Allography
Encyclopedia
Allography, from the Greek for "other writing", has several meanings which all relate to how word
s and sound
s are written
down.
; that is, a person's words or name (signature
) written by someone else.
, the term allograph denotes any graphs that are considered variants of a letter or other grapheme. An obvious example in English (and many other writing systems) is the distinction between uppercase and lowercase
letters. Allographs can vary vastly, without affecting the underlying identity of the grapheme. Even if the word "cat" is rendered as "cAt", it remains recognizable as the sequence of the three graphemes, , .
Letters and other graphemes can also have huge variations that may be missed by many readers. The letter g
, for example, has two common forms (glyph
s) in different typeface
s, and an enormous variety in people's handwriting
. A positional example of allography is the so-called long s
, a symbol which was once a widely-used non-final allograph of the lowercase letter s
.
The fact that handwritten allographs differ so widely from person to person, and even from day to day with the same person, means that handwriting recognition
software is enormously complicated.
, there exist several graphemes that have more than one written representation. Chinese typefaces often contain many variants of some graphemes. Different regional standards have adopted certain character variants. For instance:
Some words use groups of letters to represent a sound. In kick both k and ck are allographs of the sound that the c in cat represents. These associations are learned as part of learning to read and write a language
.
Complicated allographs may surprise or baffle language learners, just as those in place names can continue to confuse people who are unfamiliar with a particular location, even when they are native speakers of the language. One notorious allograph in the English language is ough, which may easily represent more than 10 different sounds, depending on the word in which it is used.
Allographs have found use in humor and pun
s; a famous example of allographic humour is that of spelling fish ghoti
.
The only reason that we accept all these varieties as representing the same sound or grapheme is that we have been taught to make these associations when learning to read the English language. That is to say, their meaning and correspondence is assigned arbitrarily, by conventions adopted and observed by a particular language community. Many of these associations have to be unlearned if we study a second language whose writing system is based upon, or contains many elements similar to or shared by, our own alphabet or writing system. Very often, the letters one might be comfortable and familiar with are allographs of quite different sounds in the second language. For example, in written Spanish the grapheme will often represent the phoneme
/b/, whereas in English this does not occur.
Word
In language, a word is the smallest free form that may be uttered in isolation with semantic or pragmatic content . This contrasts with a morpheme, which is the smallest unit of meaning but will not necessarily stand on its own...
s and sound
Sound
Sound is a mechanical wave that is an oscillation of pressure transmitted through a solid, liquid, or gas, composed of frequencies within the range of hearing and of a level sufficiently strong to be heard, or the sensation stimulated in organs of hearing by such vibrations.-Propagation of...
s are written
Writing
Writing is the representation of language in a textual medium through the use of a set of signs or symbols . It is distinguished from illustration, such as cave drawing and painting, and non-symbolic preservation of language via non-textual media, such as magnetic tape audio.Writing most likely...
down.
Allographs as authorship
An allograph may be the opposite of an autographAutograph
An autograph is a document transcribed entirely in the handwriting of its author, as opposed to a typeset document or one written by an amanuensis or a copyist; the meaning overlaps with that of the word holograph.Autograph also refers to a person's artistic signature...
; that is, a person's words or name (signature
Signature
A signature is a handwritten depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and intent. The writer of a signature is a signatory. Similar to a handwritten signature, a signature work describes the work as readily identifying...
) written by someone else.
Allographs in script
In graphemicsGraphemics
Graphemics or graphematics is the linguistic study of writing systems and their basic components, i.e. graphemes.At the beginning of the development of this area of linguistics, Ignace Gelb coined the term grammatology for this discipline; later some scholars suggested to call it graphology to...
, the term allograph denotes any graphs that are considered variants of a letter or other grapheme. An obvious example in English (and many other writing systems) is the distinction between uppercase and lowercase
Letter case
In orthography and typography, letter case is the distinction between the larger majuscule and smaller minuscule letters...
letters. Allographs can vary vastly, without affecting the underlying identity of the grapheme. Even if the word "cat" is rendered as "cAt", it remains recognizable as the sequence of the three graphemes
Letters and other graphemes can also have huge variations that may be missed by many readers. The letter g
G
G is the seventh letter in the basic modern Latin alphabet.-History:The letter 'G' was introduced in the Old Latin period as a variant of ⟨c⟩ to distinguish voiced, from voiceless, . The recorded originator of ⟨g⟩ is freedman Spurius Carvilius Ruga, the first Roman to open a fee-paying school,...
, for example, has two common forms (glyph
Glyph
A glyph is an element of writing: an individual mark on a written medium that contributes to the meaning of what is written. A glyph is made up of one or more graphemes....
s) in different typeface
Typeface
In typography, a typeface is the artistic representation or interpretation of characters; it is the way the type looks. Each type is designed and there are thousands of different typefaces in existence, with new ones being developed constantly....
s, and an enormous variety in people's handwriting
Handwriting
Handwriting is a person's particular & individual style of writing with pen or pencil, which contrasts with "Hand" which is an impersonal and formalised writing style in several historical varieties...
. A positional example of allography is the so-called long s
Long s
The long, medial or descending s is a form of the minuscule letter s formerly used where s occurred in the middle or at the beginning of a word, for example "ſinfulneſs" . The modern letterform was called the terminal, round, or short s.-History:The long s is derived from the old Roman cursive...
, a symbol which was once a widely-used non-final allograph of the lowercase letter s
S
S is the nineteenth letter in the ISO basic Latin alphabet.-History: Semitic Šîn represented a voiceless postalveolar fricative . Greek did not have this sound, so the Greek sigma came to represent...
.
  |
The fact that handwritten allographs differ so widely from person to person, and even from day to day with the same person, means that handwriting recognition
Handwriting recognition
Handwriting recognition is the ability of a computer to receive and interpret intelligible handwritten input from sources such as paper documents, photographs, touch-screens and other devices. The image of the written text may be sensed "off line" from a piece of paper by optical scanning or...
software is enormously complicated.
Chinese characters
In the Chinese scriptChinese character
Chinese characters are logograms used in the writing of Chinese and Japanese , less frequently Korean , formerly Vietnamese , or other languages...
, there exist several graphemes that have more than one written representation. Chinese typefaces often contain many variants of some graphemes. Different regional standards have adopted certain character variants. For instance:
| Standard | Allograph |
|---|---|
| Taiwan Taiwan Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following... |
戶 |
| Mainland China Mainland China Mainland China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term that refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China . According to the Taipei-based Mainland Affairs Council, the term excludes the PRC Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and... |
户 |
| Japan Japan Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south... |
戸 |
Allographs in orthography
An allograph may also be a smaller fragment of writing, that is a letter or a group of letters, which represents a particular sound. In the words cat and king, the letters c and k are both allographs of the same sound. This relationship between a letter and a sound is not necessarily fixed, for example in a different word, such as city, c is instead an allograph of an s sound.Some words use groups of letters to represent a sound. In kick both k and ck are allographs of the sound that the c in cat represents. These associations are learned as part of learning to read and write a language
Language
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
.
| key, cat, back, bouquet, chemistry, mecca, Pinocchio, dekko, walk, khan, lacquer, biscuit, sgraffito, qat |
Complicated allographs may surprise or baffle language learners, just as those in place names can continue to confuse people who are unfamiliar with a particular location, even when they are native speakers of the language. One notorious allograph in the English language is ough, which may easily represent more than 10 different sounds, depending on the word in which it is used.
Allographs have found use in humor and pun
Pun
The pun, also called paronomasia, is a form of word play which suggests two or more meanings, by exploiting multiple meanings of words, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use and abuse of homophonic,...
s; a famous example of allographic humour is that of spelling fish ghoti
Ghoti
Ghoti is a constructed word used to illustrate irregularities in English spelling. It is a respelling of the word fish: i.e., it is supposed to be pronounced...
.
The only reason that we accept all these varieties as representing the same sound or grapheme is that we have been taught to make these associations when learning to read the English language. That is to say, their meaning and correspondence is assigned arbitrarily, by conventions adopted and observed by a particular language community. Many of these associations have to be unlearned if we study a second language whose writing system is based upon, or contains many elements similar to or shared by, our own alphabet or writing system. Very often, the letters one might be comfortable and familiar with are allographs of quite different sounds in the second language. For example, in written Spanish the grapheme
Phoneme
In a language or dialect, a phoneme is the smallest segmental unit of sound employed to form meaningful contrasts between utterances....
/b/, whereas in English this does not occur.
Allography.com
Launched in December 2010, allography.com is an experimental cross-format storytelling website.External links
- Blog entry on the associations the shapes of letters may hold
- Forgotten Phonics rules from the early 1800s. Organized in printable sections to use as "cheat sheets" when figuring out how to pronounce words. Includes individual letter rules, diphthongs, triphthongs, silent letter rules and substitute letter rules.
- Allography.com