12.1024, Disc: Review: Comp Theory of Writing Systems

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LINGUIST List:  Vol-12-1024. Wed Apr 11 2001. ISSN: 1068-4875.

Subject: 12.1024, Disc: Review: Comp Theory of Writing Systems

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=================================Directory=================================

1)
Date:  Wed, 11 Apr 2001 12:23:36 -0400
From:  Richard Sproat <rws at research.att.com>
Subject:  Re: 12.1020, Disc: New: Review: Comp Theory of Writing Systems

-------------------------------- Message 1 -------------------------------

Date:  Wed, 11 Apr 2001 12:23:36 -0400
From:  Richard Sproat <rws at research.att.com>
Subject:  Re: 12.1020, Disc: New: Review: Comp Theory of Writing Systems


  Are there many instances, other than in Hollywood 'Indian' movies
  and 'coming of age' facetiae, of messages which are written in a
  spiral and other patterns?

Well there's the Phaistos disk. Since this is the only definite
instance of this particular script (though I have heard that there are
cave inscriptions that might be in the same script), it's hard to say
whether the orthography would normally have been written in a spiral
fashion, as it was in this instance. Presumably not, but who knows?

  How should text to speech work deal with positional, timing, font,
  size, texture and colour issues to which might be added accompanying
  sound, physical movements, gestures as well as aromatic components
  (Scratch and Sniff)?

The W3C's voice browser working group (http://www.w3.org/Voice/Group/)
is interested in some of the access issues raised here, and have an
XML-based proposed standard for synthesis markup. Things like font
size could be implemented, for example, with changes in the quality of
the voice (at least with synthesizers that are flexible enough to
support this). But more complex issues of conveying layout have not
really been addressed, and olfactory information has to my knowledge
never come up in these discussions.

- Richard Sproat

-
Richard Sproat               Human/Computer Interaction Research
rws at research.att.com         AT&T Labs -- Research, Shannon Laboratory
Tel: +1-973-360-8490         180 Park Avenue, Room B207, P.O.Box 971
Fax: +1-973-360-8809         Florham Park, NJ 07932-0000
- --------------http://www.research.att.com/~rws/-----------------------

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