I-J defines the person.
There are four quadrants, the feet being in the upper two quadrants.
We tend to think of ourselves mainly as upper body with our feet at the boundary of the external world. So, when we measure the external world it's through our legs and our toes. This could be an ancient artifact of our tree-dwelling days.
The head, arms and fingers are in the lower two quadrants.
I'm not sure whether left-right orientation is significant or not, but I have the quadrants left of the vertical divider as under temporal authority.
The quadrants on the right side are under divine authority. Although divinity has lip service as all-powerful, acts of God tend to embody uncertainty, fear, and disgust, in terms of the effects of natural disasters, plagues, and war. So, these right side quadrants cover issues of Love and Hate.
The logic of the letter distribution is as follows:
Vowels are central to the first primitive count: A-IJ-E is one, two, and O-U is Many.
The second level of counting puts vowel A in the index-thumb circle for a unit, the three remaining fingers count three units for a total base four. Some have suggested that the spaces between the fingers rather than the fingers themselves are counted.
The third level of counting extends the arm letter onto the thumb, and the remaining four fingers count base five.
This can generate base ten, and base twenty, counting digits alone.
A fourth level of counting distinguishes arms and legs to generate base 12 in the lower half and in the upper half.
This is a speculative mapping since the Roman alphabet was slightly different. Nevertheless, there are strong historical forces influencing what letters are near to the beginning of the alphabet, and what letters are further down the line, what letters are found in declarative, authoritative words, and what letters are found in expressions of love, hate, and disgust.
Note the left hand-arm, K-A-B-C-D with primitive consonant-vowel pairings Ka, Ba, Da.
Both Ka and Ba figure in ancient Egyptian temporal power, and in current Islamic temporal power.
Note the right hand-arm L-E-F-G-H with primitive consonant-vowel pairings El which has been used to identify God. Helping, Giving , Fending are words aiding a sense of community and all the words draw heavily on letters from the right side.
The upper half vowels work with the leg consonants to form Om - Un. Phonetically this is close to Amun the name of the Egyptian ancient chief deity, whose bark led all the major ancient processions in religious observances by the pharaohs.
It also is close to the word, omen, which signifies the reason for the horizontal boundary, and is also close to the prayer ending word, Amen.
The big inference here is that our alphabet spells out that we 'walk' with God as we interact with our external environment.
The upper left quadrant also has all the letters of the ancient authoritative Roman republic, SPQR pointing to the authoritative ordering of the external world. M O-PQRST
The upper right quadrant NU-VWXYZ generally supplies letters to neutral, declamatory or negative words. The right side quadrants are faithfully affirmative or negative, whereas the left side quadrants are authoritative-compliant to authority type letters.
What strikes me as an inference from this mapping of letters is that the Semitic religions populate the lower half, and sit upon the OM-UN or Amun of ancient Eqypt. This is striking since we are mapping the English alphabet which didn't exist two thousand years ago!
Yet, this alone does not weaken the inferences from the mapping process. English is a mongrel language which filters out the chaff, letting through the strongest vowels, consonants, and the strongest Consonant-vowel combinations, preserving the strongest meanings.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Assumptions for hypothetical mapping
We have counting appendages on our bodies that may serve to fix enumerations and signal the recall of experiences. They are called fingers, toes, arms, and legs.
As our development of writing developed, counts could be indicated by marks, and things counted could be indicated by an icon.
The earliest writing apparently recorded inventories of goods. It was a short step to the realization that a symbol of a cow might also stand for the same consonantal-vowel sound occurring in an expression for something else.
Numbering things and creating icons for speech elements are inseparable events in history.
When letters developed out of the early pictographs, they tended to be used to indicate numbers as a secondary function. Greek numbering used accented Greek letters for numbers. Roman numerals were also established letters, IVXLCDM.
A lack of universal symbols for numbers didn't prevent the development of numbering systems such as to base five, ten, twelve, twenty, sixty. There is also the suggestion that proto-indo-Europeans used a base eight system, with nine as a later 'new' number. The body and its appendages aided in the determination of a counting base.
From this set of developments, on top of an 'Us -Them' vowel numbering distinction, there was a numbering facility recognized in our appendages. The earliest counting concept utilized a base-eight.
My assumption is that vowels underpinned the first counting distinction, and consonantal distinctions were heavily weighted by rank authority and fear. Under more settled conditions of proto-civilization, both authority and fear went through an enumeration process, each condition being graduated consonantly with distinctive syllables (i.e. more precisely defined), and weighted in a 'proto'-numerical sense.
My assumption is that as early civilization advanced, the base number went from 8 through 10 through 12, with the Sumerian 60 as a curious over-shoot, and that equity could be sufficiently expressed through base 12 although that is not an apparent idea until the final current form of the English alphabet is examined through mapping.
In fact, my assumption is that a sense of equity and balance has been a motivator to the current stage of development of the English alphabet. We need a indicative capacity to express a full range of emotion and inquiry, and an need to assert an equality to our environment. Our faith, hope, and sense of confidence depend upon this equity. Our English alphabet when mapped to the body shows an enumerated equity of Self to Environment. It doesn't matter that we have a fully developed mathematics. A modern sense of equity must also be congruent with ancient systems.
As our development of writing developed, counts could be indicated by marks, and things counted could be indicated by an icon.
The earliest writing apparently recorded inventories of goods. It was a short step to the realization that a symbol of a cow might also stand for the same consonantal-vowel sound occurring in an expression for something else.
Numbering things and creating icons for speech elements are inseparable events in history.
When letters developed out of the early pictographs, they tended to be used to indicate numbers as a secondary function. Greek numbering used accented Greek letters for numbers. Roman numerals were also established letters, IVXLCDM.
A lack of universal symbols for numbers didn't prevent the development of numbering systems such as to base five, ten, twelve, twenty, sixty. There is also the suggestion that proto-indo-Europeans used a base eight system, with nine as a later 'new' number. The body and its appendages aided in the determination of a counting base.
From this set of developments, on top of an 'Us -Them' vowel numbering distinction, there was a numbering facility recognized in our appendages. The earliest counting concept utilized a base-eight.
My assumption is that vowels underpinned the first counting distinction, and consonantal distinctions were heavily weighted by rank authority and fear. Under more settled conditions of proto-civilization, both authority and fear went through an enumeration process, each condition being graduated consonantly with distinctive syllables (i.e. more precisely defined), and weighted in a 'proto'-numerical sense.
My assumption is that as early civilization advanced, the base number went from 8 through 10 through 12, with the Sumerian 60 as a curious over-shoot, and that equity could be sufficiently expressed through base 12 although that is not an apparent idea until the final current form of the English alphabet is examined through mapping.
In fact, my assumption is that a sense of equity and balance has been a motivator to the current stage of development of the English alphabet. We need a indicative capacity to express a full range of emotion and inquiry, and an need to assert an equality to our environment. Our faith, hope, and sense of confidence depend upon this equity. Our English alphabet when mapped to the body shows an enumerated equity of Self to Environment. It doesn't matter that we have a fully developed mathematics. A modern sense of equity must also be congruent with ancient systems.
Recap of what we've discovered so far...
Basic vowels form the skeletal elements of a language and have been conserved in our expressions from the time of our primate ancestors. They are identified in some alphabets as explicit elements to be modified , but in others, serve as modifiers of consonantal indicators.
Natural sounds associated with pleasure indicate the vowels used in kinship relations. Another set of vowels are reserved for the surprises in the world. An authoritative set of sounds overlap the two spheres of influence.
Counting is rudimentary, limited to one, another, and many. Yet, as modern tests have shown there is a very active number sense at play. Human number sense tests out to about four, on par with ravens. Apes may have a greater capacity than humans, although storage of the count may be locked up in measurements of fear and authority or easily lost through a lack of utility.
Natural sounds associated with pleasure indicate the vowels used in kinship relations. Another set of vowels are reserved for the surprises in the world. An authoritative set of sounds overlap the two spheres of influence.
Counting is rudimentary, limited to one, another, and many. Yet, as modern tests have shown there is a very active number sense at play. Human number sense tests out to about four, on par with ravens. Apes may have a greater capacity than humans, although storage of the count may be locked up in measurements of fear and authority or easily lost through a lack of utility.
What forces determine the nature of an alphabet?
Primate language is all about vowel sounds and sorting out the world through 'song'.
Vowel sounds naturally associated with pleasure define the family grouping. Vowel sounds naturally associated with surprise, fear, or disgust define the external environment.
A set of vowels convey authority in the family setting, and also serve to declare authority outside of the family setting.
Counting is very rudimentary as a distinguishing factor although 'number sense' is as well developed in apes as it is in humans. Basically there is a number sense operating and active as a motivator but the basic number distinction is 'mine', 'yours', and a sense of size processed in terms of fear.
Come to think of it, this is basic humanity as well.
Vowel sounds naturally associated with pleasure define the family grouping. Vowel sounds naturally associated with surprise, fear, or disgust define the external environment.
A set of vowels convey authority in the family setting, and also serve to declare authority outside of the family setting.
Counting is very rudimentary as a distinguishing factor although 'number sense' is as well developed in apes as it is in humans. Basically there is a number sense operating and active as a motivator but the basic number distinction is 'mine', 'yours', and a sense of size processed in terms of fear.
Come to think of it, this is basic humanity as well.
The alphabet of vowels expands
Lesser developed primates vocalize vowel sounds, and have limited consonantal modifying capabilities. Humans with lips and tongue manage a very broad range of vocalizations to add content to vowel tones, creating sound palette capable of matching any thing or any event presented to any of the senses.
Language capability is a limiting factor to growth in understanding one's environment and in one's ability to communicate one's understanding with another.
There have been thousands of languages created over the millennia. The English language has five vowels and twenty-one consonants. Other languages have more or less of each type of letter. The development of every tongue is a history of the needs of a people using the tongue to make pertinent distinctions and indications conducing to a common understanding and a common welfare.
The written form of the English alphabet is one in which vowels and consonants have been reduced to a sufficient functionality, issues of spelling notwithstanding. The old Norse alphabet had 46 elements, and the modern Russian has 33 elements. Chinese characters based upon concepts of things with tonal expression providing distinctive meaning required at least a knowledge of 3000 characters for modest expression.
The Arabic and Hebrew alphabets are consonantal with vowel sounds incorporated in consonantal expression.
The tonal character of Chinese tends to create a people with very superior sound pitch capabilities. The consonantal rigor of the Semitic scripts tends to leverage authoritative pronouncement and to discourage 'weak' expression. When I show a way of mapping the English alphabet to the human body, I'll illustrate what I mean by 'weak' expression.
Language capability is a limiting factor to growth in understanding one's environment and in one's ability to communicate one's understanding with another.
There have been thousands of languages created over the millennia. The English language has five vowels and twenty-one consonants. Other languages have more or less of each type of letter. The development of every tongue is a history of the needs of a people using the tongue to make pertinent distinctions and indications conducing to a common understanding and a common welfare.
The written form of the English alphabet is one in which vowels and consonants have been reduced to a sufficient functionality, issues of spelling notwithstanding. The old Norse alphabet had 46 elements, and the modern Russian has 33 elements. Chinese characters based upon concepts of things with tonal expression providing distinctive meaning required at least a knowledge of 3000 characters for modest expression.
The Arabic and Hebrew alphabets are consonantal with vowel sounds incorporated in consonantal expression.
The tonal character of Chinese tends to create a people with very superior sound pitch capabilities. The consonantal rigor of the Semitic scripts tends to leverage authoritative pronouncement and to discourage 'weak' expression. When I show a way of mapping the English alphabet to the human body, I'll illustrate what I mean by 'weak' expression.
What does a letter do?
Basic communication can be done with vowels alone.
We need to separate territory, family, and other things. Language studies have indicated that counting has been adequately covered by indicators for 'one','two', and 'many'. Vowels alone can handle that task.
So we have vowels to use within our comfort zone, vowels to use to indicate things outside of that zone, and simple counting can be done using this spatial differentiation between 'them' and 'us', between 'outside our zone' and 'inside our zone'.
Within our comfort zone, we 'slide' vowel sounds within a range to do another kind of measurement indicating rank within a family grouping.
Another set of vowels are used to measure things outside of our comfort zone, and again, there is a sliding vocal range to gauge the nature of the external phenomenon.
Therefore, it may be concluded that an adequate indicative language can be achieved by vowels alone. Modulation of tone and 'roundness' of vocalization differentiate the different languages that arise as a population learn to distinguish the 'song' inspired by any given event within or without the comfort zone.
We need to separate territory, family, and other things. Language studies have indicated that counting has been adequately covered by indicators for 'one','two', and 'many'. Vowels alone can handle that task.
So we have vowels to use within our comfort zone, vowels to use to indicate things outside of that zone, and simple counting can be done using this spatial differentiation between 'them' and 'us', between 'outside our zone' and 'inside our zone'.
Within our comfort zone, we 'slide' vowel sounds within a range to do another kind of measurement indicating rank within a family grouping.
Another set of vowels are used to measure things outside of our comfort zone, and again, there is a sliding vocal range to gauge the nature of the external phenomenon.
Therefore, it may be concluded that an adequate indicative language can be achieved by vowels alone. Modulation of tone and 'roundness' of vocalization differentiate the different languages that arise as a population learn to distinguish the 'song' inspired by any given event within or without the comfort zone.
The English alphabet settled into its current form a few hundred years after the printing press made the printed word commonplace. There were issues with the rendering of u and v, s and f, i and j, d and 'th', and a host of spelling issues, all stemming from the effort to realize in print what had existed in oral tradition alone.
Several changes were introduced into English culture in the era when the alphabet was resolving into its current form. The beginning of the year was moved from March to January. December previously the 10th month became the 12th month.
The Cartesian system of graphics merged with algebraic notation, and a real, rational set of numbers opened up a whole new world of mathematical description of form.
So, within the last five centuries a civilization had a cleaned up alphabet, an expanded numerical capability, and a new orientation to the reckoning of time.
Several changes were introduced into English culture in the era when the alphabet was resolving into its current form. The beginning of the year was moved from March to January. December previously the 10th month became the 12th month.
The Cartesian system of graphics merged with algebraic notation, and a real, rational set of numbers opened up a whole new world of mathematical description of form.
So, within the last five centuries a civilization had a cleaned up alphabet, an expanded numerical capability, and a new orientation to the reckoning of time.
How was the alphabet ordered?
The alphabet has an order and structure.
Vowels and consonants are the elements but, why aren't the vowels listed first, then followed by the consonants?
Is there a hidden story in the ordering of the letters of the alphabet?
Vowels and consonants are the elements but, why aren't the vowels listed first, then followed by the consonants?
Is there a hidden story in the ordering of the letters of the alphabet?
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