Semasiographic

I came across this word in an article on Inca khipus, in the current issue of New Scientist [paywall]. As this is a word I’d not previously encountered it is lucky the author explained it as a system of symbols that convey information without being tied to a single language.

Various authors on Quora provide the following explanations:

Semasiographic stems from the Greek word “semasia”, which means “meaning”. A semasiographic system of communication is the way in which the meaning of something is conveyed by signs, pictures, or icons rather than by words, sounds, or speech . . . Most semasiographic systems of communication can be used in many different countries regardless of language because if the cultures have similar practices, like those with airports, vehicles, or public transportation, then they will be able to understand the meaning of what is being represented in an icon or some sort of notation.

and . . .

Emoji would be a good example of a semasiographic text. I don’t think I can insert them here like on a phone, but if I wrote something like “<3 ;)", it's completely understandable to those who know modern internet slang, but can't really be expressed with words. "Heart wink" really doesn't cut it. Notably it's cross-linguistic, in that any internet user would understand it the same way, no matter what language they used to describe the "heart" and "wink" emoticons.

and . . .

A commonly cited example of a semasiographic system is road signs, which are similar across almost all countries but require no linguistic knowledge – you may call a yield sign something else in your language, but it will continue to mean “wait for traffic to pass”.

and . . .

Usually the word refers to picture-based writing systems, like Mayan hieroglyphs:

or Egyptian hieroglyphs:

or in the case of the New Scientist article, Inca khipus.

Incidentally the word does not appear in the OED online to which I have access.

Sortition

The casting or drawing of lots; selection, choice, or determination by lot.
An act or instance of determining by lot.
And thus by extension: The ancient art of choosing members of government by lottery, as practised by the ancient Athenians and still in our modern jury system.

Derived from the Latin sortitio, from sortiri to cast lots.

The OED tells us the first recorded use in English was in 1597.

Here’s another piece on the English language; it seems to be in vogue round her at present.

I came across this some time ago and thought I had written about it, but I cannot find that I did. So here it is: an interesting piece, essentially a BBC report about Mark Forsyth’s book The Elements of Eloquence. It’s another example of why English is such a pig of a language!

Why “tock-tick” does not sound right to your ears

Play it by ear: If a word sequence sounds wrong, it is probably wrong.

Ever wondered why we say tick-lock, not tock-tick; or ding-dong, not dong-ding; King Kong, not Kong King? Turns out it is one of the unwritten rules of English that native speakers know without knowing.

The rule is: “If there are three words then the order has to go I, A, 0. If there are two words then the first is I and the second is either A or 0. Mish-mash, chit-chat, dilly-dally, shilly-shally, tip top, hip-hop, flip-flop, tic tac, sing song, ding dong, King Kong, ping pong.”

There’s another unwritten rule at work in the name Little Red Riding Hood.

“Adjectives in English absolutely have to be in this order: opinion-size-age-shape-colour-origin-material-purpose noun. So you can have a lovely little old rectangular green French silver whittling knife. But if you mess with that word order in the slightest you’ll sound like a maniac” [or worse, a foreigner!].

That explains why we say “little green men” not “green little men”, but “Big Bad Wolf” sounds like a gross violation of the “opinion (bad)-size (big)-noun (wolf)” order. It won’t, though, if you recall the first rule about the I-A-0 order.

That rule seems inviolable: “All four of a horse’s feet make exactly the same sound. But we always, always, say clip-clop, never clop-clip.”

This rule even has a technical name, if you care to know it – the rule of ablaut reduplication – but then life is simpler knowing that we know the rule without knowing it.

Patrilocal
1. Describing a custom of marriage by which the married couple settles in the husband’s home or community.
2. The tendency of females to leave their natal group and reside (or mate) with males of a different group.

Similarly …

Matrilocal
1. Describing a custom of marriage by which the married couple settles in the wife’s home or community.
2. The tendency of males to leave their natal group and reside (or mate) with females of a different group.

First used in 1906, the words are from the fields of anthropology, sociology, ethnography and zoology.

For example, zoologically, chimpanzees are patrilocal, whereas many monkey species are matrilocal. Both modes are still found amongst different hunter-gatherer and similar tribes. Human societies are more predominantly patrilocal (although even in more undeveloped societies this is not universal), and is suggested as one of the foundations of the patriarchy and the ownership of women as chattels.

The western world has largely abandoned both modes, although has yet to shake off patriarchy etc.

Last evening I came across some words I’d not encountered before. This is not surprising as they are all anthropological in usage, and I’m not an anthropologist. Neither is our society one to which, in general, they apply. So a little investigation was needed for me to bring you four new words …
Uxorilocal
Applied to or denoting residence after marriage in the area of the wife’s home, community, tribe or family.
Derived from the Latin ūxor, wife. the recorded first usage is in 1936.
This is very similar to …
Matrilocal
1. Designating or relating to a custom of marriage by which the married couple settles in the wife’s home or community.
2. (In zoology) Of or relating to the tendency of males to leave their natal group and reside in or mate with females of a different group.
The first recorded usage is in 1906.

Cunctation
Procrastination; delay; tardy action.

Panjandrum
1. (A mock title for) a mysterious (frequently imaginary) personage of great power or authority.
2. A pompous or pretentious official; a self-important person in authority.
According to the OED, the word is supposed to have been coined in 1754 or 1755 as part of a a piece of nonsense written by actor and dramatist Samuel Foote (1720–77) to test the memory of his fellow actor Charles Macklin, who had asserted that he could repeat anything after hearing it once. In the first published version (in 1825) the relevant passage (attributed to Foote) is:

So she went into the garden to cut a cabbage-leaf to make an apple-pie; and at the same time a great she-bear, coming up the street, pops its head into the shop. “What! No soap?” So he died, and she very imprudently married the barber; and there were present the Picninnies, and the Joblillies, and the Garyulies, and the grand Panjandrum himself, with the little round button at top, and they all fell to playing the game of catch-as-catch-can till the gunpowder ran out at the heels of their boots.

(It’s not up to Lewis Carroll’s standard, but never mind, eh!)