Alphabet

Persian poets since Rūdakī have drawn on the letter symbolism of the Perso-Arabic alphabet. Visually, its characters have attracted poets who find the likeness of the beloved in their shapes. Spiritually, it enjoys a special status as the language of the Koran and therefore, in the eyes of some, God. Classical Persian lyric poetry combined these aesthetic and religious connotations, and as one of the foremost voices in that tradition, Ḥāfiẓ was no exception. But a review of the extant literature shows that, as a trope, letter symbolism has been largely overlooked when compared with wine, the moth, or the candle. Through a comprehensive study of the let-ters' use in Ḥāfiẓ's dīvān, this article argues that, by playing with particular letters' connotations, or punning on their physical shapes and homographs, Ḥāfiẓ invokes disparate meanings, only to then reveal their underlying unity, in the process affirming the affinity between love and language, the beloved and the divine.

Abstract. Visibly pushdown automata are special pushdown automata whose stack behavior is driven by the input symbols according to a partition of the alphabet. We show that it is decidable for a given visibly pushdown automaton whether it is equivalent to a visibly counter automaton, i.e. an automaton that uses its stack only as counter. In particular, this allows to decide whether a given visibly pushdown language is a regular restriction of the set of well-matched words, meaning that the language can be accepted by a finite automaton if only well-matched words are considered as input. 1

We are in the middle of a perfect storm that has brought together the chaos and disruption of the Digital Age,  the final stages of the Only Money Matters Cycle, and all three variations of Spiral Dynamics' Large-Scale change. This paper examines the trials and tribulations of our socioeconomic journey to second tier values and the corrective actions that organizations and cultures must take to ensure our survival and eventual blossoming into second tier ecosystems.

We can approach the knowledge of the city from multiple ways. We think that urban typography is a very attractive element to know the cities. In this article vindicates typography as an educational value, which allows also a better knowledge of the urban culture. Letters as a design constitute a decisive visual element in the urban environment. This article purposes a new look upon the city, at the same time that it opens up unusual spaces linked to the cultural arena and suitable geographies for the creation of learning spaces. The city is offered to us full of messages, patrimonial elements that can turn out to be very attractive if we observe them from new, interdisciplinary, suggestive or creative standpoints. Visual arts educators have a powerful graphic resource with which to articulate the complex communicative network of streets. We vindicate walking as an aesthetic practice, strolling around the city as a very suitable cultural means to motivate our university students. Following the trails of letters we find trajectories that lead us to art, to heritage, to literature, to photography, and very especially, to the educational context. We have at our disposal, in our cities, a genuine museum woven together with the threads of the alphabet.

In this paper, we consider smooth words over 2-letter alphabets {a, b}, where a, b are integers having same parity, with 0 < a < b. We show that all are recurrent and that the closure of the set of factors under reversal holds for odd alphabets only. We provide a linear time algorithm computing the extremal words, w.r.t. lexicographic order. The minimal word is an infinite Lyndon word if and only if either a = 1 and b are odd, or a, b are even. A connection is established between generalized Kolakoski words and maximal infinite smooth words over even 2-letter alphabets revealing new properties for some of the generalized Kolakoski words. Finally, the frequency of letters in extremal words is 1/2 for even alphabets, and for a = 1 with b odd, the frequency of b's is 1/( √ 2b − 1 + 1).

Unicode existe, mais les usages que nous pourrions en attendre émergent à peine. Étudier l'appropriation d'une technique impose de distinguer deux niveaux d'usage, celui des professionnels de l'information et de la communication, au-delà la création d'une multitude d'usages dans toute la largeur du spectre social (professionnels, académiques, culturels ou grands publics). Les systèmes techniques, notion empruntée aux historiens des techniques constitue un concept très opératoire pour comprendre les générations techniques successives de la technoculture et nombre de mécanismes de l'appropriation des technologies. Cependant la multiscripturalité (liée à la langue maternelle et à l'écriture d'usage) plonge au plus profond de l'inconscient collectif des sociétés et des individus. La grammatologie nous aide à penser le développement d'une technoculture adaptée à un futur de la multiscripturalité. On conclura en proposant quelques scénarios prospectifs. ABSTRACT. Unicode is now a reality, but its complete uses are just coming out. To study the appropriation of a technology requires distinuishing between two levels of usage : that of computer and communication professionals, and that of a larger social spectrum (businesses, academia, cultural institutions, the general public). Technological systems, a notion borrowed from historians on technology, provides a concept which is extremely helpful in understanding successive generations of technology and technocultures and studying technological appropriation. Meanwhile, multiscripturality (linked to our native languages and writing systems) goes to the heart of our societal and individual collective unconsciences. Grammatology helps us comprehend the development of a technoculture favorizing the future of multi-writing. In conclusion, several prospective scenarios are proposed.

Two experiments tested the common assumption that knowing the letter names helps children learn basic letter-sound (grapheme-phoneme) relation because most names contain the relevant sounds. In Experiment 1 (n D 45), children in an experimental group learned English letter names for letter-like symbols. Some of these names contained the corresponding letter sounds, whereas others did not. Following training, children were taught the sounds of these same "letters." Control children learned the same six letters, but with meaningful real-word labels unrelated to the sounds learned in the criterion letter-sound phase. DiVerences between children in the experimental and control groups indicated that letter-name knowledge had a signiWcant impact on letter-sound learning. Furthermore, letters with names containing the relevant sound facilitated letter-sound learning, but not letters with unrelated names. The beneWt of letter-name knowledge was found to depend, in part, on skill at isolating phonemes in spoken syllables. A second experiment (n D 20) replicated the name-to-sound facilitation eVect with a new sample of kindergarteners who participated in a fully within-subject design in which all children learned meaningless pseudoword names for letters and with phoneme class equated across related and unrelated conditions.  2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Alphabet knowledge is consistently recognized as the strongest, most durable predictor of later literacy achievement. Recent research offers practical implications for increased effectiveness of teaching alphabet knowledge to young children. In this article, we outline Enhanced Alphabet Knowledge instruction (EAK), a method of practical instruction that early childhood teachers can use to organize, plan, and teach the essential skills of alphabet knowledge. EAK emphasizes identifying the letter name and sound, recognizing the letter in text, and producing the letter form, through flexible, distributed cycles of review based on factors that influence acquisition of alphabet knowledge.

Two experiments tested the common assumption that knowing the letter names helps children learn basic letter-sound (grapheme-phoneme) relation because most names contain the relevant sounds. In Experiment 1 (n D 45), children in an experimental group learned English letter names for letter-like symbols. Some of these names contained the corresponding letter sounds, whereas others did not. Following training, children were taught the sounds of these same "letters." Control children learned the same six letters, but with meaningful real-word labels unrelated to the sounds learned in the criterion letter-sound phase. DiVerences between children in the experimental and control groups indicated that letter-name knowledge had a signiWcant impact on letter-sound learning. Furthermore, letters with names containing the relevant sound facilitated letter-sound learning, but not letters with unrelated names. The beneWt of letter-name knowledge was found to depend, in part, on skill at isolating phonemes in spoken syllables. A second experiment (n D 20) replicated the name-to-sound facilitation eVect with a new sample of kindergarteners who participated in a fully within-subject design in which all children learned meaningless pseudoword names for letters and with phoneme class equated across related and unrelated conditions.  2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

One's position in an alphabetically sorted list may be important in determining access to oversubscribed public services. Motivated by anecdotal evidence, we investigate the importance of the position in the alphabet of Czech students for their admission chances into oversubscribed schools. Empirical evidence based on the population of students graduating from secondary schools and applying to universities is consistent with the use of alphabet in admission procedures at both secondary and tertiary level. A simple student-school matching model suggests that the repeated use of such admissions implies potential e¢ ciency losses.

Partant de l’histoire de l’alphabet latin, qui est la base de tant d’alphabets aujourd’hui, nous allons décrire les enjeux des normalisations par l’écriture. 1 : Du grec au latin. 2 : Les variétés d’alphabet grec et leur origine. 3 : Le G, une lettre typiquement latine. 4 : Modifications de l’alphabet après l’époque latine. 5 : Qu’est-ce qu’une lettre. 6 : L’alphabet est-il un code ? 7 : Ecrit et oral. 8 : Ecriture, lecture et tradition orthographique. 9 : Pédagogie de l’écrit et de l’oral. 10 : Les écritures qui ne sont pas des alphabets. 11 : Conclusion : l’écriture comme « progrès », et le débat avec la mémoire orale.
Note éditoriale à la fin, avant la bibliographie

Turkic peoples have used several alphabets throughout the history. It may be claimed that there is hardly any language that is written in such various alphabets. In this paper, the issue of alphabet in general and the alphabets used by Turkish societies and their reasons to be used are elaborated. In addition, the importance of a common Turkish alphabet for the Turkic world is also emphasized.

Abstract and Book Reviews
Abstract:
This publication details how (copying) and when well before 3200 years ago) the Western Alphabet character sequence (abecedary) was modeled after a pre-Sanskrit character grid (abugida).

By forcing the Western-Late Roman Alphabet character sequence (the ABC or abecedary) into a tabular format by starting out to line up the vowels in one column followed by fitting the consonants sequentially into three adjacent columns, a somewhat orderly and surprising result was obtained.

By comparing the resultant character grid with an early simpler phase of the Sanskrit Devanāgarī character grid, it became possible to discover clear links between Western alphabets and an early form of the Sanskrit Devanāgarī abugida (alphasyllabary).

This dependent linkage between the Western Late-Roman and the Devanāgarī abugida is evidenced by their similar if not almost identical ordering of characters in grids of comparable phoneme classifications.

In this study, the origin of the dissimilarities - or, in fact, irregularities - has been traced back to two errors made by an ancient Near Eastern linguist after his study-visit to ancient India.

As the Western Late-Roman Alphabet in this study's tabular arrangement appeared to be irregular in certain places, especially when compared to the highly organized and well ordered Devanāgarī abugida grid, this study demonstrates how, why and approximately when (before 1200 BCE) those irregularities came about.

When the two sequential formats are superficially compared to each other - before the tracing of errors and before the tabular reconstruction - a percentage of similarity of only 20 % (4 out of 20 characters) was calculated.
However, after the error identifications (described in detail) and while taking into account the varying but close pronunciations of a number of comparable characters in side-by-side alphabet and abugida grids, and while focusing on the placement of nearly all Western Late-Roman characters in their appropriate vowel, labial, guttural and dental columns (illustrated in detail) an 85.00 % match between them was arrived at.

This study also demonstrates how the Ugarit abecedary from Syria (1400 -1200 BCE) is evidence that even before it was inscribed in cuneiform, that a 'West-of-India' style irregular alphabetic sequence was already in use, which, as demonstrated in this study, was based on a very early form of a Pre-Sanskrit Brāhmī abugida."

Book Reviews:

“This Alphabet paper is simply brilliant stuff, serendipity at its finest. The tabulation similarity of ABCD [the western abecedary] with Panini’s abugida [Sanskrit alphabet] is totally new and totally brilliant [and] on par with a description of Fleming’s discovery of Penicillin.”
~ Dr. Shiv Sastry MD

“A study by my friend, original thinker along the lines of Vartak, Einstein, Newton and Kepler. So expect flight of fancy, joy of speculation and wonderful research.
One of a few brilliant Jewels.
~ Nilesh Oak (Author of “When Did The Mahabharata War Happen? - The Mystery of Arundhati” and "The Historic Rama")

“Wim Borsboom takes the reader on a fascinating brief trip through the history of real magic; reading and writing.”
~ S. M. Sulllivan (Author of “The Indus Script Dictionary”)

“Wim Borsboom has hit upon a brilliant idea related to the origins of the western alphabet. He shows that in its basic form, it is similar to the scientifically organized Sanskrit alphabet. This research is of importance not only to the student of alphabets but also to the historian and the layperson interested in understanding cultural interactions in the ancient world.“
~ Subhash Kak, Regents Professor, Oklahoma State University. (Co-author with Georg Feuerstein and David Frawley of “In Search of the Cradle of Civilization”)

“The sequence he has discovered in the alphabet is really fascinating. I don't know how no-one noticed this sequential phonetics before.”
~ Shrikant G. Talageri (Author of “The Rigveda: A Historical Analysis”)

A escrita é um fantástico sistema de comunicação humana, uma das maiores realizações da humanidade. Sua necessidade para o conhecimento humano resulta do fato de que a tradição oral pode ter valor inestimável, mas talvez não seja suficiente para proporcionar ao conhecimento humano um caráter permanente ou para registrar uma história com perfeição. A escrita evoluiu dos métodos de comunicação antigos, passando por diversos estágios de desenvolvimento, provavelmente lentos, até chegar aos dias de hoje como uma coleção de um pequeno número de símbolos, conhecidos como letras, que representam sons da fala humana. A tradição da invenção da escrita perdeu-se nos tempos antigos, quando muitos povos acreditavam na origem divina da escrita. A história da invenção do alfabeto hebraico confunde-se com a história da invenção do próprio alfabeto. O alfabeto hebraico mantém, até os dias de hoje, o mesmo número de letras, na mesma ordem, e com os mesmos valores fonéticos que possuíam os alfabetos semíticos primitivos há mais de três mil anos, enquanto diversos outros alfabetos sofreram alterações. O objetivo deste trabalho é discutir a origem do incrível alfabeto hebraico.

This paper discusses the relation between letters and numbers in the case of ancient Greek and other writing systems and supports that the use of letters of the alphabet (and so the writing of the language) was constrained by the necessities of mathematics. In the case of Ancient Greece the “24 letters of the alphabet” plus “3 additional signs” were used to notate the numbers. These 27 signs formed the three enneads of the Greek (Milesian) Numeral System, which was in use in Eastern Mediterranean and parts of Europe for almost 2.000 years  (700 BC till 1200 AD). So, the 24 letter-signs were also digit-signs. The arithmetic use of letters is considered by epigraphologists and Hellenists a later development, occurring two or three centuries after the invention of the Greek alphabet. This paper supports that, from the very beginning, the alphabet should have had 27 signs in order to meet the needs of mathematics, that is to meet the necessity of using the enneads of the Egyptian numeral system, which probably was transferred to Greeks via the Semitic writing system. This hypothesis is based on the contradictions which arise between the choice of signs and their use (as can be seen from the statistical analysis of ancient texts), from ancient Greek “Logistikē” (mathematical calculations), from archaeological finds and from the examples of other writing systems, which were also created (or adapted accordingly) so as to serve the needs of mathematics – namely Hebrew, Arabic, Coptic, Armenian, Georgian, and other alphabets.

alk. paper) 1. Writing. 2. Written communication. 3. Language and languages-Orthography and spelling. I. Voogt, Alexander J. de. 11. Quack, Joachim Friedrich, 1966-P211.134 2011 302.2'244-dC23 This publication has been typeset in the multilingual "Brill" typeface. With over 5,100 characters covering Latin, IPA, Greek, and Cyrillic, this typeface is especially suitable for use in the humanities. For more information, please see www .brill.nl/brill-typeface. ISBN 978 90 04 21545 0 (hardback) ISBN 978 90 04 21700 3 (e-book)

The non-impact of the alphabet has garnered a lot of attention recently: how could an invention so revolutionary do so
little? Researchers have been led to wonder whether the alphabet may not have been as revolutionary as had been
thought, or perhaps that it was not invented as early as had been thought. Recent discoveries, however, coupled with
a re-evaluation of data that has been long known, lead to a different conclusion: the alphabet did spread across the
entire Near East, from Egypt, through Syria, into southern Mesopotamia, within a few centuries of its invention. The
exact chronology differed from place to place, but the transmission is always seen to follow the opening of trade routes.
Interestingly, the alphabetic script is typically seen in the hands of scribes, not formerly illiterate people. Thus the
alphabet’s revolutionary impact was limited by class structures, not geography.

Alphabet Reform is a cornerstone in the political and cultural history of Turkey. In the process of “modernization/westernization”, discussions on alphabet improvement and modification were the current subject in both Ottoman Empire and the Turkish Republic. In the Ottoman epoch, discussions on alphabet improvement did not resulted in a positive way, but those were first steps against the traditions. After Independence War, discussions on alphabet reform became again the popular subject. However, there were important differences between the two periods. In this article, the alphabet reform discussions of Turkish intellectuals were discussed in the period, between 1923 and 1928. In addition to this, the Ottoman origins of discussions were examined. The first purpose of this article is to bring up a historical circumstances and differences of discussions on alphabet reform, in the point of ideological formation of the aforementioned period. The second, in the context of nationalism, that is the dominant character of early years of Republic, is to examine the effect of discussions on alphabet reform. In this study, alphabet discussions of Turkish intellectuals, like Necip Asım, Avram Galanti, Celal Nuri, Kılıçzade Hakkı, İsmail Şükrü, Mehmed Fuad Köprülü, Ayaz İshaki and Ahmet Cevat Emre etc., were studied from newspapers and journals of the period, between 1923-1928.
Key Words: Turkish Press, Alphabet Reform, Language, Intellectuals, Turkish Nationalism

Four inscribed clay cylinders were discovered at the archaeological site of Tell Umm el-Marra in the 2004 excavation season, in a secure tomb context, and with associated carbon remains which have been carbon dated. The signs on these inscriptions are graphemically very similar to that which is known from Early Alphabetic inscriptions (e.g., Serabit el-Khadem and Wadi el-Hol), but the archaeological context is substantially older earlier than that of the Serabit and el-Hol inscriptions.  This article surveys the salient aspects of these finds and concludes that they are indeed Early Alphabetic.

The Proto-Indo-European words for the cardinal numbers are believed to be related to fingers, we see some similarities between the first letters of these words in an Indo-European language and the Hindu–Arabic numerals, it seems to be possible that both numerals and letters in different West Asian scripts had an Indo-European origin.

The subject of the First Edition of The Alphabet and the Ancient Calendar Signs regards the origins of the earliest Western alphabets and their relationship to the Chinese lunar calendar and horary signs. Dr. Moran focused his attention on the striking correspondences between the word meanings attributed to the letters of the Hebrew alphabet to their one-to-one relationship to certain Chinese lunar mansions. Dr. Moran’s hypothesis was that attributes of the Western alphabet was somehow derived from the Chinese lunar calendar. His thesis was that the meanings of each of the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet had a one-to-one correspondence to the meanings of twenty-two Chinese lunar mansions, while omitting six lunar mansions in his correspondence. The Chinese lunar mansions were actually constellations in a band in the sky that the Moon traversed, which is the same band that the Sun travels, but is called the zodiac in the solar context. Moran compared the meanings and etymology of these two sets and found many similarities that he documented in his book.

Questo contributo si pone lo scopo di sottoporre agli studiosi di paleo- ispanistica e del mondo italico preromano una proposta di connessione alfabetica non ancora messa in luce: quella tra il mondo italico centro- orientale, dell’area camuna in particolare, con il mondo iberico nord- orientale. La ricerca è solo agli inizi, e si basa quindi su dati provvisori, che necessitano di approfondimenti e di una collaborazione interdisciplinare tra linguisti, storici e archeologi.
Da un punto di vista strettamente paleografico emergono, come vedremo, interessanti corrispondenze tra il set alfabetico documentato in area camuna e quello di alcune esperienze grafiche paleo-ispaniche. Senza aver la pretesa di risolvere un problema, quanto piuttosto di porre le basi per una discussione critica, presenterò i dati della questione, facendo prima un veloce inquadramento dell’area epigrafica camuna.

The existence of Akkadian in the Mediterranean is due to the commercial trade which developed during the Bronze Age. Such trade required a common written language in order to function. Translations of archaeological texts using the strict scholar's standard show that this first Mediterranean wide language was Akkadian before it was replaced by Greek and Latin. Due to differing writing materials, cuneiform Akkadian was used in Mesopotamia while a linear form was used in the Mediterranean. The alphabet developed out of the Minoan Akkadian writing tradition (Phaistos disk, Linear A) which began around 1800 BCE after their contact with Assyrian trading colonies in Anatolia. Consequently, this lexicon traces the history of the alphabet. This second edition is the result of completing 20 additional final translations which now provide a broad, if sparse, outline of Akkadian writing in the Mediterranean. These texts range from the Minoan Phaistos Disk and Linear A to texts formally labeled as Etruscan, Early Greek, Philistine, Phoenician, and Paleo-Hebrew. Most of the texts covered by this lexicon have not been translated before. Where earlier translations were attempted in either Hebrew or Greek, the translation papers show where those attempted translations are seriously flawed. When combined these texts also show that a common Pagan religious culture once existed between the Mediterranean and Mesopotamia with only minor variations between the different letter style groups. This common religious culture is traced back to its Mesolithic roots using archaeological finds.

The paper provides new data for the presence of Jews from Rus’ in medieval England and contextualizes this presence based on the evidence of contacts between England and Rus’, as well as on the known patterns of Jewish migration between Rus’ and Western Europe and between England and the continent. Knowledge of a Slavic language as demonstrated by Jews from Rus’ in England is witness to Slavic proficiency of remarkable range, from mastering tabooed obscene lexica to literacy in Church Slavonic. The English Cyrillic-Hebrew abecedarium, the earliest piece of evidence, which documents not only political and commercial, but also cultural contacts between England and Rus’, enriches our understanding of the models of Jewish intercultural mediation in the Middle Ages and demonstrates that the wandering and multilingual Jews were thus not only the chief transmitters of Arabic learning in Latin Europe, but may also have been the first attested teachers of Slavic literacy in the West.

Addressing issues of origin in archaic alphabetic writing A multitude of questions and corresponding number of theories have been offered on the origin of our writing system, the alphabet. We have considered in detail the question of the systematic relationship of archaic alphabetic writing to other Mediterranean scripts in the context of Bronze age elsewhere [1]. Briefly, these results show that several ancient scripts namely Linear A, B and C (a term used for the Cypriotic syllabary [2]), Levantine Protolinear (related Levantine writing before 1050 BC), Phoenician abjad (after 1050 BC, the conventional date for delineation [3]) and Greek alphabet have related morphologies of corresponding symbols that produce a unique pattern of systematic relationships. Remarkably, among the countless theories, often based on preconceptions of political ideology, ethnicity, religion or even 'racial superiority' [4], there has been little attention paid on the characteristics of the alphabet qua organomenon, that is, as an organized system. Following our analyses of systematic relationships, we revisit here elements of the internal structure of the system, with a particular focus on vowels, in order to address the issues of origin, whether the system was an invention and the context of its genesis. The vowel harmonic It is generally agreed that the 23-letter script (A to Y) of Crete and the Doric islands is the earliest alphabet in the Aegean (Fig. 1) and indeed earliest full alphabet encoding both vowels and consonants [2, 5, 6]. Focusing on the internal structure of that script rather than the later Ionic alphabet that has become the basis for the more commonly known Greek alphabetic writing, it immediately becomes apparent that there are five vowels, A, E, I, O and Y, separated by arithmetically increasing intervals of consonants (3, 4, 5 and 6).This simple distribution creates a harmonic that might have served as a mnemonic device in the early days of transition between the syllabaries and the alphabet. Since we are treating the issue of the origin of the alphabet and its systematic relations to other scripts elsewhere, we will limit this communication to notes on the vowel harmonic consisting of these five symbols.

This chapter is divided into five sections. The first section reviews attempts in the last decade of the twentieth century and first decades of the twenty-first--at conferences, workshops, and in publications--to define “Jewish rhetoric,” especially in relation to the Greco-Roman tradition, at the same time touching on the work of some primary scholars in contemporary fields of rhetorics and Jewish studies. The second section cautiously overviews the author’s own attempt to define “Jewish rhetoric,” touching on a 25-year examination of the philosophy of the Hebrew alphabet, which figures prominently in esoteric and mystical theories of creation–not only in the Hebrew Bible but also in Midrash and Kabbalah–and a tentative proposal that the rhetoric of the alefbet can be understood as an alternate, Jewish sophistic in which language is “Reality” and letters its “divine atoms,” so to speak; so deconstructed, G/d becomes the unknowable master rhetorician, and the ultimate sophist. The third section delineates various issues, questions, and problems that arise in the author’s analysis of Jewish rhetoric overviewed in the second section. The fourth section tries to redress at least some of the questions raised by locating Jewish rhetoric in the Torah–the Five Books of Moses–which is central to Judaism, especially since the destruction of the Second Temple, and that is found in every Jewish denomination and community. The fifth section concludes with a short list of basic issues seen in the analysis above of Jewish rhetoric that may be of value in attempts to develop the field of comparative global rhetorics.

The Ottoman Empire faced mass land losses in the Balkans especially in the 19th century. Newly established nation states were not tolerant towards Muslim and Turkish population who had been living the region for more than 5 centuries. One of the questions that young Turkish Rebublic inherited from the Ottoman Empire was protecting the rights of Turkish population that remained beyond its borders. Besides, the Muslim-Turkish minority’s adoptation of the reformation and novelties made in Turkey in the Balkans was thought to be essential in order to maintain cultural ties with them. In this study the transition of Turks in Bulgaria, which has the highest percentage of Turkish minority, to Latin alphabet was analysed scanning Prime Ministry Republic Archive and related literature.
Keywords: Republic of Turkey, Bulgaria, Latin Alphabet, Union of Turkish
Teachers

This paper offers a revisionist viewpoint on the nature of colonial Maya literacy, showing that the colonial Yucatec Maya elite utilized both the traditional hieroglyphic script and the new alphabetic writing skills taught by the Franciscan friars. By adapting and utilizing both styles of writing, the colonial Maya elite created a system of graphic pluralism that enabled the Maya nobility to better defend their elite interests in a manner consistent with both pre-Columbian and colonial forms of writing, address, religion, and government administration.

In: Journal des africanistes. 1987, tome 57 fascicule 1-2. pp. 255-266. Abstract There exist among the Manding peoples of Mali and their neighbours, ancient systems of symbols and ideograms. Besides, two syllabical phonetic writings were recently invented in the Manding world : the writing of the Vai conceived around 1833 and the Masaba writing of the Bambara-Masasi conceived in 1930. It seems that there exists a link between the Manding ideographic tradition and the Vai and Masaba syllabaries. By its general aspect, if not in the detail, the Masaba has some similarities to the Vai writing. Other points of similarities can also be established with some Bambara ideograms analysed by Germaine Dieterlen and with some letters of the Arabic secret alphabets of the Hodh (Mauritania). However, the question remains whether there existed a Manding writing tradition, previous to the Vai syllabary and the Masaba, which was not purely ideographic but also phonetic. Résumé On trouve chez les Mandingues du Mali et les peuples voisins, d'anciens systèmes de symboles et d'idéogrammes. Par ailleurs, l'on connaît deux écritures phonétiques syllabiques, inventées récemment dans le monde mandingue : l'écriture des Vaï conçue vers 1833 et l'écriture « Masaba » des Bambara-Masasi conçue en 1930. Il semble qu'il existe un lien entre la tradition idéographique mandingue et les syllabaires vaï et Masaba. Par son aspect général, sinon dans le détail, le Masaba rappelle l'écriture vaï. Des rapprochements peuvent être aussi faits avec quelques idéogrammes bambara analysés par Germaine Dieterlen et certaines lettres des alphabets arabes secrets du Hodh (Mauritanie). Cependant l'on continue à se demander s'il existait une tradition d'écriture mandingue, antérieure au vaï et au Masaba, qui n'ait pas été purement idéographique, mais aussi phonétique. Citer ce document / Cite this document : Galtier Gérard. Un exemple d'écriture traditionnelle mandingue : le «masaba» des Bambara-Masasi du

ABSTRACT
“Mela Mehmudi Bazidi’s Sefhei Sibyan” The introduced manuscript -wich apparently is belonged to Mela Mahmoudi Bazidi- “Sefhei Sibyan” is located in Auguste Alexandre Jaba collection with number of Kurd06. The work is in the form of an elifba/alphabet and has been prepared to teach children the Alphabet of Kurdish. Hereby, the name of the work had been put as “Sefhei Sibyan” meaning “pages of the children”. The language of the manuscript is one of the Kurdish dialect, namely Kurmanji. This work focused on the identity of the work beside its physical structure and contents. In addition, the text of the manuscript has been offered with its verification. This independent manuscript which copied by Bazidi, takes place in The Academy of Sciences in St Petersbûrg in Russia. The unharmed manuscript consists of 39 pages. The work aims to teach the Kurdo-Arabic alphabet, vowels and to teach reading the words and sentences.
Key words: Mela Mahmudi Bazidi, Auguste Alexandre Jaba, Jaba’s collection, Kurdish
alphabeth, vowels, reading, manuscript, Sefhei Sibyan, Abécédaire Kurde.


KURTE
Ev berhema ku di vê xebatê de hatiye pêşkêşkirin, xuya ye ku ya Mele Mehmûdê Bazidî ye, bi navê “Sefheî Sibyan” di nav koleksîyona Auguste Aleksandre Jaba de bi numareya Kurd06ê cih digire. Berhem, di teşeya elifba/alfabeyê de ye û ji bo hînkirina alfabeya Kurdî-Erebî hatiye amadekirin. Ji ber vê yekê, berhem bi wateya “rûpela/pirtûkçeya zarokan” wek “Sefheî Sibyan” hatiye binavkirin. Zimanê destxetê yek ji zaravayên Kurdî, Kurmancî ye. Ev lêkolîn digel rewşa fîzîkî ya destxetê li ser nasname û naveroka wê rawestîyaye. Herweha, deqa destxetê digel tehqîqa wê hatiye pêşkêşkirin. Ev destxeta serbixwe ku ji alîyê Bazidî ve hatiye nivîsîn, di Akademîya Zanistan a Petersbûrgê ya Rusyayê de ye. Destxet 39 rûpel e û ji alîyê fîzîkî ve baş xuya dike. Herweha berhem ji bo hînkirina alfabeya Kurdî-Erebî, herekeyan/dengdêran, xwendina peyv û hevokan hatiye amadekirin.
Peyvên sereke: Mela Mehmûdi Bazidî, Aleksandre Jaba, Koleksîyona Jaba, Alfabeya Kurdî-Erebî, hareke/dengdêr, xwendin, destxet, Sefhei Sibyan, Abécédaire Kurde

The Greek equivalent of the Bulgarian “Shliokavitsa”, called Greeklish, is Greek language written with the Latin alphabet. The phenomenon refers to ad-hoc practices of writing Greek text in different informal environments, especially in electronic media. The paper discusses parallels between the Greek and the Bulgarian practices of writing with Latin alphabet, typical for the youth sociolects in these two Balkan countries. It presents in short the history, the basic characteristics of Greeklish, some of its uses and current trends.

The recently published 12th century B.C.E. jar inscription from Lachish was described as "undecipherable." This article offers a plausible interpretation suggesting a mixed inscription using linear alphabetic and an adaptation of the hieratic Egyptian accounting tradition. The inscription thus would stand at a transition point-namely, when linear alphabetic was beginning to be used administratively and when the Egyptian hieratic tradition was being adopted by alphabetic scribes.

We examined the developmental sequence of letter name knowledge acquisition by children from 2 to five years of age. Data from 2 samples representing diverse regions, ethnicity, and socioeconomic backgrounds (ns = 1074 and 500) were analyzed using item response theory (IRT) and differential item functioning techniques. Results from factor analyses indicated that letter name knowledge represented a unidimensional skill; IRT results yielded significant differences between letters in both difficulty and discrimination. Results also indicated an approximate developmental sequence in letter name learning for the simplest and most challenging to learn letters--but with no clear sequence between these extremes. Findings also suggested that children were most likely to first learn their first initial. We discuss implications for assessment and instruction.

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A collection of essays, conversations and ruminations on:
(1) 'Innate Freedom' and the reclamation of it, if seemingly lost.
(2) Identity, ego and pseudo-self,
(3) Awareness, reality and illusion,
(4) The Buddha's Triple Gem and the Eightfold Path,
(5) Impermanence and suffering,
(6) Pain, suffering and illusion,
(7) Pleasure and pain,
(8) Entrapment, subservience and apparent loss of freedom,
(9) Kundalini.

A surprise awaits the reader who accompanies the writer on his investigation into the dynamics and language of entrapment, dependency and suffering while he endeavors to uncover the causes of apparent loss of human freedom.
Witness how he digs up clue after clue on how this innate and inherent freedom came to be treated as only conditionally available.
You are invited to look over his shoulders and find out with him how humankind was made to believe that dependence and suffering define life more than freedom and happiness do, and to discover that the claim on unconditional freedom and happiness is not only warranted but realizable for everyone.

Fahri KILIÇ  ÖZ Yeni Türk harflerinin kabulü hakkındaki kanun, TBBM'de kabul edilmesinin ve Cumhurbaşkanı Mustafa Kemal Paşa'nın onaylamasının ardından Resmi Gazete'de yayımlanarak yürürlüğe girmiştir. Yasanın yürürlüğe girmesinden hemen sonra uygulaması için öngörülen bazı tedbirler alınmaya başlanmıştır. Öncelikle örgün eğitim yapısı içerisinde yer alan okulların öğretmenlerine ardından da hangi sınıfta olursa olsun öğrencilere yeni Türk alfabesi öğretilmesine karar verilmiştir. Yine okulların gereksinimi olan yeni Türk alfabesi ile basılan ders kitapları da ücretsiz olarak okullara dağıtılmıştır. Örgün eğitim kurumlarına ilave olarak açılmaya başlayan yaygın halk eğitimi dershaneleri ile de okul çağını aşmış kişilere yeni Türk alfabesini öğretmek amacıyla Millet Mektepleri açılmaya başlanmıştır. Köylerde ve kentlerde sabit ve seyyar olarak hem kadınlar hem erkekler için açılan bu okullarda okuma yazma eğitiminin yanı sıra temel yurttaşlık eğitimi de verilmiştir. Millet Mekteplerinin yanında Türk Ocakları, Muallim Birlikleri, Askeri Birlikler ve Halkevleri gibi çeşitli kurumların çatısı altında da yeni Türk alfabesini halka öğretmek için çalışmalar yürütülmüştür. Bu çalışmada, yeni Türk harflerinin halka benimsetilmesi ve öğretilmesi sürecinde kullanılan yöntem ve araçlar incelenmiştir. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk'ün öncülüğünde yeni Türk alfabesinin tanıtılması ve öğretilmesi için yapılan uygulamaların eğitime, kültüre ve gündelik hayata olan yansımaları araştırılmıştır. Yeni Türk alfabesinin topluma tanıtılması ve öğretilmesi için kullanılan, yaygın öğrenme metotları ve araçlarının önemi ortaya konulmuştur. Ayrıca Türk modernleşme tarihi açısından alfabe değişikliğinin önemi ve bu değişimin ulus kimliğinin oluşumuna sağladığı katkı irdelenmiştir. Araştırma verileri döneme ilişkin arşiv kaynakları, süreli yayınlar, anılar ve tetkik eserlerden oluşturulmuştur.

he problem of how to represent spoken language in writing has historically been solved in different ways (Daniels & Bright, 1996;. One distinction is whether to "write what you mean" or "write what you say." Logographic systems such as Chinese and Japanese kanji use symbols to represent meaning directly and have no or comparatively few cues to pronunciation. Other writing systems represent speech sounds. The characters of syllabic systems such as the Japanese kana correspond with spoken syllables, whereas those of alphabetic systems correspond with separate phonemes. However, alphabetic orthographies vary in the degree to which they are regular in their representation of sound. The writing systems of Serbo-Croatian, Finnish, Welsh, Spanish, Dutch, Turkish, and German are on the whole much more regular in symbol-sound correspondences than those of English and French. The former are referred to as transparent or shallow orthographies in which sound-symbol correspondences are highly consistent, while the latter are referred to as opaque or deep orthographies that are less consistent because each letter or group of letters may represent different sounds in different words.