Lingusitics I was wondering how English letters are standardized

[LightningInAJar]

There are countless fonts that are largely recognizable as English letters and arabic numbers, but does someone write a standard for how the letters are to look officially that other letterings would be based on? Line thicknesses to space between them and direction, etc? I was looking at various digital segment displays and was wondering if letters are standardized more than replicating loosely from a table of letters handed down over generations?

 

[phinds]

Have you done any research on this?

 

[LightningInAJar]

Have you done any research on this?

Yes. Not sure what exactly to look for at this point.

 

[phinds]

Yes. Not sure what exactly to look for at this point.

Probably because you are wasting your time. There is no standard.

There are standard FONTS that are in wide-spread use, but that's the best you are going to do. Letters just evolved from squiggles, like people from fish, and like people, there is no standard.

 

[Vanadium 50]

Have you done any research on this?

Of course not. Look who posted it.

you are wasting your time

It's not his time he's wasting.

[Mentor Note: Post edited to remove a mild insult.]

 

[Klystron]

Digital and printed materials form letters using fonts, as previously mentioned.

Depending on your operating system and browser, you can set which fonts, and letter size and shape, you prefer to read digital text. Explore settings to identify and select available fonts.

Printed materials such as bound books often provide explanatory material about the font or typeface used to print the text in a foreword or rear appendix. I have read books so interesting and well presented that I also read about the font in the rear addendum. You can do the same.

If you have an interest in how letters were formed, there are many books describing the history of writing. If you want to learn to draw letters, study books and videos on calligraphy.

 

[PeterDonis]

Yes.

What have you found in your research?

 

[fresh_42]

I would have said it has a Phoenician origin. But I have no idea where to find their probably commercial standards.

In Germany, it is regulated in DIN 16518.
(DIN = Deutsche Industrienorm = German industry norm)

 

[mayflowers]

There are countless fonts that are largely recognizable as English letters and arabic numbers, but does someone write a standard for how the letters are to look officially that other letterings would be based on? Line thicknesses to space between them and direction, etc? I was looking at various digital segment displays and was wondering if letters are standardized more than replicating loosely from a table of letters handed down over generations?

Well the spacing can be called kerning, and it can make words, phrases, etc. "feel" different. Often used in marketing. Ads and such.

 

[symbolipoint]

Not knowing if o.p. is still interested or tried any topic searching.

I just tried a search using,

how English letters are standardized​

, and found quickly a nice possibly helpful article, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_alphabet .

Another article might be of interest: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_orthography

 

[sandy stone]

And then there's this.

 

[Hornbein]

English uses the Latin alphabet, which wasn't designed for it. I say it's a kludge. The "e at the end of the word changes the preceding vowel" thing seems unique amongst transliterations. I can still remember learning that in the first grade.

It is however better than Japanese, which adopted the unsuitable Chinese writing system but not the tonal aspect of Chinese. This makes for a very ambiguous spoken language. It's not all bad though -- it's a very fecund source of puns, which have the status of a national pastime. It's possible to speak a sentence that has hundreds of possible meanings. This use of punning carries over to their use of English so they have band names like Ganglion or Bandmaid's Maid In Japan.

Or maybe it's the written language that's ambiguous. Shows you how much I know.

 

[Hornbein]

I once saw a video in which smartly dressed Tokyo young adults were asked for the kanji [Chinese] characters for "weiro", which means a bribe. Most of them couldn't do it.

 

[fresh_42]

English uses the Latin alphabet, which wasn't designed for it.

Which, in turn, is based on the Greek alphabet, which in turn is based on the Phoenician alphabet.

I say it's a kludge. The "e at the end of the word changes the preceding vowel" thing seems unique amongst transliterations. I can still remember learning that in the first grade.

This is only true if you ignore the development the English language has undergone. The pronunciation of Old English is far closely connected to this alphabet than Modern English. Languages often undergo a couple of sound shifts in their history. So the picture you have now is not what it was originally. For example, the difference between Dutch and German can be explained by such a sound shift. Also, Scottish English often pronounces letters as they should, considering their origin.

 

[phinds]

And don't forget:

I before E, except after C,
Or when sounded like "EH"
as in neighbor and weigh.
and on Tuesday and any other
day you when just can't
remember the rule.

Yes, English is wonderful.

 

[DaveC426913]

There are countless fonts that are largely recognizable as English letters and arabic numbers, but does someone write a standard for how the letters are to look officially that other letterings would be based on? Line thicknesses to space between them and direction, etc? I was looking at various digital segment displays and was wondering if letters are standardized more than replicating loosely from a table of letters handed down over generations?

If you are interested in exploring this philosophically, you will be fascinated by Douglas Hofstadter's books.

• Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid
• Fluid Concepts and Creative Analogies: Computer Models of the Fundamental Mechanisms of Thought
• Surfaces and Essences: Analogy as the Fuel and Fire of Thinking

My favourite non-fiction book of all time is his

• Metamagical Themas

They are all collections of articles and treatises on the nature of communication and thought processes. There's whole chapters that deal with "The A-ness of 'A'" (Don't say this loud loud in a crowded room).

An article on a-ness:
https://www.foundalis.com/res/drh/OnSeeingAs.htm

Hofstadter even got a nod in XKCD: