Difference between revisions of "Glyphs"

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[[File:Kholin Crest.svg|thumb|150px|left|Dalinar's glyphpair]]
 
Shops often use glyphs and glyphpairs to indicate which type of goods are available for sale. For example, bookstores may display the glyphpair for "book", stylized into the shape of a book so that even illiterate servants will recognize it as a bookstore.{{book ref|twok|8}} Signs may also be used to indicate specific items for sale as well as associated prices.{{book ref|wor|43}} Books, folios, and scrolls intended for men may use glyphs and glyphpairs, along with images. Textbooks use glyphpairs to designate body parts in anatomical diagrams{{book ref|twok|31}} while a guide on [[Shardblade]] stances may use glyphs to indicate specific movements.{{citefile ref|Scroll_of_Stances.jpeg|Ironstance Scroll}} These will often be accompanied with women's script for further clarification. While official documents may make use of glyphs, they are typically written with women's script.{{book ref|twok|25}}
 
Highborn lighteyed families often have a distinct glyph and glyphpair. For example, the Kholin family uses the "khokh linil" glyphpair; stylized as a sword and crown, this crest appears on the armor, clothing, and banners of Dalinar's army and servants.{{book ref|twok|18}} Maps of the [[Shattered Plains]] use these glyphs and glyphpairs to indicate ownership of camps and plateaus.{{book ref|twok|24}} Slaves are branded on the forehead with a glyphpair of the district in which they were enslaved, to signify their new caste. The addition of a "shash" glyph brand, marking a dangerous slave, can make it difficult to get a good price for the slave.{{book ref|twok|4}} Upon earning their freedom, slaves may opt to cover these brands with a tattoo, including glyphs that reference the record of their release.{{book ref|wor|2}}
[[File:Harakeke's Glyph Key.jpg|thumb|150px|Theorized glyph graphemes, by Harakeke]]
 
Glyphs can be seen written in three different ways: a standard, block form that highly resembles Thaylen script; a calligraphic form, in which the glyph may be altered significantly for heightened aesthetics; or a radial form, where the glyph is drawn repeatedly with radial symmetry about some point.{{17s ref|post|105525|Stormlight Archive Translation Guide|date=2014-3-6}} They typically have bilateral symmetry{{book ref|twok|8}}, matching the symmetrical pronunciation of the sounds they represent. In some cases, glyphs appear to be composed of distinct graphemes representing consonants.{{17s ref|post|105525|Stormlight Archive Translation Guide|date=2014-3-6}} Vowels are generally not indicated. These graphemes often bear resemblance to the characters of Thaylen Script. When graphemes are apparent, they appear to be pronounced outward and down from the center and top of the glyph. For example, the "sas" glyph is comprised of two "s" graphemes.
 
The component graphemes are not always readily discernible. Glyphs are often drawn in complicated ways that make it difficult to identify what they are unless a person knows what they are looking for.{{book ref|twok|27}} Lines are often added, removed, or contorted. In order to draw glyphs, one must have a deep understanding of how the glyph may be expressed without overly obscuring the meaning.{{qa ref|1112|25|Isaac on the design of glyphs|date=2014-4-16}} Additionally, glyphs are often drawn as pictographs--visually depicting the word it represents. This is done so those who cannot read glyphs may still understand what they mean.{{book ref|twok|3}}