Woleaian script
Encyclopedia
The Woleai or Caroline Island script, thought to have been a syllabary
, was a partially Latin-based script indigenous to Woleai Atoll
and nearby islands of Micronesia and used to write the Woleaian language until the mid 20th century. At the time the script was first noticed by Europeans, Micronesia was known as the Caroline Islands, whence the name Caroline Island script.
The script has 99 known (C
)V
glyphs, which are not quite enough for a complete representation of the Woleaian language, even given the fact that consonant and vowel length
are ignored. Approximately a fifth of them derive from the Latin alphabet. The question for historians is whether the Wolaians had proto-writing which crystalized into full-fledged writing under the influence of the Latin alphabet, or if they were exposed to the Latin alphabet without completely understanding it (see trans-cultural diffusion), and supplemented it either with existing signs from petroglyph
s, tattoo
s, and the like, or by created new rebus
or ad hoc symbols, until it was sufficient to fully express Woleaian.
The script was written from left to right. Since length was ignored, one glyph stood for both ga and ka ([xa] and [kːa), and another for both la and na ([la], [na], and [nːa]). Some glyphs stood for longer syllables than just consonant-plus-vowel, such as bag, warr, tüt, moi, shrö, chroa, gkaa, etc. Not enough glyphs were recorded to write all Woleaian syllables this way, and it is not known if the script was fully standardized.
ese crew landed on Eauripik, a Woleaian-speaking atoll 100 km to the southwest of Woleai proper. There they taught the islanders the Latin orthography of Chuukese
. The Woleaians, perhaps not given enough time to grasp the concept of an alphabet where each syllable is written as consonant plus vowel, understood each letter to represent its name, and thus interpreted the Latin alphabet as a defective syllabary that could only represent simple vowels and consonants plus the vowel [i]. (Riesenberg & Kaneshiro (1960) call the glyphs at this stage of development "Type 2".) The glyphs were also mixed up somewhat: Although the letters resembling T, K, S, R, H, O, E, for example, stood for [ti, ki, si, ri, i, wo, ø] (there is no [h] sound in Woleaian), and W, И stood for [mi, ni] (that is, the letters M and N were inverted), letters resembling L, B, D stood for [fi, tʃi, pi]. (Note that these Latin letters are not necessary for Woleaian, since short [l] and long [nː] are not distinguished.)
Snelling died on Woleai on his way back to Chuuk. His crew continued, and at Faraulep the syllabary was augmented with glyphs that Riesenberg & Kaneshiro call "Type 1". At least some of these may have been rebuses. This extended syllabary spread back to the other islands.
When the next missionary, John Macmillan Brown
, reached Woleai in 1913, he found an indigenous writing system, albeit one known to only a few people. A chief named Egilimar showed it to him, and Brown published a list of 51 glyphs in 1914 that included V, C
V
, CVV, CCV, and CVC syllables. (Egilmar's list is shown in the infobox at the top of this page.)
, with space for 31 more. These constituted an incomplete set of the V and CV syllables of the script. No CCV or CVC syllables are included.
Syllabary
A syllabary is a set of written symbols that represent syllables, which make up words. In a syllabary, there is no systematic similarity between the symbols which represent syllables with the same consonant or vowel...
, was a partially Latin-based script indigenous to Woleai Atoll
Woleai
Woleai is a coral atoll of twenty-two islands in the eastern Caroline Islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district in Yap State in the Federated States of Micronesia and is located approximately west-northwest of Ifalik and northeast of Eauripik...
and nearby islands of Micronesia and used to write the Woleaian language until the mid 20th century. At the time the script was first noticed by Europeans, Micronesia was known as the Caroline Islands, whence the name Caroline Island script.
The script has 99 known (C
Consonant
In articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a speech sound that is articulated with complete or partial closure of the vocal tract. Examples are , pronounced with the lips; , pronounced with the front of the tongue; , pronounced with the back of the tongue; , pronounced in the throat; and ,...
)V
Vowel
In phonetics, a vowel is a sound in spoken language, such as English ah! or oh! , pronounced with an open vocal tract so that there is no build-up of air pressure at any point above the glottis. This contrasts with consonants, such as English sh! , where there is a constriction or closure at some...
glyphs, which are not quite enough for a complete representation of the Woleaian language, even given the fact that consonant and vowel length
Gemination
In phonetics, gemination happens when a spoken consonant is pronounced for an audibly longer period of time than a short consonant. Gemination is distinct from stress and may appear independently of it....
are ignored. Approximately a fifth of them derive from the Latin alphabet. The question for historians is whether the Wolaians had proto-writing which crystalized into full-fledged writing under the influence of the Latin alphabet, or if they were exposed to the Latin alphabet without completely understanding it (see trans-cultural diffusion), and supplemented it either with existing signs from petroglyph
Petroglyph
Petroglyphs are pictogram and logogram images created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, and abrading. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions of the technique to refer to such images...
s, tattoo
Tattoo
A tattoo is made by inserting indelible ink into the dermis layer of the skin to change the pigment. Tattoos on humans are a type of body modification, and tattoos on other animals are most commonly used for identification purposes...
s, and the like, or by created new rebus
Rebus
A rebus is an allusional device that uses pictures to represent words or parts of words. It was a favourite form of heraldic expression used in the Middle Ages to denote surnames, for example in its basic form 3 salmon fish to denote the name "Salmon"...
or ad hoc symbols, until it was sufficient to fully express Woleaian.
The script was written from left to right. Since length was ignored, one glyph stood for both ga and ka ([xa] and [kːa), and another for both la and na ([la], [na], and [nːa]). Some glyphs stood for longer syllables than just consonant-plus-vowel, such as bag, warr, tüt, moi, shrö, chroa, gkaa, etc. Not enough glyphs were recorded to write all Woleaian syllables this way, and it is not known if the script was fully standardized.
History
In 1905 a lost missionary named Alfred Snelling and his ChuukChuuk
Chuuk — formerly Truk, Ruk, Hogoleu, Torres, Ugulat, and Lugulus — is an island group in the south western part of the Pacific Ocean. It comprises one of the four states of the Federated States of Micronesia , along with Kosrae, Pohnpei, and Yap. Chuuk is the most populous of the FSM's...
ese crew landed on Eauripik, a Woleaian-speaking atoll 100 km to the southwest of Woleai proper. There they taught the islanders the Latin orthography of Chuukese
Chuukese language
Chuukese is a Trukic language of the Austronesian language family spoken primarily on the islands of Chuuk in the Caroline Islands in Micronesia. There are some speakers on Pohnpei and Guam as well...
. The Woleaians, perhaps not given enough time to grasp the concept of an alphabet where each syllable is written as consonant plus vowel, understood each letter to represent its name, and thus interpreted the Latin alphabet as a defective syllabary that could only represent simple vowels and consonants plus the vowel [i]. (Riesenberg & Kaneshiro (1960) call the glyphs at this stage of development "Type 2".) The glyphs were also mixed up somewhat: Although the letters resembling T, K, S, R, H, O, E, for example, stood for [ti, ki, si, ri, i, wo, ø] (there is no [h] sound in Woleaian), and W, И stood for [mi, ni] (that is, the letters M and N were inverted), letters resembling L, B, D stood for [fi, tʃi, pi]. (Note that these Latin letters are not necessary for Woleaian, since short [l] and long [nː] are not distinguished.)
Snelling died on Woleai on his way back to Chuuk. His crew continued, and at Faraulep the syllabary was augmented with glyphs that Riesenberg & Kaneshiro call "Type 1". At least some of these may have been rebuses. This extended syllabary spread back to the other islands.
When the next missionary, John Macmillan Brown
John Macmillan Brown
John Macmillan Brown was a Scottish-New Zealand academic, administrator and promoter of education for women.Brown was born in Irvine, the sixth child of Ann Brown and her husband, James Brown, a sea captain. John was raised in a family that placed high value on education—for both sexes...
, reached Woleai in 1913, he found an indigenous writing system, albeit one known to only a few people. A chief named Egilimar showed it to him, and Brown published a list of 51 glyphs in 1914 that included V, C
Consonant
In articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a speech sound that is articulated with complete or partial closure of the vocal tract. Examples are , pronounced with the lips; , pronounced with the front of the tongue; , pronounced with the back of the tongue; , pronounced in the throat; and ,...
V
Vowel
In phonetics, a vowel is a sound in spoken language, such as English ah! or oh! , pronounced with an open vocal tract so that there is no build-up of air pressure at any point above the glottis. This contrasts with consonants, such as English sh! , where there is a constriction or closure at some...
, CVV, CCV, and CVC syllables. (Egilmar's list is shown in the infobox at the top of this page.)
Unicode
As of 2008, 97 characters had been proposed to UnicodeUnicode
Unicode is a computing industry standard for the consistent encoding, representation and handling of text expressed in most of the world's writing systems...
, with space for 31 more. These constituted an incomplete set of the V and CV syllables of the script. No CCV or CVC syllables are included.
Further reading
Reisenberg, Saul H., and Shigeru Kaneshiro. 1960. "A Caroline Islands Script", in Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 173, 269-333. Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution.External links
- Michael EversonMichael EversonMichael Everson is a linguist, script encoder, typesetter, and font designer. His central area of expertise is with writing systems of the world, specifically in the representation of these systems in formats for computer and digital media...
's Unicode proposal N-3977 (Note that the odd uu, oe, ae spellings are equivalent to standard Woleaian orthographic iu, eo, e.) - Omniglot (An image of the syllabary with glyphs and names taken from the Unicode proposal.
- Phonoblog (discussion of Riesenberg & Kaneshiro)