What is a Written Sign?
A Written Sign
While lecturing and working with calligraphy and lettering beginners, I often notice that they know how to write or draw letters, but at the same time, they don’t completely understand what a letter actually is. This is completely normal since we’ve been taught to write letters at a very young age. But when you get closer to calligraphy and lettering, you should consider diving into the concept of “letter/letterform” is. Simply said, letters are just a part of the “written sign” concept.
A written sign is an abstract symbol that society associates with a specific meaning. Even though this is my own simplified interpretation, it does not conflict with academic definitions, although it does not answer all questions nor cover all the details.
Alexander Zuev (typographer from Kurgan, Russia) has an interesting opinion about the theory of written signs. He claims that every letter has three components. Here’s an excerpt from his article:
Semema is the value of a written sign. Sememes are the sounds of language, numbers, etc., that is, everything that needs to be conveyed through writing. For example, the letter A represents the sound [a], quotes represent a quote or title, the sign = represents equality, etc. Sememes are the “reasons” for writing; if there were no need to record them, there would be no writing.
Graphema is the image of a written sign, its form, and its visual aspect. Graphemes are written by the writer and seen by the reader.
There is no direct correspondence between graphemes and sememes. Different graphemes can express one sememe: the sound [v] in Cyrillic is written as В, in Latin as V, and sometimes W. One graphema can contain different sememes (have different meanings): V usually means the sound [v], and in other cases, it means the number 5. (This definition of grapheme requires clarification)
Techneme is the material expression of the graphema, its concrete realization. The graphema is “ideal” and imagined; the techneme is concrete and imperfect. Examples of technemes are:
· Letters written with a pen.
· Impressions of letters on paper.
· Text printed by a printer.
· Letters written with a finger on the sand.
· Letters on a smartphone screen.
Since our goal is to learn how to write signs, we will primarily consider the techmeme.
Stroke
My professional development can be divided into two periods: before reading the book “The Stroke” by Gerrit Noordzij and after. Despite its modest size, Gerrit’s book was really difficult to analyze. I have reread it about six times. I’m sure that for those who want to develop in working with letters, it is mandatory to read this book. It can be purchased. Please don’t despair if you don’t understand everything from the first read; it’s quite normal.
Drawing is the best way to start learning lettering and calligraphy. Through drawing, it’s easier to classify and understand the graphic shape. After all, calligraphy is also lettering, but with a particular tool with a set of rules.
