Human Script: A Writing System across Cultural Boundaries
Abstract
The Human Script is an alphabetic system of phonetic notation. It is primarily based on the model of the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). There are four historic writing systems that influenced the development of this writing system which are the following: Cuneiform, Egyptian hieroglyphs, Maya script, and Oracle bone script. These writing systems are from across the globe and emerged independently. By merging these systems into one allowed for the creation of an inclusive writing system. The other influences come from the child systems that branch off of the four independent writing systems.
The purpose of this artistic project is to display unity across cultural boundaries by combining elements from multiple writing systems. This system is not meant to make writing easier but to acknowledge the various indigenous cultures around the world.
Development
The Human Script was developed to showcase a unified writing system. The first step was to retrieve elements from the four independent writing systems: Cuneiform, Egyptian hieroglyphs, Maya script, and Oracle bone script. The next step that follows was collecting features from the child systems: Arabic, Bopomofo, Chinese, Coptic, Egyptian, Ge’ez, Greek, Hebrew, Kana, Latin, Maya, and Phoenician. Merging all these systems created what the Human Script.
Consonants
The table below consists of 58 consonants. The top horizontal row is the place of articulation and the first vertical row is the manner of articulation. The table and diagram are based on the models from the International Phonetic Alphabet.
Vowels
There are 28 vowels displayed in the diagram. This diagram is a representation of the human mouth and the tongue positioning.
Punctuation Marks
The comma and period marks are represented with dots. The question mark has a horizontal line and dot beneath it. The exclamation mark is similar to a lot of other writing systems.
Discussion
This project is currently experimenting with adapting various languages into the Human Script. Also, this project is working on digitizing the system by creating a keyboard. This writing system attempts to keep its letters somewhat unchanged in order to visualize how these different cultures look unified. Lastly, the Human Script is an ongoing project and is welcome to any suggestions or collaborations for improvements.
References
Arabic. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/Arabic, June 20, 2020.
Bertman, Stephen. Handbook to Life in Ancient Mesopotamia, Oxford University Press, 2005.
Collier, M., & Manley, B. How to read Egyptian hieroglyphs: A step-by-step guide to teach yourself. London: British Museum Press, 1998.
Cuneiform. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuneiform, May 28, 2020.
Duanmu, San. The Phonology of Standard Chinese (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007.
Gairdner, W. H. T. The Phonetics of Arabic. Oxford University Press, 1925.
Japanese. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/Japanese. April 21, 2020.
Jean-Jacques Glassner. The Invention of Cuneiform: Writing in Sumer. JHU Press, 2003.
Lin, Yen-Hwei. The Sounds of Chinese. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007.
Mandarin. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/Mandarin, April 28, 2020.
Vance, Timothy J. The Sounds of Japanese. Cambridge University Press, 2008.
Van Stone, M., Coe, M. D. Reading the Maya Glyphs (Second Edition). United States: Thames & Hudson, 2005.