Figure 1 - uploaded by Margareta Jennische
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Examples included in the paragraph Structure of Blissymbolics. The glosses of the Bliss-characters and Bliss-words are given under their graphic entities (Jennische, 2012).
Source publication
Blissymbolics as a graphic symbol system has the potential to represent a large number of vocabulary items using a small number of basic Bliss-characters. The aim of this project was to investigate how children with typical development, aged 3 years to 7 years 11 months, interpreted Bliss-characters and compound Bliss-words and then constructed the...
Contexts in source publication
Context 1
... is a concept-based graphic system (Bliss, 1965) that is based on a number of Bliss-characters, each of which has a unique meaning (Blissymbolics Communication International, 2004). Figure 1 illus- trates the graphics used as examples. Bliss-characters may have a concrete meaning (e.g., HOUSE, CHAIR, PERSON, PLANT ) or an abstract meaning (e.g., FEELING is represented by a heart; PROTECTION is represented by the shape of a roof, which refers to the function of a roof: to protect; and MIND is repre- sented by the shape of the skull). ...
Context 2
... that each Bliss-character or Bliss-word represents a concept with an intended meaning, this meaning can be explained in several ways, that is, with synonyms, as a sequence of words, or as a sentence. In the examples in Figure 1, only one English gloss for each meaning is used. All Bliss-words in the Figure and Tables have been drawn with WinBliss ™ ( Anycom AB, 2001). ...
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The paper presents a system of means that allows improving the interaction of a designer with generated and used textual descriptions by automated constructing semantic images extracted from these texts. Such constructing involves both hemispheres of the designer’s brain where the logical and figurative processes are combined in the most effective...
Citations
... 25 ) An important difference between pictographic systems and ideographic systems is that the latter are more generative, that is, they allow for more creative use and semantic flexibility, as well as containing symbols for constructing grammatically complex sentences. 26 The graphic symbols, or the letters and written words if the child can spell, may be presented on communication books or boards, or on electronic devices with synthesized speech output. 27 Children with severe motor impairments who rely on graphic symbols to express themselves have access to the lexicon of symbols that others have made available to them. ...
... 52 Compared to children with typical development who have large vocabularies and a grammar to form their utterances, they may have to rely on a time-consuming construction of aided utterances. 26,28,42,49,50 It is possible that the communicative means of young aided communicators lead to less experience with communicative interactions beyond daily routines and everyday activities. 30,72 This would imply less experience with conversations involving greater demands on mind understanding, which might contribute negatively to their performance on tasks requiring such understanding. ...
Mind understanding allows for the adaptation of expressive language to a listener and is a core element when communicating new information to a communication partner. There is limited knowledge about the relationship between aided language and mind understanding. This study investigates this relationship using a communication task. The participants were 71 aided communicators using graphic symbols or spelling for expression (38/33 girls/boys) and a reference group of 40 speaking children (21/19 girls/boys), aged 5;0-15;11 years. The task was to describe, but not name, drawings to a communication partner. The partner could not see the drawing and had to infer what was depicted from the child's explanation. Dyads with aided communicators solved fewer items than reference dyads (64% vs 93%). The aided spellers presented more precise details than the symbol users (46% vs 38%). In the aided group, number of correct items correlated with verbal comprehension and age.
... Blissymbolics (Bliss, 1949;BCI, 2004) was invented by Charles Bliss between 1942 and 1949. The system, which was called World Writing until 1942and Semantography until 1947, became Bliss or Blissymbolics in 1965 Regularity: Due to its internal strict consistency and its regularity, it has proved to work well in habilitative or rehabilitative processes ( Jennische and Zetterlund, 2015;Alant et al., 2013;Bornman et al., 2009). As emerged in CSCA (2015), Blissymbolics has the most consistent glyphs, and its grammar, orthography and syntax are much more refined than the other systems in use in Italy. ...
In this paper we discuss the theoretical linguistic and graphic preconditions of the design of PASS, a glyph system which we designed for use in Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) habilitative practices that has been released under open source licence.
We highlight the relevance of graphic design supporting sustainable practices for people with Autism Spectrum Di- sorders (ASD), in a context in which the o er of public healthcare services for rehabilitation is insufficient.
We present the context in which the AAC is adopted and how a glyph system can be used by people with ASD to learn a language. is particular group of users can access a language by using the glyph system as an interlanguage or as an alternative language.
We analyse the most common glyph systems (ARASAAC, PCS, WLS, Blissymbolics), highlighting their strengths and weaknesses from a graphic and linguistic point of view.
We present the theoretical background of the design process for the PASS glyph system.
In particular, we provide an in-depth description of the graphic design strategy, which aims to develop a systematic and consistent approach to the construction of the glyphs. This approach is grounded in a reflection on how to solve the linguistic problems raised by the valency model and Chomsky’s generative grammar theory in the visual domain.
We have designed the core of the glyph system by detecting the pertinent visual and linguistic variables in literature, with the objective of developing the system for clinical experimentation.
... Blissymbolics (Bliss, 1949;BCI, 2004) was invented by Charles Bliss between 1942 and 1949. The system, which was called World Writing until 1942and Semantography until 1947, became Bliss or Blissymbolics in 1965 Regularity: Due to its internal strict consistency and its regularity, it has proved to work well in habilitative or rehabilitative processes ( Jennische and Zetterlund, 2015;Alant et al., 2013;Bornman et al., 2009). As emerged in CSCA (2015), Blissymbolics has the most consistent glyphs, and its grammar, orthography and syntax are much more refined than the other systems in use in Italy. ...
In this paper we discuss the theoretical linguistic and graphic preconditions of the design of PASS, a glyph system which we designed for use in Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) habilitative practices that has been released under open source licence.
We highlight the relevance of graphic design supporting sustainable practices for people with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), in a context in which the offer of public healthcare services for rehabilitation is insufficient.
We present the context in which the AAC is adopted and how a glyph system can be used by people with ASD to learn a language. This particular group of users can access a language by using the glyph system as an interlanguage or as an alternative language.
We analyse the most common glyph systems (ARASAAC, PCS, WLS, Blissymbolics), highlighting their strengths and weaknesses from a graphic and linguistic point of view.
We present the theoretical background of the design process for the PASS glyph system.
In particular, we provide an in-depth description of the graphic design strategy, which aims to develop a systematic and consistent approach to the construction of the glyphs. This approach is grounded in a reflection on how to solve the linguistic problems raised by the valency model and Chomsky’s generative grammar theory in the visual domain.
We have designed the core of the glyph system by detecting the pertinent visual and linguistic variables in literature, with the objective of developing the system for clinical experimentation.
... Blissymbolics (Bliss, 1949;BCI, 2004) was invented by Charles Bliss between 1942 and 1949. The system, which was called World Writing until 1942and Semantography until 1947, became Bliss or Blissymbolics in 1965 Regularity: Due to its internal strict consistency and its regularity, it has proved to work well in habilitative or rehabilitative processes ( Jennische and Zetterlund, 2015;Alant et al., 2013;Bornman et al., 2009). As emerged in CSCA (2015), Blissymbolics has the most consistent glyphs, and its grammar, orthography and syntax are much more refined than the other systems in use in Italy. ...
La lectura de este monográfico permite conocer determinadas líneas de trabajo de investigación aplicada al sector del cuidado de la salud. Temáticas que se abordan desde perspectivas amplias y diversas, como son las que ofrecen las disciplinas de la creatividad, el diseño y la innovación, con el objetivo de mejorar la experiencia de las personas, ya sean pacientes o profesionales del sector.
... Over time, a sizeable minority had changed their graphic symbol system, and Blissymbols were more common as a second, than as a first, system. The Blissymbolics system is to a greater extent designed for constructing more specified and complex meanings (Jennische & Zetterlund, 2015), and this may have been a motivation for the professionals and parents who changed to this graphic symbol system. ...
A fundamental requirement of a supportive language development for young children who need aided communication is that an aided communication system is made available and its use is supported. There is limited information about the age at which children are typically provided with a communication aid or about how aided communication is used in everyday situations. Using questionnaire-based interview data, this study investigated (a) the pattern of provision of communication aids to 84 children and adolescents, (b) parents’ and professionals’ evaluation of the quality of communication across contexts, and (c) availability and use of aided communication in these contexts. The age at which the participants received their first aided system varied considerably across the group; however, most were considerably older than the age at which children with typical development usually begin to speak. Parents and professionals rated most everyday situations as good communication situations but reported that the participants did not have their main form of expressive language available in many of these situations, or did not use it much. Parents rated their child’s education in relation to aided language positively, but many professionals indicated that they had limited knowledge about the participant’s use of aided communication outside of the school environment, or about the parents’ attitudes. The study gives insights into the language learning situation of children and adolescents who develop aided communication.
... It may also be noted that some of the strategies are already implied in Blissymbolics (Bliss, 1965). This may be an argument for using Blissymbols (Jennische, 2014;Jennische & Zetterlund, 2015) or for introducing similar strategies when providing intervention with other graphic communication systems. ...
This introduction to the Special Issue discusses current theoretical approaches to language development and their application to aided language development. It also discusses some conceptual issues and aspects of aided language development that are relevant for the articles, and gives a short overview of the articles.
... In Blissymbolics (Bliss, 1965), the combination of graphic symbols is an inherent element that is explicitly taught (Jennische & Zetterlund, 2015) but this linguistic strategy seems less prominent in more commonly used pictographic systems (von Tetzchner, 2015). In accordance with a usagebased theory of language development (Tomasello, 2003), what and how aided communicators communicate reflects their experiences with language and gives insight into their meaning-making processes and conceptual and linguistic development (Murray & Goldbart, 2009;Robillard, Mayer-Crittenden, Roy-Charland, Minor-Corriveau, & B elanger, 2013;Stadskleiv et al., 2014;van Balkom & Donker-Gimbr ere, 1996). ...
... In conversational situations, adults often help children find the right spoken name when they seem not to know it (i.e., supporting vocabulary development). The Blissymbolics system is based on combining elements (Jennische & Zetterlund, 2015), but adults rarely guide aided communicators using more pictographic systems through the process of constructing the meaning if they lack the precise graphic symbol. Moreover, children who use aided communication may rarely interact with more competent communicative partners who also use aided communication resources (e.g., the child's communication aid, other symbolic communication supports). ...
Vocabulary learning reflects the language experiences of the child, both in typical and atypical development, although the vocabulary development of children who use aided communication may differ from children who use natural speech. This study compared the performance of children using aided communication with that of peers using natural speech on two measures of vocabulary knowledge: comprehension of graphic symbols and labeling of common objects. There were 92 participants not considered intellectually disabled in the aided group. The reference group consisted of 60 participants without known disorders. The comprehension task consisted of 63 items presented individually in each participant’s graphic system, together with four colored line drawings. Participants were required to indicate which drawing corresponded to the symbol. In the expressive labelling task, 20 common objects presented in drawings had to be named. Both groups indicated the correct drawing for most of the items in the comprehension tasks, with a small advantage for the reference group. The reference group named most objects quickly and accurately, demonstrating that the objects were common and easily named. The aided language group named the majority correctly and in addition used a variety of naming strategies; they required more time than the reference group. The results give insights into lexical processing in aided communication and may have implications for aided language intervention.
This article lays out the foundation of a new language for easier written communication that is inherently reader-friendly and inherently international. Words usually consist of strings of sounds or squiggles whose meanings are merely a convention. In Icono , instead, they typically are strings of icons that illustrate what they stand for. “Train,” for example, is expressed with the icon of a train, “future” with the icon of a clock surrounded by a clockwise arrow, and “mammal” with the icons of a cow and a mouse—their combination’s meaning given by what they have in common. Moreover, Icono reveals sentence structure graphically before, rather than linguistically after, one begins reading. On smartphones and computers, writing icons can now be faster than writing alphabetic words. And using simple pictures as words helps those who struggle with conditions like dyslexia, aphasia, cerebral palsy, and autism with speech impairment. Because learning its pronunciation or phonetic spelling is optional rather than a prerequisite, and because it shows what it says, Icono is bound to be easier to learn to read—and then easier to read—than any other language, including our own.
