Portal:Writing

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search


WELCOME TO THE WRITING PORTAL


Template:/box-header

Writing may refer to two activities: the inscribing of characters on a medium, with the intention of forming words and other lingual constructs that represent language and record information, or the creation of information to be conveyed through written language. (There are some exceptions; for example, the use of a typewriter to record information is generally called typing, rather than writing.) Writing refers to both activities equally, and often both activities occur simultaneously; however one may write while doing only one of the activities.

Writing is the representation of language in a textual medium through the use of a set of signs or symbols (known as a writing system). Writing may use abstract characters that represent phonetic elements of speech, as in Indo-European languages, or it may use simplified representations of objects or concepts, as in east-Asian and ancient Egyptian pictographic writing forms. However, 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 is a distinctly human activity in which text is created on a medium such as a tablet or vellum in the form of signs, symbols or letters. These characters then go together to form words and larger texts which convey meaning and information.

The art of writing, known as calligraphy, has played a huge part in cultures around the world and is still enjoyed by many people today. Template:/box-footer

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Box-header/colours' not found.

Tugra Mahmuds II.gif
Pictured left:The stylized signature (tughra) of Sultan Mahmud II of the Ottoman Empire was written in an expressive calligraphy. It reads Mahmud Khan son of Abdulhamid is forever victorious.

Islamic calligraphy is the art of writing, and by extension, of bookmaking. This art has most often employed the Arabic script, throughout many languages. Calligraphy is especially revered among Islamic arts since it was the primary means for the preservation of the Qur'an.

Throughout Islamic history, the work of calligraphers was collected and appreciated. Consideration of figurative art as idolatrous led to calligraphy and abstract figures becoming the main methods of artistic expression in Islamic cultures.

Arabic, Persian and Ottoman Turkish calligraphy is associated with geometric Islamic art (the Arabesque) on the walls and ceilings of mosques as well as on the page. Contemporary artists in the Islamic world draw on the heritage of calligraphy to use calligraphic inscriptions or abstractions in their work.

More selected articles... Read more...

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Box-header/colours' not found.

AlphabetsScriptsWorld.png

Writing Systems of the world

More selected pictures... Read more...

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Box-header/colours' not found.

Denise Schmandt-Besserat (born August 10, 1933) is a French-American archaeologist and retired professor of art and archaeology of the ancient Near East.

Schmandt-Besserat has worked on the origin of writing and counting, and the nature of information management systems in oral societies. Her publications on these subjects include:

  • Before Writing (2 vols), University of Texas Press 1992;
  • How Writing Came About, University of Texas Press 1996;
  • The History of Counting, Morrow Jr. 1999;
  • When Writing Met Art (University of Texas Press, 2007); and
  • numerous articles in major scholarly and popular journals among them Science, Scientific American, Archaeology, American Journal of Archaeology, and Archaeology Odyssey.

Her work has been widely reported in the public media (Scientific American, Time, Life, New York Times, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Christian Science Monitor.) She was featured in several television programs such as Out of the Past (Discovery Channel), Discover (Disney Channel); The Nature of Things (CBC), Search for Solutions (PBS), and Tell the Truth (NBC).

In her most recent book, When Writing Met Art (2007), Schmandt-Besserat investigated the impact of literacy on visual art. She showed that, before writing, art of the ancient Near East mostly consisted of repetitive motifs. But, after writing, conventions of the Mesopotamian script, such as the semantic use of form, size, order and placement of signs on a tablet was applied to images resulting in complex visual narratives. She also shows how, reciprocally, art played a crucial role in the evolution of writing from a mere accounting system to literature when funerary and votive inscriptions started to be featured on art monuments.

More selected biographies… Read more…

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Box-header/colours' not found.

Hangul.png
...that the Korean alphabet Hangul was promulgated by the Korean king Sejong the Great after being developed under his guidance by a team of researchers? It is the rare example of a writing system that is thoroughly planned after scientific points of view.
Other "Did you know" facts...

Template:/box-header Template:/Categories Template:/box-footer

Template:/box-header • Calligraphy •
Western calligraphyIslamic calligraphyIndian calligraphyChinese calligraphyKorean calligraphyJapanese calligraphyPersian calligraphyManuscript
• Writing instruments •
PenInk brushesInksInk stoneQalamQuillDip penNibPaperWriting slatePencil Template:/box-footer

Template:/box-header


Here are some tasks awaiting attention:
  • Verify : Creative writing, Fiction, Literature, Print culture.
  • Other : Improve the Writing portal. Add more relevant information to the "More selected..." archive sections: open the link and add data to a new subsection. Add links to this portal in relevant articles with {{Portal|Writing}}.

Template:/box-footer

Template:/box-header

WikiProjects

Template:/box-footer

Purge server cache