The Development of Writing
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Cave Drawings
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About 20,000 years ago; to record events
Pictograms
Ideograms
Logograms
Rebus Writing
Syllabic Writing
Alphabetic Writing
Pictograms
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A form of picture writing
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Using pictures to represent particular images in a
consistent way (symbol = picture of a thing)
A conventional relationship must exist between the
symbol and its meaning
Not arbitrary; language independent
Not represent words or sounds in a lang.
Examples: star =
sun =
bathroom signs =
Ideograms
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A system of “idea writing”
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more abstract relationship (symbol = an
idea, but not a concrete object)
more arbitrary (in terms of form & meaning)
more derived forms
Not represent words or sounds in a lang.
 Example:
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for “sun”, also “heat”
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Egyptian writing for water:
 明 = “bright”
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Logograms
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A system of word writing
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symbols represent words or morphemes in a
particular language [sound + meaning]
grapheme = a concept; the smallest unit in a
writing system
Examples
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cuneiform writing: used by the Sumerians,
referred to as the earliest writing system
cuneiform = wedge-shaped
(Yule 11)
Chinese characters (but only represent
meaning of words, not of sounds of spoken
lang.)
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advantage and disadvantage
Rebus Writing
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A process (or a way) of using existing
symbols to represent the sounds of lang.
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borrow the symbol, take over the sound,
but forget the meaning
reduce the number of symbols needed in a
writing system
Examples
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a non-English example:
in language games:
Syllabic Writing (Syllabary)
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Every symbol represents one syllable
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grapheme = syllable
e.g., Japanese (which also uses logographic
characters—Kanji)
Examples in Japanese
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Hiragana: ひと （hito） の （no）
くるま （kuruma ）
Katakana:
Kanji: 人の車
たまご （tamago） “egg”
Alphabetic Writing
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Symbols represent single phonemes
grapheme = phoneme (i.e., symbols represent
single phonemes)
 definition of “letter” (each written symbol) vs.
“alphabet” (a set of written symbols) (Yule 13)
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Examples
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alphabets representing mainly consonants:
e.g., Arabic, Hebrew
alphabets representing both consonants &
vowels: e.g., Greek
Conclusion
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Cave drawings pictograms ideograms
logograms (phonological) rebus writing
syllabic writing alphabetic writing
Writing systems seem to have gone from
syllabaries to alphabets representing mainly
consonants, to alphabets representing both
consonants and vowels.
This reflects the phonemic nature of lang., so can
be considered a natural development—though not
a necessary one or a “better” one.