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Ideogram

An '''ideogram''' or '''ideograph''' (from Greek language|Greek idea "idea" + grafo "to write") is a graphic symbol that represents an idea, rather than a group of letters arranged according to the phonemes of a spoken language, as is done in alphabetic languages, or a strictly representational picture of a subject as may be done in illustration or photography. Examples of ideograms include wayfinding signs, such as in airports and other environments where many people may not be familiar with the language of the place they are in, as well as Arabic numerals and mathematical notation, which are used worldwide regardless of how they are pronounced in different languages. The term "ideogram" is commonly, albeit incorrectly, used to describe logogram|logographic writing systems such as Egyptian Egyptian hieroglyphs|hieroglyphs and Chinese characters. Despite this label, graphemes in logographic systems represent specific words or morphemes in the target language, rather than pure ideas. Emoticons are used increasingly in instant messaging to represent concepts and sometimes phonemes.

Terminological objections

There is a common misconception that Chinese characters exist separately from spoken language, representing pure ideas which can be determined from their shape. This has led to many attempts to abandon the name "ideogram" in favour of a term that more accurately represents their morphemic (and often phonetic) nature: that is, that they represent words and syllables, not ideas. One alternative is logogram, from the Greek roots logos ("word") and grapho ("to write"). Others include Chinese character|Sinogram, emphasising the Chinese origin of the characters, and Han character, a literal translation of the native term. These terms have gained some currency among scholars, but have failed to spread into common usage. The native terms (Chinese hanzi, Japanese kanji, Korean hanja) are also fairly widespread in the contexts of the individual languages, but they are not generally considered suitable for discussion of the script as a whole. True ideographic systems:
- Blissymbols
- Formal languages such as mathematical notation, logic, Unified Modeling Language|UML, computer languages
- Hobo signs - American hoboes
- Sioux and Ojibwa pictographs

References

- DeFrancis, John. 1990. ''The Chinese Language: Fact and Fantasy''. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 0-8248-1068-6
- Hannas, William. C. 1997. ''Asia's Orthographic Dilemma''. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 0-8248-1892-X (paperback); ISBN 0-8248-1842-3 (hardcover)
- Unger, J. Marshall. 2003. ''Ideogram: Chinese Characters and the Myth of Disembodied Meaning''. ISBN 0-8248-2760-0 (trade paperback), ISBN 0-8248-2656-6 (hardcover)

External links

- AIGA Symbol Signs Common US ideograms.
- American Heritage Dictionary definition
- Encyclopedia Britannica online entry
- Hobo Signs
- The Ideographic Myth Extract from DeFrancis' book.
- Merriam-Webster OnLine definition
- Ojibwa and Sioux pictographs Category:Communication design Category:Graphic design Category:Symbols Category:Writing systems

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