"In human history it seems that the idea of using a pictograph in the new function of representing sound may have occurred only three times: once in Mesopotamia, perhaps by the Sumerians, once in China, apparently by the Chinese themselves, and once in Central America, by the Mayas. (Conceivably it was invented only once, but there is no evidence that the Chinese or the Mayas acquired the idea from elsewhere.) The idea that was independently conceived by these three peoples was taken over, as were at times even the symbols themselves, though often in a highly modified form, by others who made adaptations to fit a host of totally different languages. One of the major adaptations, generally attributed to the Greeks, was the narrowing of sound representation from syllabic representation to phonemic representation (Gelb 1963; Trager 1974), after an earlier stage of mixed pictographic and syllabic writing (Chadwick 1967)."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
The Chinese Language: Fact and Fantasy (1984, p. 139)
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_DeFrancis
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
John DeFrancis
John DeFrancis (August 31, 1911 – January 2, 2009) was an American linguist, sinologist, author of Chinese language textbooks, lexicographer of Chinese dictionaries, and Professor Emeritus of Chinese Studies at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.
8 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by John DeFrancis →
Related Quotes
"The concept of ideographic writing is a most seductive notion. There is great appeal in the concept of written symbol…"
"With regard to the principle [of using symbols to represent sounds], it matters little whether the symbol is an elabo…"
"The term "ideographic" has been used not only by those who espouse its basic meaning but also by others who do not ne…"
"The Chinese system must be classified as a syllabic system of writing. More specifically, it belongs to the subcatego…"
"[R]eformers seeking to speed China's modernization by modernizing the writing system through a policy of digraphia ha…"
"I think there are three possible scenarios for the future of Chinese writing, in all of which the government plays a …"
"[I]nfatuation with characters still pervades American classrooms and holds back essential improvement in instruction."
"Scientific education is catholic; it embraces the whole field of human learning. No student can master all knowledge …"
"Honest investigation is but the application of common sense to the solution of the unknown. Science does not wait on …"
"Years of drought and famine come and years of flood and famine come, and the climate is not changed with dance, libat…"