit] External links
Language, Writing and Alphabet: An Interview with Christophe Rico Damqatum 3
(2007)
Why write? - a history of writing and the alphabet from the British Library
TechTact.org - A website for tactful technical writing
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Writing"
Categories: Writing
Hidden category: Articles needing additional references from September 2007
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小孩於出生後頭數年對所學、所吸收都比任何時期多。故此親子音樂 Playgroup 特別為18個月 ( 1.5 yr. ) 至 3
歲之幼兒而設計，為幼兒準備入學前安排一個活動空間。
幼兒在此 Playgroup，
除了可與一位成年人共同參與和學習外，在課堂之設計上亦加入較多音樂元素，使幼童透過不同環節和遊戲，不知不覺地對音樂有初步之認識，並對音樂產生興趣，從而激發孩子之創造力及想像力。
內
容 1.唱遊 取材自適合幼兒之歌曲、童謠等，並配合簡單之動作，對刺激及提昇兒童聆聽及欣賞能力有莫大幫助。
2.律動和
遊戲 在遊戲與律動中配合音樂，邊做邊唱，並感受節奏的變化，更能訓練其大小肌肉。
3.聲音和
文字活動 以日常生活、及幼兒本身為主角的故事作為選材，讓孩子更多了解他們周遭之事物。
4.音樂
欣賞 此部份著重對兒童引導及啟發，透過豐富之音樂素材及有趣輕鬆手法把兒童帶進多姿多彩的音樂世界。
(本課程適合18個月以上小朋友)
課 程 查 詢 電 話 23842712（旺角） / 2865 0108（灣仔)
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須由一位成年人陪同 四節
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$595/Pair 28/2 至 20/3
逢星期四
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Y28PMPB3 音樂Playgroup
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須由一位成年人陪同 四節
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$595/Pair 7/3 至 11/4
逢星期五 (21/3 , 4/4停課)
11:30am - 12:30pm
Y28PMPC3 音樂Playgroup
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須由一位成年人陪同 四節
(1小時)
$595/Pair 1/3 至 29/3
逢星期六 (22/3停課)
10:30am - 11:30am
Y28PMPD3 音樂Playgroup
(適合18個月以上小朋友)
須由一位成年人陪同 四節
(1小時)
$595/Pair 1/3 至 29/3
逢星期六 (22/3停課)
11:30am - 12:30pm
Y28PMPE3 音樂Playgroup
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須由一位成年人陪同 四節
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$595/Pair 1/3 ,15/3 ,5/4 ,19/4
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須由一位成年人陪同 四節
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$595/Pair 1/3 ,15/3 ,5/4 ,19/4
逢星期六 (隔一星期上課)
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班別名稱 節數 學費 上課日期 上課時間
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(1.5 - 3 歲) 須由一位成年人陪同 四節
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$595/Pair 15/3 至 12/4
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$595/Pair 24/4 至 22/5
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須由一位成年人陪同 四節
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$595/Pair 16/5 至 6/6
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須由一位成年人陪同 四節
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$595/Pair 3/5 至 24/5
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Y28PMPD5 音樂Playgroup
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須由一位成年人陪同 四節
(1小時)
$595/Pair 3/5 至 24/5
逢星期六
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Y28PMPE5 音樂Playgroup
(適合18個月以上小朋友)
須由一位成年人陪同 四節
(1小時)
$595/Pair 3/5 ,17/5 ,31/5 ,14/6
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須由一位成年人陪同 四節
(1小時)
$595/Pair 3/5 ,17/5 ,31/5 ,14/6
逢星期六 (隔一星期上課)
6:00pm - 7:00pm
灣 仔 分 校（5月份）
班號
班別名稱 節數 學費 上課日期 上課時間
H28PMP5 音樂Playgroup
(1.5 - 3 歲) 須由一位成年人陪同 四節
(1小時)
$595/Pair 17/5 至 7/6
逢星期六
3:15pm - 4:15pm
(本課程另設中/高/延續班，詳情可向本教室查詢)
所有已繳付之學費，如非因課程取消，一概不予退還。
本英語教育中心主要負責為各中小學及幼稚園之課外活動興趣班設計課程, 以及提供已培訓導師到校授課及評估。
本中心於多間幼稚園, 小學及中學提供課外課程, 包括拼音, 口語對話, 文法, 閱讀, 講故事技巧及朗誦等。參與之學校、家長與學生反應熱烈。參與朗誦之同學更屢次獲得金、銀獎項, 本中心導師更獲得優秀導師獎。
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Printable
Lesson Plans
Genki English CDs:
Volume 1
Volume 2
Volume 3
Volume 4
Volume 5
Volume 6
New CD Vol. 7
Click the letters, hear the sounds!
Phonics Games:
Which game can you do the fastest?
Be sure to tell your students about these games so they can study at home!
Phonics
Free Printables:
A4 Posters
"Islands" Game
Snakes & Ladders
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kids Phonics CD
10 Brand New genki songs, audio mini lessons and games for teaching phonics!
Out now!!
Or
if you are
Outside Japan.
本英語教育中心主要負責為各中小學及幼稚園之課外活動興趣班設計課程, 以及提供已培訓導師到校授課及評估。
本中心於多間幼稚園, 小學及中學提供課外課程, 包括拼音, 口語對話, 文法, 閱讀, 講故事技巧及朗誦等。參與之學校、家長與學生反應熱烈。參與朗誦之同學更屢次獲得金、銀獎項, 本中心導師更獲得優秀導師獎。
各級英語拼音、創意寫作、英語話劇、機械人創作工作坊、閱讀能力提昇訓練、講故事技巧、朗誦研習、會考口語訓練、小學入學面試訓練等。參與之學校、家長與學生反應熱烈。參與朗誦之同學更屢次獲得金、銀獎項, 本中心導師更獲得優秀導師獎。
Also check out the normal Genki English CDs in the CD Set
The idea of phonics is that you teach your students the various English sounds,
then the letters they correspond to. The advantage of this over simply teaching
the alphabet is that once they have mastered the main sounds, they can then read
many English words.
On this page kids will find enough material to cover all the basics. So tell
your students about the page so they can practise at home, it's a great way to
show parents how well you are teaching them in class!
The problem with traditional phonics is that if you have a printed book, you
can't hear the sounds, similarly if you have an audio cassette, you cannot see
the letters. So that's why I came up with this page, where you can hear the
sounds, see the letters and have full control over which ones to study.
In the table above you have the 5 vowels, the 21 consonants and several "blend"
and "combination" sounds where consonants are used together. Move your mouse
over the sounds to hear them pronounced, or click on the pictures to hear them.
Most areas of the World pronounce consonants in the same way, however regional
accents appear in the vowel sounds. New Yorkers have different vowels from
Texans, Londoners are different from Glaswegians. Here I've presented two
variations. When you teach, choose one, but make sure the kids know there are
many variations.
The games on here are great as the time limits really make sure the kids start
listening and not just looking at the letters (hence why kids will always beat
adults!). The pronunciation has no strange Japanese accents and above all they
are fiendishly addictive games!
�@
How to use this page
At Home: First of all the parent and child should play around with the talking
phonics table at the top of this page. When that gets a little boring, have a
try at one of the games. Take it in turns to see who can get the highest score!
Then play around a little more, then try the next game.
Private English Classes: Most private English classroom tend not to have
computers. So what I would recommend is to do a normal Phonics Course during the
lessons, and then give this page as homework. The kids can play their games at
their own pace, record their best times and then compare them in the next
lesson. And remember the golden rule "Losing doesn't mean losing. It's just
another chance to try again!"
Elementary School: According to the Ministry of Education the main aim in
Elementary School should be for the kids to develop a love for English and be
able to communicate in it. Hence have a look at my curriculum page. But if you
have the time then phonics can be a fantastic way to get the kids used to
English sounds. The best way to do this is to use the school's computer room.
Ideally it would be one kid per computer, but obviously this depends on how many
machines you have! First of all show the students this page, and let them play
around on the talking part at the top. Then after a few minutes let then try the
first game on their own. After a couple of tries, have a class competition! This
is where the games really work! The teacher says "Go!" and the kids all press
start at the same time. Who's the quickest? It's a great motivation builder and
as the tiles come up randomly it gives kids who are maybe weaker at English just
as much chance to win! Once you've done that a couple of times, let the kids
play freely on the next game, and then do another class challenge. And of course
this page is great as homework. The kids can do some great English practise at
home and their parents can see the progress they are making. That's the reason
why instead of making these games into a CD, I put them on the site for free, so
that anyone can freely use them and get the basic English sounds sorted! So tell
everyone you know about the page and let's get everyone genki about English!
Junior High School: Teaching the first year junior high students phonics makes a
huge difference. It is actually one of the methods recommended by the Ministry
of Education and the influence phonics has on the kids ability to read cannot be
underestimated. The best way to use the page is in the computer room just as I
describe above for elementary school. Of course for Junior High 2 or 3 it's a
bit late to be learning the sounds of English, but if you have a genki class it
can work really well! You probably also want to get yourself a copy of the Foxy
Phonics JHS book.
Adults: Kids will always be better than adults at these games, but if you are
studying English then this page can be really useful too! Just one thing to
watch out for is not to start saying the letters in your native language (such
as "bu", "da" etc. for Japanese speakers), but to really try with the real
English sounds. If you try really hard then most of the English sounds are
presented in these games, which means by using this page you should be able to
read almost any English!!
Let your students have a go and see how they get on!
If you have any comments or questions I'd like to hear them, please get in
touch!
And if you have any friends who you think would like this page, please tell them
about www.GenkiEnglish.com !!
I got the inspiration for this from working on a similar page for learning
Japanese "hiragana" and "katakana" - you can have a look on the Genki Japan
Page!
Or if you teach math, have a look my fun math games!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New Genki Phonics Songs!!
If you like this page you'll probably be interested in my new "Genki Phonics
CD".
On this audio CD there are 10 songs for the sounds b, c ( or k), d, f, g, h, j (
or the soft "g"), l, m & n. The melodies are infectious, the production is
up-to-date and best of all the lyrics for each song are just that sound i.e. for
the "b" song it's "b,b,b,b b,b,b,b " - so your kids will always remember the
lyrics!
To get the most out of the songs the kids have to first practise the sound and
then learn how to sing the song. To help with this each track has its own audio
"mini-lesson" where I teach the song, of course in a very Genki way. The
mini-lessons are all in English, but the kids can follow no problem, and these
mini-lessons mean it's much easier for you to teach!
Then as an extra bonus there is a simple "odd-one-out" audio quiz for each track
to see if they really do know the sounds ( check out the free worksheets below
to go with these games) !
So there you go, the genkiest way to learn phonics! Perfect as a stand alone 5
minute section of a regular class, or to genkify a more traditional phonics
course.
The Genki Phonics CD is available now priced 2,940 Yen ( including tax) + Post
and Packing
Or click here for the Fax order form. ( It's in Japanese so you can show it to
your school and hopefully get them to pay!)
If you live outside Japan you can now order the Genki Phonics CD by credit card
(Note: The Phonics CD is not included in the "6 CD Set" or "Superpack". Unlike
the other Genki English CDs, the Phonics CD only contains audio tracks)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Phonics Worksheets!
. Not only is there this talking Phonics pageon the site, I've now produced some
phonics worksheets for you to use in class.
The idea with these sheets is that they can be used to teach kids phonic
awareness, the relationship between written characters and their associated
sounds, in a very easy and fun way! These sheets are copyrighted, however you
may download them and use them in your own class.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New mini phonics worksheets
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A4 Phonics Worksheets featuring one letter:
example of 'b'
Great to put up on the board, each sheet features one lower case letter.
Use them with the songs on the new Genki Phonics CD.
Click on each letter to bring up the A4 print out.
a - b - c - d - e - f - g - h - i - j - k - l - m
n - o - p - q - r - s - t - u - v - w - x - y -z
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A4 Odd-One-Out Phonics Worksheets
Phonics worksheets to be used with the games on the new Genki Phonics CD!
Great to print out and give to students.
Click on each letter to bring up the A4 print out.
b - c - d - f - g - h - j - l - m - n
All feedback is much appreciated!!
Or try out the previous set of "odd-one-out" worksheets:
"H" Colour B&W Sound File (322 kb)
"K" Colour B&W Sound File (271 kb)
"L" Colour B&W Sound File (319kb)
How to use Genki Phonics Songs in Elementary School?
Do a normal themed lesson, similar to that described in my lesson plan page.
But as part of each lesson spend around 5/10 minutes introducing one new letter,
or sound. The beginning is a good time!
Put the A4 print out on the board..
Play the Mini-Lesson and sing the song from the Genki Phonics CD.
By introducing one letter/sound per lesson, you can still spend most of the time
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you'll build up a great foundation which should help the kids speak with better
accents and give them a huge head start when they learn to read.
When the kids have computer lessons, try out the Talking Phonics Games or even
better, get them to do the games as homework!
If you're teaching in an English school, you probably have a good idea of how to
introduce phonics, so use these ideas to spice up your lessons and motivate the
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Writing
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
"Write" redirects here. For other uses, see Write (disambiguation).
Illustration of a scribe writingWriting is the representation of language in a
textual medium through the use of a set of signs or symbols (known as a writing
system). It is distinguished from illustration, such as cave drawing and
painting, and the recording of language via a non-textual medium such as
magnetic tape audio.
Writing began as a consequence of the burgeoning needs of accounting. Around the
4th millennium BC, the complexity of trade and administration outgrew the power
of memory, and writing became a more dependable method of recording and
presenting transactions in a permanent form (Robinson, 2003, p. 36).
Contents [hide]
1 Writing as a category
2 Means for recording information
2.1 Writing systems
2.1.1 Logographies
2.1.2 Syllabaries
2.1.3 Alphabets
2.1.4 Featural scripts
2.1.5 Historical significance of writing systems
2.2 Tools and materials
3 History of early writing
3.1 Mesopotamia
3.2 Turkmenistan
3.3 China
3.4 Egypt
3.5 Indus Valley
3.6 Phoenician writing system and descendants
3.7 Mesoamerica
4 Creation of text or information
4.1 Creativity
4.2 Author
4.3 Writer
4.4 Critiques
5 See also
6 References
7 Further reading
8 External links
[edit] Writing as a category
Writing, more particularly, refers to two things: writing as a noun, the thing
that is written; and writing as a verb, which designates the activity of
writing. It refers to the inscription of characters on a medium, thereby forming
words, and larger units of language, known as texts. It also refers to the
creation of meaning and the information thereby generated. In that regard,
linguistics (and related sciences) distinguishes between the written language
and the spoken language. The significance of the medium by which meaning and
information is conveyed is indicated by the distinction made in the arts and
sciences. For example, while public speaking and poetry reading are both types
of speech, the former is governed by the rules of rhetoric and the latter by
poetics.
A person who composes a message or story in the form of text is generally known
as a writer or an author. However, more specific designations exist which are
dictated by the particular nature of the text such as that of poet, essayist,
novelist, playwright, journalist, and more. A person who transcribes, translates
or produces text to deliver a message authored by another person is known as a
scribe, typist or typesetter. A person who produces text with emphasis on the
aesthetics of glyphs is known as a calligrapher or graphic designer.
Writing is also a distinctly human activity. It has been said that a monkey,
randomly typing away on a typewriter (in the days when typewriters replaced the
pen or plume as the preferred instrument of writing) could re-create
Shakespeare-- but only if it lived long enough (this is known as the infinite
monkey theorem). Such writing has been speculatively designated as coincidental.
It is also speculated that extra-terrestrial beings exist who may possess
knowledge of writing. The fact is that the only known writing is human writing.
[edit] Means for recording information
Wells argues that writing has the ability to "put agreements, laws, commandments
on record. It made the growth of states larger than the old city states
possible. The command of the priest or king and his seal could go far beyond his
sight and voice and could survive his death" (Wells in Robinson, 2003, p. 35).
[edit] Writing systems
The major writing systems – methods of inscription – broadly fall into four
categories: logographic, syllabic, alphabetic, and featural. Another category,
ideographic (symbols for ideas), has never been developed sufficiently to
represent language. A sixth category, pictographic, is insufficient to represent
language on its own, but often forms the core of logographies.
[edit] Logographies
A logogram is a written character which represents a word or morpheme. The vast
number of logograms needed to write language, and the many years required to
learn them, are the major disadvantage of the logographic systems over
alphabetic systems. However, the efficiency of reading logographic writing once
it is learned is a major advantage. No writing system is wholly logographic: all
have phonetic components as well as logograms ("logosyllabic" components in the
case of Chinese characters, cuneiform, and Mayan, where a glyph may stand for a
morpheme, a syllable, or both; "logoconsonantal" in the case of hieroglyphs),
and many have an ideographic component (Chinese "radicals", hieroglyphic
"determiners"). For example, in Mayan, the glyph for "fin", pronounced "ka'",
was also used to represent the syllable "ka" whenever the pronunciation of a
logogram needed to be indicated, or when there was no logogram. In Chinese,
about 90% of characters are compounds of a semantic (meaning) element called a
radical with an existing character to indicate the pronunciation, called a
phonetic. However, such phonetic elements complement the logographic elements,
rather than vice versa.
The main logographic system in use today is Chinese characters, used with some
modification for various languages of China, Japanese, and, to a lesser extent,
Korean in South Korea. Another is the classical Yi script.
[edit] Syllabaries
A syllabary is a set of written symbols that represent (or approximate)
syllables. A glyph in a syllabary typically represents a consonant followed by a
vowel, or just a vowel alone, though in some scripts more complex syllables
(such as consonant-vowel-consonant, or consonant-consonant-vowel) may have
dedicated glyphs. Phonetically related syllables are not so indicated in the
script. For instance, the syllable "ka" may look nothing like the syllable "ki",
nor will syllables with the same vowels be similar.
Syllabaries are best suited to languages with relatively simple syllable
structure, such as Japanese. Other languages that use syllabic writing include
the Linear B script for Mycenaean Greek; Cherokee; Ndjuka, an English-based
creole language of Surinam; and the Vai script of Liberia. Most logographic
systems have a strong syllabic component. Ethiopic, though technically an
alphabet, has fused consonants and vowels together to the point that it's
learned as if it were a syllabary.
[edit] Alphabets
See also: History of the alphabet
An alphabet is a small set of symbols, each of which roughly represents or
historically represented a phoneme of the language. In a perfectly phonological
alphabet, the phonemes and letters would correspond perfectly in two directions:
a writer could predict the spelling of a word given its pronunciation, and a
speaker could predict the pronunciation of a word given its spelling. As
languages often evolve independently of their writing systems, and writing
systems have been borrowed for languages they were not designed for, the degree
to which letters of an alphabet correspond to phonemes of a language varies
greatly from one language to another and even within a single language.
In most of the alphabets of the Mid-East, only consonants are indicated, or
vowels may be indicated with optional diacritics. Such systems are called abjads.
In most of the alphabets of India and Southeast Asia, vowels are indicated
through diacritics or modification of the shape of the consonant. These are
called abugidas. Some abugidas, such as Ethiopic and Cree, are learned by
children as syllabaries, and so are often called "syllabics". However, unlike
true syllabaries, there is not an independent glyph for each syllable.
Sometimes the term "alphabet" is restricted to systems with separate letters for
consonants and vowels, such as the Latin alphabet. Because of this use, Greek is
often considered to be the first alphabet.
[edit] Featural scripts
A featural script notates the building blocks of the phonemes that make up a
language. For instance, all sounds pronounced with the lips ("labial" sounds)
may have some element in common. In the Latin alphabet, this is accidentally the
case with the letters "b" and "p"; however, labial "m" is completely dissimilar,
and the similar-looking "q" is not labial. In Korean hangul, however, all four
labial consonants are based on the same basic element. However, in practice,
Korean is learned by children as an ordinary alphabet, and the featural elements
tend to pass unnoticed.
Another featural script is SignWriting, the most popular writing system for many
sign languages, where the shapes and movements of the hands and face are
represented iconically. Featural scripts are also common in fictional or
invented systems, such as Tolkien's Tengwar.
[edit] Historical significance of writing systems
Historians draw a distinction between prehistory and history, with history
defined by the advent of writing. The cave paintings and petroglyphs of
prehistoric peoples can be considered precursors of writing, but are not
considered writing because they did not represent language directly.
Writing systems always develop and change based on the needs of the people who
use them. Sometimes the shape, orientation and meaning of individual signs also
changes over time. By tracing the development of a script it is possible to
learn about the needs of the people who used the script as well as how it
changed over time.
[edit] Tools and materials
This section does not cite any references or sources. (September 2007)
Please improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources.
Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.
The many tools and writing materials used throughout history include stone
tablets, clay tablets, wax tablets, vellum, parchment, paper, copperplate,
styluses, quills, ink brushes, pencils, pens, and many styles of lithography. It
is speculated that the Incas might have employed knotted threads known as quipu
(or khipu) as a writing system.
For more information see writing implements.
[edit] History of early writing
Main article: History of writing
By definition, history begins with written records; evidence of human culture
without writing is the realm of prehistory.
The evolution of writing was a process involving economic necessity in the
ancient near east. Archaeologist Denise Schmandt-Besserat determined the link
between previously uncategorized clay "tokens" and the first known writing,
cuneiform.[1] The clay tokens were used to represent commodities, and perhaps
even units of time spent in labor, and their number and type became more complex
as civilization advanced. A degree of complexity was reached when over a hundred
different kinds of tokens had to be accounted for, and tokens were wrapped and
fired in clay, with markings to indicate the kind of tokens inside. These
markings soon replaced the tokens themselves, and the clay envelopes were
demonstrably the prototype for clay writing tablets.[1]
[edit] Mesopotamia
The original Mesopotamian writing system was derived from this method of keeping
accounts, and by the end of the 4th millennium BC,[2] this had evolved into
using a triangular-shaped stylus pressed into soft clay for recording numbers.
This was gradually augmented with pictographic writing using a sharp stylus to
indicate what was being counted. Round-stylus and sharp-stylus writing was
gradually replaced by writing using a wedge-shaped stylus (hence the term
cuneiform), at first only for logograms, but evolved to include phonetic
elements by the 29th century BC. Around the 26th century BC, cuneiform began to
represent syllables of spoken Sumerian. Also in that period, cuneiform writing
became a general purpose writing system for logograms, syllables, and numbers,
and this script was adapted to another Mesopotamian language, Akkadian, and from
there to others such as Hurrian, and Hittite. Scripts similar in appearance to
this writing system include those for Ugaritic and Old Persian.
[edit] Turkmenistan
An unknown civilization in Central Asia 4,000 years ago, hundreds of years
before Chinese writing developed. An excavation near Ashgabat, the capital of
Turkmenistan, revealed an inscription on a piece of stone that was used as a
stamp seal. [3]
[edit] China
In China historians have found out a lot about the early Chinese dynasties from
the written documents left behind. From the Shang Dynasty most of this writing
has survived on bones or bronze implements. Markings on turtle shells have been
carbon-dated to around 1500 BC. Historians have found that the type of media
used had an effect on what the writing was documenting and how it was used.
There have recently been discoveries of tortoise-shell carvings dating back to
c. 6000 BC, but whether or not the carvings are of sufficient complexity to
qualify as writing is under debate.[4][5] If it is deemed to be a written
language, writing in China will predate Mesopotamian cuneiform, long
acknowledged as the first appearance of writing, by some 2000 years.
[edit] Egypt
The earliest known hieroglyphic inscriptions are the Narmer Palette, dating to
c.3200 BC, and several recent discoveries that may be slightly older, though the
glyphs were based on a much older artistic tradition. The hieroglyphic script
was logographic with phonetic adjuncts that included an effective alphabet.
Writing was very important in maintaining the Egyptian empire, and literacy was
concentrated among an educated elite of scribes. Only people from certain
backgrounds were allowed to train to become scribes, in the service of temple,
pharaonic, and military authorities. The hieroglyph system was always difficult
to learn, but in later centuries was purposely made even more so, as this
preserved the scribes' status.
The world's oldest known alphabet was developed in central Egypt around 2000 BC
from a hieroglyphic prototype, and over the next 500 years spread to Canaan and
eventually to the rest of the world.
[edit] Indus Valley
Main article: Indus script
Ten Indus scripts discovered near the northern gate of Dholavira (perhaps 5000
years old)The Indus Valley script is a mysterious aspect of ancient Indian
culture as it has not yet been deciphered. All known inscriptions are short.
[edit] Phoenician writing system and descendants
The Phoenician writing system was adapted from the Proto-Caananite script in
around the 11th century BC, which in turn borrowed ideas from Egyptian
hieroglyphics. This writing system was an abjad — that is, a writing system in
which only consonants are represented. This script was adapted by the Greeks,
who adapted certain consonantal signs to represent their vowels. The Cumae
alphabet, a variant of the early Greek alphabet gave rise to the Etruscan
alphabet, and its own descendants, such as the Latin alphabet and Runes. Other
descendants from the Greek alphabet include the Cyrillic alphabet, used to write
Russian, among others. The Phoenician system was also adapted into the Aramaic
script, from which the Hebrew script and also that of Arabic are descended.
The Tifinagh script (Berber languages) is descended from the Libyco-Berber
script which is assumed to be of Phoenician origin.
[edit] Mesoamerica
A stone slab with 3,000-year-old writing was discovered in the Mexican state of
Veracruz, and is an example of the oldest script in the Western Hemisphere
preceding the oldest Zapotec writing dated to about 500 BCE. [6] [7] [8]
Of several pre-Colombian scripts in Mesoamerica, the one that appears to have
been best developed, and the only one to be deciphered, is the Maya script. The
earliest inscriptions which are identifiably Maya date to the 3rd century BC,
and writing was in continuous use until shortly after the arrival of the Spanish
conquistadores in the 16th century AD. Maya writing used logograms complemented
by a set of syllabic glyphs, somewhat similar in function to modern Japanese
writing.
[edit] Creation of text or information
[edit] Creativity
Main articles: Creativity and Creative Writing
[edit] Author
Main article: Author
[edit] Writer
Main article: Writer
[edit] Critiques
This section does not cite any references or sources. (September 2007)
Please improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources.
Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.
Writers sometimes search out others to evaluate or criticize their work. To this
end, many writers join writing circles, often found at local libraries or
bookstores. With the evolution of the Internet, writing circles have started to
go online.
Wikibooks' [[wikibooks:|]] has more about this subject:
Fiction technique
[edit] See also
Author
Boustrophedon text
Calligraphy
Collaborative writing
Communication
Composition studies
Creative writing
Decipherment
Essay
Fiction writing
Grammar
Graphonomics
Interactive fiction
Journalism
Kishotenketsu
Linguistics
List of writers' conferences
Literacy
Literary award
Literary criticism
Literary festival
Literature
Manuscript
Orthography
Pencil
Printing
Publishing
Story bible
Writing slate
Speech communication
Typography
White papers
Word processing
Writer
Writer's block
Writing bump
Writing circle
Writing style
Writing systems
Writer's voice
[edit] References
^ a b Rudgley, Richard (2000). The Lost Civilizations of the Stone Age. New
York: Simon & Schuster, 48-57.
^ The Origin and Development of the Cuneiform System of Writing, Samuel Noah
Kramer, Thirty Nine Firsts In Recorded History pp 381-383
^ "Ancient writing found in Turkmenistan.", BBC. Retrieved on 2008-03-30. "A
previously unknown civilisation was using writing in Central Asia 4,000 years
ago, hundreds of years before Chinese writing developed, archaeologists have
discovered. An excavation near Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan, revealed
an inscription on a piece of stone that seems to have been used as a stamp
seal."
^ China Daily, 12 June 2003, Archaeologists Rewrite History, http://www.china.org.cn/english/2003/Jun/66806.htm
^ "'Earliest writing' found in China.", BBC. Retrieved on 2008-03-30. "Signs
carved into 8,600-year-old tortoise shells found in China may be the earliest
written words, say archaeologists."
^ "Writing May Be Oldest in Western Hemisphere.", New York Times. Retrieved on
2008-03-30. "A stone slab bearing 3,000-year-old writing previously unknown to
scholars has been found in the Mexican state of Veracruz, and archaeologists say
it is an example of the oldest script ever discovered in the Western
Hemisphere."
^ "'Oldest' New World writing found", BBC. Retrieved on 2008-03-30. "Ancient
civilisations in Mexico developed a writing system as early as 900 BC, new
evidence suggests."
^ "Oldest Writing in the New World", Science. Retrieved on 2008-03-30. "A block
with a hitherto unknown system of writing has been found in the Olmec heartland
of Veracruz, Mexico. Stylistic and other dating of the block places it in the
early first millennium before the common era, the oldest writing in the New
World, with features that firmly assign this pivotal development to the Olmec
civilization of Mesoamerica."
[edit] Further reading
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
WritingLook up Writing in
Wiktionary, the free dictionary.History of Writing
A History of Writing: From Hieroglyph to Multimedia, edited by Anne-Marie
Christin, Flammarion (in French, hardcover: 408 pages, 2002, ISBN 2-08-010887-5)
In the Beginning: A Short History of the Hebrew Language. By Joel M. Hoffman,
2004. Chapter 3 covers the invention of writing and its various stages.
Origins of writing on AncientScripts.com
Museum of Writing: UK Museum of Writing with information on writing history and
implements
On ERIC Digests: Writing Instruction: Current Practices in the Classroom;
Writing Development; Writing Instruction: Changing Views over the Years
Children of the Code: The Power of Writing - Online Video
Rogers, Henry. 2005. Writing Systems: A Linguistic Approach. Oxford: Blackwell.
ISBN 0-631-23463-2 (hardcover); ISBN 0-631-23464-0 (paperback)
Ankerl, Guy. 2000. Coexisting Contemporary Civilizations: Arabo-Muslim, Bharati,
Chinese, and Western. Geneva: INU Press, ISBN 2-88155-004-5, pp. 59-66, 235s.
Robinson, Andrew "The Origins of Writing" in David Crowley and Paul Heyer (eds)
Communication in History: Technology, Culture, Society (Allyn and Bacon, 2003).
[edit] External links
Language, Writing and Alphabet: An Interview with Christophe Rico Damqatum 3
(2007)
Why write? - a history of writing and the alphabet from the British Library
TechTact.org - A website for tactful technical writing
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Writing"
Categories: Writing
Hidden category: Articles needing additional references from September 2007
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小孩於出生後頭數年對所學、所吸收都比任何時期多。故此親子音樂 Playgroup 特別為18個月 ( 1.5 yr. ) 至 3
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(適合18個月以上小朋友)
須由一位成年人陪同 四節
(1小時)
$595/Pair 3/5 ,17/5 ,31/5 ,14/6
逢星期六 (隔一星期上課)
6:00pm - 7:00pm
灣 仔 分 校（4月份）
班號
班別名稱 節數 學費 上課日期 上課時間
H28PMP4 音樂Playgroup
(1.5 - 3 歲) 須由一位成年人陪同 四節
(1小時)
$595/Pair 19/4 至 10/5
逢星期六
3:15pm - 4:15pm
旺 角 總 校（5月份）
班號
班別名稱 節數 學費 上課日期 上課時間
Y28PMPA5 音樂Playgroup
(適合18個月以上小朋友)
須由一位成年人陪同 四節
(1小時)
$595/Pair 24/4 至 22/5
逢星期四 (1/5停課)
4:00am - 5:00pm
Y28PMPB5 音樂Playgroup
(適合18個月以上小朋友)
須由一位成年人陪同 四節
(1小時)
$595/Pair 16/5 至 6/6
逢星期五
11:30am - 12:30pm
Y28PMPC5 音樂Playgroup
(適合18個月以上小朋友)
須由一位成年人陪同 四節
(1小時)
$595/Pair 3/5 至 24/5
逢星期六
10:30am - 11:30am
Y28PMPD5 音樂Playgroup
(適合18個月以上小朋友)
須由一位成年人陪同 四節
(1小時)
$595/Pair 3/5 至 24/5
逢星期六
11:30am - 12:30pm
Y28PMPE5 音樂Playgroup
(適合18個月以上小朋友)
須由一位成年人陪同 四節
(1小時)
$595/Pair 3/5 ,17/5 ,31/5 ,14/6
逢星期六 (隔一星期上課)
5:00pm - 6:00pm
Y28PMPF5 音樂Playgroup
(適合18個月以上小朋友)
須由一位成年人陪同 四節
(1小時)
$595/Pair 3/5 ,17/5 ,31/5 ,14/6
逢星期六 (隔一星期上課)
6:00pm - 7:00pm
灣 仔 分 校（5月份）
班號
班別名稱 節數 學費 上課日期 上課時間
H28PMP5 音樂Playgroup
(1.5 - 3 歲) 須由一位成年人陪同 四節
(1小時)
$595/Pair 17/5 至 7/6
逢星期六
3:15pm - 4:15pm
(本課程另設中/高/延續班，詳情可向本教室查詢)
所有已繳付之學費，如非因課程取消，一概不予退還。
本英語教育中心主要負責為各中小學及幼稚園之課外活動興趣班設計課程, 以及提供已培訓導師到校授課及評估。
本中心於多間幼稚園, 小學及中學提供課外課程, 包括拼音, 口語對話, 文法, 閱讀, 講故事技巧及朗誦等。參與之學校、家長與學生反應熱烈。參與朗誦之同學更屢次獲得金、銀獎項, 本中心導師更獲得優秀導師獎。
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Printable
Lesson Plans
Genki English CDs:
Volume 1
Volume 2
Volume 3
Volume 4
Volume 5
Volume 6
New CD Vol. 7
Click the letters, hear the sounds!
Phonics Games:
Which game can you do the fastest?
Be sure to tell your students about these games so they can study at home!
Phonics
Free Printables:
A4 Posters
"Islands" Game
Snakes & Ladders
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kids Phonics CD
10 Brand New genki songs, audio mini lessons and games for teaching phonics!
Out now!!
Or
if you are
Outside Japan.
本英語教育中心主要負責為各中小學及幼稚園之課外活動興趣班設計課程, 以及提供已培訓導師到校授課及評估。
本中心於多間幼稚園, 小學及中學提供課外課程, 包括拼音, 口語對話, 文法, 閱讀, 講故事技巧及朗誦等。參與之學校、家長與學生反應熱烈。參與朗誦之同學更屢次獲得金、銀獎項, 本中心導師更獲得優秀導師獎。
各級英語拼音、創意寫作、英語話劇、機械人創作工作坊、閱讀能力提昇訓練、講故事技巧、朗誦研習、會考口語訓練、小學入學面試訓練等。參與之學校、家長與學生反應熱烈。參與朗誦之同學更屢次獲得金、銀獎項, 本中心導師更獲得優秀導師獎。
Also check out the normal Genki English CDs in the CD Set
The idea of phonics is that you teach your students the various English sounds,
then the letters they correspond to. The advantage of this over simply teaching
the alphabet is that once they have mastered the main sounds, they can then read
many English words.
On this page kids will find enough material to cover all the basics. So tell
your students about the page so they can practise at home, it's a great way to
show parents how well you are teaching them in class!
The problem with traditional phonics is that if you have a printed book, you
can't hear the sounds, similarly if you have an audio cassette, you cannot see
the letters. So that's why I came up with this page, where you can hear the
sounds, see the letters and have full control over which ones to study.
In the table above you have the 5 vowels, the 21 consonants and several "blend"
and "combination" sounds where consonants are used together. Move your mouse
over the sounds to hear them pronounced, or click on the pictures to hear them.
Most areas of the World pronounce consonants in the same way, however regional
accents appear in the vowel sounds. New Yorkers have different vowels from
Texans, Londoners are different from Glaswegians. Here I've presented two
variations. When you teach, choose one, but make sure the kids know there are
many variations.
The games on here are great as the time limits really make sure the kids start
listening and not just looking at the letters (hence why kids will always beat
adults!). The pronunciation has no strange Japanese accents and above all they
are fiendishly addictive games!
�@
How to use this page
At Home: First of all the parent and child should play around with the talking
phonics table at the top of this page. When that gets a little boring, have a
try at one of the games. Take it in turns to see who can get the highest score!
Then play around a little more, then try the next game.
Private English Classes: Most private English classroom tend not to have
computers. So what I would recommend is to do a normal Phonics Course during the
lessons, and then give this page as homework. The kids can play their games at
their own pace, record their best times and then compare them in the next
lesson. And remember the golden rule "Losing doesn't mean losing. It's just
another chance to try again!"
Elementary School: According to the Ministry of Education the main aim in
Elementary School should be for the kids to develop a love for English and be
able to communicate in it. Hence have a look at my curriculum page. But if you
have the time then phonics can be a fantastic way to get the kids used to
English sounds. The best way to do this is to use the school's computer room.
Ideally it would be one kid per computer, but obviously this depends on how many
machines you have! First of all show the students this page, and let them play
around on the talking part at the top. Then after a few minutes let then try the
first game on their own. After a couple of tries, have a class competition! This
is where the games really work! The teacher says "Go!" and the kids all press
start at the same time. Who's the quickest? It's a great motivation builder and
as the tiles come up randomly it gives kids who are maybe weaker at English just
as much chance to win! Once you've done that a couple of times, let the kids
play freely on the next game, and then do another class challenge. And of course
this page is great as homework. The kids can do some great English practise at
home and their parents can see the progress they are making. That's the reason
why instead of making these games into a CD, I put them on the site for free, so
that anyone can freely use them and get the basic English sounds sorted! So tell
everyone you know about the page and let's get everyone genki about English!
Junior High School: Teaching the first year junior high students phonics makes a
huge difference. It is actually one of the methods recommended by the Ministry
of Education and the influence phonics has on the kids ability to read cannot be
underestimated. The best way to use the page is in the computer room just as I
describe above for elementary school. Of course for Junior High 2 or 3 it's a
bit late to be learning the sounds of English, but if you have a genki class it
can work really well! You probably also want to get yourself a copy of the Foxy
Phonics JHS book.
Adults: Kids will always be better than adults at these games, but if you are
studying English then this page can be really useful too! Just one thing to
watch out for is not to start saying the letters in your native language (such
as "bu", "da" etc. for Japanese speakers), but to really try with the real
English sounds. If you try really hard then most of the English sounds are
presented in these games, which means by using this page you should be able to
read almost any English!!
Let your students have a go and see how they get on!
If you have any comments or questions I'd like to hear them, please get in
touch!
And if you have any friends who you think would like this page, please tell them
about www.GenkiEnglish.com !!
I got the inspiration for this from working on a similar page for learning
Japanese "hiragana" and "katakana" - you can have a look on the Genki Japan
Page!
Or if you teach math, have a look my fun math games!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New Genki Phonics Songs!!
If you like this page you'll probably be interested in my new "Genki Phonics
CD".
On this audio CD there are 10 songs for the sounds b, c ( or k), d, f, g, h, j (
or the soft "g"), l, m & n. The melodies are infectious, the production is
up-to-date and best of all the lyrics for each song are just that sound i.e. for
the "b" song it's "b,b,b,b b,b,b,b " - so your kids will always remember the
lyrics!
To get the most out of the songs the kids have to first practise the sound and
then learn how to sing the song. To help with this each track has its own audio
"mini-lesson" where I teach the song, of course in a very Genki way. The
mini-lessons are all in English, but the kids can follow no problem, and these
mini-lessons mean it's much easier for you to teach!
Then as an extra bonus there is a simple "odd-one-out" audio quiz for each track
to see if they really do know the sounds ( check out the free worksheets below
to go with these games) !
So there you go, the genkiest way to learn phonics! Perfect as a stand alone 5
minute section of a regular class, or to genkify a more traditional phonics
course.
The Genki Phonics CD is available now priced 2,940 Yen ( including tax) + Post
and Packing
Or click here for the Fax order form. ( It's in Japanese so you can show it to
your school and hopefully get them to pay!)
If you live outside Japan you can now order the Genki Phonics CD by credit card
(Note: The Phonics CD is not included in the "6 CD Set" or "Superpack". Unlike
the other Genki English CDs, the Phonics CD only contains audio tracks)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Phonics Worksheets!
. Not only is there this talking Phonics pageon the site, I've now produced some
phonics worksheets for you to use in class.
The idea with these sheets is that they can be used to teach kids phonic
awareness, the relationship between written characters and their associated
sounds, in a very easy and fun way! These sheets are copyrighted, however you
may download them and use them in your own class.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New mini phonics worksheets
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A4 Phonics Worksheets featuring one letter:
example of 'b'
Great to put up on the board, each sheet features one lower case letter.
Use them with the songs on the new Genki Phonics CD.
Click on each letter to bring up the A4 print out.
a - b - c - d - e - f - g - h - i - j - k - l - m
n - o - p - q - r - s - t - u - v - w - x - y -z
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A4 Odd-One-Out Phonics Worksheets
Phonics worksheets to be used with the games on the new Genki Phonics CD!
Great to print out and give to students.
Click on each letter to bring up the A4 print out.
b - c - d - f - g - h - j - l - m - n
All feedback is much appreciated!!
Or try out the previous set of "odd-one-out" worksheets:
"H" Colour B&W Sound File (322 kb)
"K" Colour B&W Sound File (271 kb)
"L" Colour B&W Sound File (319kb)
How to use Genki Phonics Songs in Elementary School?
Do a normal themed lesson, similar to that described in my lesson plan page.
But as part of each lesson spend around 5/10 minutes introducing one new letter,
or sound. The beginning is a good time!
Put the A4 print out on the board..
Play the Mini-Lesson and sing the song from the Genki Phonics CD.
By introducing one letter/sound per lesson, you can still spend most of the time
doing songs and games, i.e. the important "communication English". But over time
you'll build up a great foundation which should help the kids speak with better
accents and give them a huge head start when they learn to read.
When the kids have computer lessons, try out the Talking Phonics Games or even
better, get them to do the games as homework!
If you're teaching in an English school, you probably have a good idea of how to
introduce phonics, so use these ideas to spice up your lessons and motivate the
kids!
The Genki Phonics CD is available now priced 2,940 Yen ( including tax) + Post
and Packing
If you live outside Japan you can now order the Genki Phonics CD by credit card!
Leave a comment
or ask a question:
Game/Song Name:
Comments/Question:
Name:
E-mail:
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Writing
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
"Write" redirects here. For other uses, see Write (disambiguation).
Illustration of a scribe writingWriting is the representation of language in a
textual medium through the use of a set of signs or symbols (known as a writing
system). It is distinguished from illustration, such as cave drawing and
painting, and the recording of language via a non-textual medium such as
magnetic tape audio.
Writing began as a consequence of the burgeoning needs of accounting. Around the
4th millennium BC, the complexity of trade and administration outgrew the power
of memory, and writing became a more dependable method of recording and
presenting transactions in a permanent form (Robinson, 2003, p. 36).
Contents [hide]
1 Writing as a category
2 Means for recording information
2.1 Writing systems
2.1.1 Logographies
2.1.2 Syllabaries
2.1.3 Alphabets
2.1.4 Featural scripts
2.1.5 Historical significance of writing systems
2.2 Tools and materials
3 History of early writing
3.1 Mesopotamia
3.2 Turkmenistan
3.3 China
3.4 Egypt
3.5 Indus Valley
3.6 Phoenician writing system and descendants
3.7 Mesoamerica
4 Creation of text or information
4.1 Creativity
4.2 Author
4.3 Writer
4.4 Critiques
5 See also
6 References
7 Further reading
8 External links
[edit] Writing as a category
Writing, more particularly, refers to two things: writing as a noun, the thing
that is written; and writing as a verb, which designates the activity of
writing. It refers to the inscription of characters on a medium, thereby forming
words, and larger units of language, known as texts. It also refers to the
creation of meaning and the information thereby generated. In that regard,
linguistics (and related sciences) distinguishes between the written language
and the spoken language. The significance of the medium by which meaning and
information is conveyed is indicated by the distinction made in the arts and
sciences. For example, while public speaking and poetry reading are both types
of speech, the former is governed by the rules of rhetoric and the latter by
poetics.
A person who composes a message or story in the form of text is generally known
as a writer or an author. However, more specific designations exist which are
dictated by the particular nature of the text such as that of poet, essayist,
novelist, playwright, journalist, and more. A person who transcribes, translates
or produces text to deliver a message authored by another person is known as a
scribe, typist or typesetter. A person who produces text with emphasis on the
aesthetics of glyphs is known as a calligrapher or graphic designer.
Writing is also a distinctly human activity. It has been said that a monkey,
randomly typing away on a typewriter (in the days when typewriters replaced the
pen or plume as the preferred instrument of writing) could re-create
Shakespeare-- but only if it lived long enough (this is known as the infinite
monkey theorem). Such writing has been speculatively designated as coincidental.
It is also speculated that extra-terrestrial beings exist who may possess
knowledge of writing. The fact is that the only known writing is human writing.
[edit] Means for recording information
Wells argues that writing has the ability to "put agreements, laws, commandments
on record. It made the growth of states larger than the old city states
possible. The command of the priest or king and his seal could go far beyond his
sight and voice and could survive his death" (Wells in Robinson, 2003, p. 35).
[edit] Writing systems
The major writing systems – methods of inscription – broadly fall into four
categories: logographic, syllabic, alphabetic, and featural. Another category,
ideographic (symbols for ideas), has never been developed sufficiently to
represent language. A sixth category, pictographic, is insufficient to represent
language on its own, but often forms the core of logographies.
[edit] Logographies
A logogram is a written character which represents a word or morpheme. The vast
number of logograms needed to write language, and the many years required to
learn them, are the major disadvantage of the logographic systems over
alphabetic systems. However, the efficiency of reading logographic writing once
it is learned is a major advantage. No writing system is wholly logographic: all
have phonetic components as well as logograms ("logosyllabic" components in the
case of Chinese characters, cuneiform, and Mayan, where a glyph may stand for a
morpheme, a syllable, or both; "logoconsonantal" in the case of hieroglyphs),
and many have an ideographic component (Chinese "radicals", hieroglyphic
"determiners"). For example, in Mayan, the glyph for "fin", pronounced "ka'",
was also used to represent the syllable "ka" whenever the pronunciation of a
logogram needed to be indicated, or when there was no logogram. In Chinese,
about 90% of characters are compounds of a semantic (meaning) element called a
radical with an existing character to indicate the pronunciation, called a
phonetic. However, such phonetic elements complement the logographic elements,
rather than vice versa.
The main logographic system in use today is Chinese characters, used with some
modification for various languages of China, Japanese, and, to a lesser extent,
Korean in South Korea. Another is the classical Yi script.
[edit] Syllabaries
A syllabary is a set of written symbols that represent (or approximate)
syllables. A glyph in a syllabary typically represents a consonant followed by a
vowel, or just a vowel alone, though in some scripts more complex syllables
(such as consonant-vowel-consonant, or consonant-consonant-vowel) may have
dedicated glyphs. Phonetically related syllables are not so indicated in the
script. For instance, the syllable "ka" may look nothing like the syllable "ki",
nor will syllables with the same vowels be similar.
Syllabaries are best suited to languages with relatively simple syllable
structure, such as Japanese. Other languages that use syllabic writing include
the Linear B script for Mycenaean Greek; Cherokee; Ndjuka, an English-based
creole language of Surinam; and the Vai script of Liberia. Most logographic
systems have a strong syllabic component. Ethiopic, though technically an
alphabet, has fused consonants and vowels together to the point that it's
learned as if it were a syllabary.
[edit] Alphabets
See also: History of the alphabet
An alphabet is a small set of symbols, each of which roughly represents or
historically represented a phoneme of the language. In a perfectly phonological
alphabet, the phonemes and letters would correspond perfectly in two directions:
a writer could predict the spelling of a word given its pronunciation, and a
speaker could predict the pronunciation of a word given its spelling. As
languages often evolve independently of their writing systems, and writing
systems have been borrowed for languages they were not designed for, the degree
to which letters of an alphabet correspond to phonemes of a language varies
greatly from one language to another and even within a single language.
In most of the alphabets of the Mid-East, only consonants are indicated, or
vowels may be indicated with optional diacritics. Such systems are called abjads.
In most of the alphabets of India and Southeast Asia, vowels are indicated
through diacritics or modification of the shape of the consonant. These are
called abugidas. Some abugidas, such as Ethiopic and Cree, are learned by
children as syllabaries, and so are often called "syllabics". However, unlike
true syllabaries, there is not an independent glyph for each syllable.
Sometimes the term "alphabet" is restricted to systems with separate letters for
consonants and vowels, such as the Latin alphabet. Because of this use, Greek is
often considered to be the first alphabet.
[edit] Featural scripts
A featural script notates the building blocks of the phonemes that make up a
language. For instance, all sounds pronounced with the lips ("labial" sounds)
may have some element in common. In the Latin alphabet, this is accidentally the
case with the letters "b" and "p"; however, labial "m" is completely dissimilar,
and the similar-looking "q" is not labial. In Korean hangul, however, all four
labial consonants are based on the same basic element. However, in practice,
Korean is learned by children as an ordinary alphabet, and the featural elements
tend to pass unnoticed.
Another featural script is SignWriting, the most popular writing system for many
sign languages, where the shapes and movements of the hands and face are
represented iconically. Featural scripts are also common in fictional or
invented systems, such as Tolkien's Tengwar.
[edit] Historical significance of writing systems
Historians draw a distinction between prehistory and history, with history
defined by the advent of writing. The cave paintings and petroglyphs of
prehistoric peoples can be considered precursors of writing, but are not
considered writing because they did not represent language directly.
Writing systems always develop and change based on the needs of the people who
use them. Sometimes the shape, orientation and meaning of individual signs also
changes over time. By tracing the development of a script it is possible to
learn about the needs of the people who used the script as well as how it
changed over time.
[edit] Tools and materials
This section does not cite any references or sources. (September 2007)
Please improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources.
Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.
The many tools and writing materials used throughout history include stone
tablets, clay tablets, wax tablets, vellum, parchment, paper, copperplate,
styluses, quills, ink brushes, pencils, pens, and many styles of lithography. It
is speculated that the Incas might have employed knotted threads known as quipu
(or khipu) as a writing system.
For more information see writing implements.
[edit] History of early writing
Main article: History of writing
By definition, history begins with written records; evidence of human culture
without writing is the realm of prehistory.
The evolution of writing was a process involving economic necessity in the
ancient near east. Archaeologist Denise Schmandt-Besserat determined the link
between previously uncategorized clay "tokens" and the first known writing,
cuneiform.[1] The clay tokens were used to represent commodities, and perhaps
even units of time spent in labor, and their number and type became more complex
as civilization advanced. A degree of complexity was reached when over a hundred
different kinds of tokens had to be accounted for, and tokens were wrapped and
fired in clay, with markings to indicate the kind of tokens inside. These
markings soon replaced the tokens themselves, and the clay envelopes were
demonstrably the prototype for clay writing tablets.[1]
[edit] Mesopotamia
The original Mesopotamian writing system was derived from this method of keeping
accounts, and by the end of the 4th millennium BC,[2] this had evolved into
using a triangular-shaped stylus pressed into soft clay for recording numbers.
This was gradually augmented with pictographic writing using a sharp stylus to
indicate what was being counted. Round-stylus and sharp-stylus writing was
gradually replaced by writing using a wedge-shaped stylus (hence the term
cuneiform), at first only for logograms, but evolved to include phonetic
elements by the 29th century BC. Around the 26th century BC, cuneiform began to
represent syllables of spoken Sumerian. Also in that period, cuneiform writing
became a general purpose writing system for logograms, syllables, and numbers,
and this script was adapted to another Mesopotamian language, Akkadian, and from
there to others such as Hurrian, and Hittite. Scripts similar in appearance to
this writing system include those for Ugaritic and Old Persian.
[edit] Turkmenistan
An unknown civilization in Central Asia 4,000 years ago, hundreds of years
before Chinese writing developed. An excavation near Ashgabat, the capital of
Turkmenistan, revealed an inscription on a piece of stone that was used as a
stamp seal. [3]
[edit] China
In China historians have found out a lot about the early Chinese dynasties from
the written documents left behind. From the Shang Dynasty most of this writing
has survived on bones or bronze implements. Markings on turtle shells have been
carbon-dated to around 1500 BC. Historians have found that the type of media
used had an effect on what the writing was documenting and how it was used.
There have recently been discoveries of tortoise-shell carvings dating back to
c. 6000 BC, but whether or not the carvings are of sufficient complexity to
qualify as writing is under debate.[4][5] If it is deemed to be a written
language, writing in China will predate Mesopotamian cuneiform, long
acknowledged as the first appearance of writing, by some 2000 years.
[edit] Egypt
The earliest known hieroglyphic inscriptions are the Narmer Palette, dating to
c.3200 BC, and several recent discoveries that may be slightly older, though the
glyphs were based on a much older artistic tradition. The hieroglyphic script
was logographic with phonetic adjuncts that included an effective alphabet.
Writing was very important in maintaining the Egyptian empire, and literacy was
concentrated among an educated elite of scribes. Only people from certain
backgrounds were allowed to train to become scribes, in the service of temple,
pharaonic, and military authorities. The hieroglyph system was always difficult
to learn, but in later centuries was purposely made even more so, as this
preserved the scribes' status.
The world's oldest known alphabet was developed in central Egypt around 2000 BC
from a hieroglyphic prototype, and over the next 500 years spread to Canaan and
eventually to the rest of the world.
[edit] Indus Valley
Main article: Indus script
Ten Indus scripts discovered near the northern gate of Dholavira (perhaps 5000
years old)The Indus Valley script is a mysterious aspect of ancient Indian
culture as it has not yet been deciphered. All known inscriptions are short.
[edit] Phoenician writing system and descendants
The Phoenician writing system was adapted from the Proto-Caananite script in
around the 11th century BC, which in turn borrowed ideas from Egyptian
hieroglyphics. This writing system was an abjad — that is, a writing system in
which only consonants are represented. This script was adapted by the Greeks,
who adapted certain consonantal signs to represent their vowels. The Cumae
alphabet, a variant of the early Greek alphabet gave rise to the Etruscan
alphabet, and its own descendants, such as the Latin alphabet and Runes. Other
descendants from the Greek alphabet include the Cyrillic alphabet, used to write
Russian, among others. The Phoenician system was also adapted into the Aramaic
script, from which the Hebrew script and also that of Arabic are descended.
The Tifinagh script (Berber languages) is descended from the Libyco-Berber
script which is assumed to be of Phoenician origin.
[edit] Mesoamerica
A stone slab with 3,000-year-old writing was discovered in the Mexican state of
Veracruz, and is an example of the oldest script in the Western Hemisphere
preceding the oldest Zapotec writing dated to about 500 BCE. [6] [7] [8]
Of several pre-Colombian scripts in Mesoamerica, the one that appears to have
been best developed, and the only one to be deciphered, is the Maya script. The
earliest inscriptions which are identifiably Maya date to the 3rd century BC,
and writing was in continuous use until shortly after the arrival of the Spanish
conquistadores in the 16th century AD. Maya writing used logograms complemented
by a set of syllabic glyphs, somewhat similar in function to modern Japanese
writing.
[edit] Creation of text or information
[edit] Creativity
Main articles: Creativity and Creative Writing
[edit] Author
Main article: Author
[edit] Writer
Main article: Writer
[edit] Critiques
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