Allograph
Allographs are the smallest graphic units of a writing system , usually letters that have the same function and can replace one another. For example, <a> and <ɑ> are allographs in German: The variant <a> is used in many printed fonts, while <ɑ> is more likely to be found in cursive fonts. Another example is upper and lower case letters, e.g. B. <U> and <u> in German.
The origin of the word allograph goes back to ancient Greek ἄλλος allos , German 'different' , 'different' and γραφή graphé , German 'writing' . In linguistics, a graph (also called a count) is the smallest graphic unit of a writing system or a system of characters similar to writing, often a letter. Several graphs that fulfill the same function within a writing system and can replace one another are called allographs. Each class of allographs forms a grapheme . In linguistics , it is therefore also said that an allograph is a variant of a grapheme.
Importance and motivation of the allograph concept
The Graphemik or Graphology is a part of linguistics that deals with the construction of fonts natural and constructed languages. An inventory of the smallest units of a writing system and the correspondence between sounds and spellings play an important role. A particular speech sound in a spoken language, a phoneme , can be written in different ways. The sound at the beginning of the word is pronounced identically in the two words "writing" and "language" (it is the phoneme / ʃ /). / ʃ / is shown once with the graph ‹sch› and once with the graph ‹s›. The same applies to the s-sound, which can be represented in German by <s, ss, ß>. In order to be able to describe these writing variants, one needs the concept of the allograph.
Notation
In linguistics, graphemes and allographs are enclosed in angle brackets, e.g. B. <a> to distinguish them from other smallest units, such as the phoneme (enclosed by the forward stroke, e.g. / a /) and the allophone (enclosed in square brackets, e.g. [a]).
Allograph types
A distinction is made between free and functional variants in allographs.
Free variants
Free variants are realizations of a grapheme with equal rights. In German, for example, there is the option to write either “Telephon” or “Telefon”. The choice between <ph> and <f> is not subject to any rules (e.g. upper and lower case), but can be chosen freely. The allographs <a> and <ɑ> are also free variants. Their appearance is determined by the choice of font.
Functional variants
Functional variants of a grapheme are distributed in a complementary manner, and there is a rule that defines in which (ortho‑) graphic environment one and in which the other variant occurs: A prominent example of functional variants in German is s when it is broken Fonts is used. It has to be written as a long s or a round s , depending on the environment : a long s is the initial and internal form , and a circular s is the final form of a syllable.
Another example is the use of capital and small letters ( capital letters and small letters ). <A> and <a> are variants of a grapheme in many languages, including German, the distribution of which follows certain orthographic rules. B. in German at the beginning of a sentence or with nouns at the beginning of a word.
In some literature, functional variants are preferred as allographs, while other literature describes both free and functional variants of a graph as allographs.
Language addiction
The question of which allograph or which allographe is used to express a certain grapheme is different for each language: What counts as an allographic variation of a grapheme in one language can be a grapheme of its own in another language (in German it plays e.g. For example, it does not matter whether an I , i is realized with a period or without, in Turkish this difference has different meanings: İ , i next to I, ı ). In German, <N> and <n> are allographs of one grapheme, and <V> and <v> are allographs of another grapheme. In Greek, however, <Ν> is the capital letter of <ν>, i.e. H. <Ν> and <ν> are allographs of a grapheme in Greek.
See also
literature
- Hans Altmann, Ute Ziegenhain: Examination knowledge of phonetics, phonology and graphemics. 3. Edition. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2010, ISBN 978-3-8252-3323-5 .
- Nanna Fuhrhop, Jörg Peters: Introduction to Phonology and Graphemics. Metzler, Stuttgart 2013, ISBN 978-3-476-02373-5 .
- Dimitrios Meletis: Types of allography . In: Open Linguistics . tape 6 , no. 1 , June 16, 2020, p. 249–266 , doi : 10.1515 / opli-2020-0006 (English).
Web links
- Tutorial "Introduction to Linguistics". (PDF; 114 kB) Archived from the original on July 7, 2007 ; accessed on May 19, 2019 .
Individual evidence
- ^ Duden online: Graph, Graf, das (Linguistics).
- ^ Hans Altmann, Ute Ziegenhain: Examination knowledge phonetics, phonology and graphemics. 3. Edition. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2010, ISBN 978-3-8252-3323-5 , pp. 122–123.
- ^ A b Hadumod Bußmann: Lexicon of Linguistics. Kröner, Stuttgart 1983, ISBN 3-520-45201-4 , p. 22.
- ^ Hans Altmann, Ute Ziegenhain: Examination knowledge phonetics, phonology and graphemics. 3. Edition. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2010, ISBN 978-3-8252-3323-5 , p. 122.
- ↑ Nanna Fuhrhop, Jörg Peters: Introduction to Phonology and Graphemics. Metzler, Stuttgart 2013, ISBN 978-3-476-02373-5 , p. 207.
- ^ Hans Altmann, Ute Ziegenhain: Examination knowledge phonetics, phonology and graphemics. 3. Edition. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2010, ISBN 978-3-8252-3323-5 , p. 122.