LoCoS
| LoCoS | |
|---|---|
| Script type | |
| Creator | Yukio Ota |
| Created | 1964 |
| Direction | Left-to-right |
| Languages | LoCoS |
| LoCoS | |
|---|---|
| Lovers Communication System | |
| Created by | Yukio Ota |
| Date | 1964 |
| Purpose | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | – |
LoCoS (short for Lovers Communication System) is a pictorial language developed by Yukio Ota of Japan in 1964. It was meant as communication for the deaf and mute as well as for the illiterate. It is a universal and simple language, and as Ota put it, "It should emphasize the importance of communication among all the people of all the countries of the world."
Symbols
[edit]There are eight major symbols in LoCoS.
| symbol | meaning | explanation |
|---|---|---|
 |
sun, day | There is the Sun or day, represented by a circle. |
 |
man, person | There is man, represented by a ring shape. |
 |
thing | There is a thing, represented by a square. |
 |
thought | There is thought, represented by a triangle with a slightly cut off top. |
 |
feeling | There is feeling, represented by a heart. |
 |
place, land | There is land or place, represented by a low straight line. |
 |
question | There is the question indicator, a question mark. |
 |
existence | There is, lastly, a point or existence, represented by a single point. |
Words
[edit]Words are made by combining different symbols in different ways. For example if you put a dot inside a circle it will represent today, or if you put a fish in a ring shape it will be a fisherman. There are around 80 words that are official according to Yukio Ota. Words can be created as long as they follow the basic word syntax.
Sentences
[edit]
Sentences are formed by a combination of certain words.
There are three rows that you use when writing sentences. The middle row is used for the core words (nouns, verbs, and direct/indirect objects). The top row is used to modify verbs with adverbs. The bottom row is used to modify nouns using adjectives.
Bibliography
[edit]- Bliss, C.K. (1965). Semantography (Blissymbolics). Sydney, Australia: Semantography Publications, second edition, 882 pp. The book presents a system for universal writing, or pasigraphy.
- Ota, Yukio (1973). «LoCoS: An Experimental Pictorial Language.» Icographic, No. 6, pp. 15-19. Published by ICOGRADA, the International Council of Graphic Design Associations, based in London.
- Ota, Yukio (1987). Pictogram Design, Kashiwashobo, Tokyo, ISBN 4-7601-0300-7, 1987. The author presents a world-wide collection of case studies in visible language signage systems, including LoCoS.