SEMANTOGRAPHY (Blissymbolics) A LOGICAL WRITING FOR AN ILLOGICAL WORLD Second Enlarged Edition

c.

K. Bliss

S e man tog rap h-y (Blissymbolics) Second enlarged

Edition

A simple system of 100 logical pictorial symbols, which can be operated and read like 1 + 2 = 3 in all languages. It can be typed and printed, and used in international communication and commerce, industry and science. It contains also a simple semantics, logic, and ethics, which even children can learn to use in their problems.

.__.

SEMANTOGRAPHY

-

(BLISSYMBOLlCS)

PUBLICATIONS

(non-profit)

2 Vicar Street, Coogee, Sydney, Australia

A logical Writing for an illogical World Prophecy and Fulfillment "A Universal Symbolism, very popular, very agreeable to the people • might be introduced if small figures were employed in the place of words, which would represent visible things by their Jines, and the invisible, by the visible, which accompany them. This would be of service at first for easy communication with distant nations, but if introduced also among us, without however, renouncing ordinary writing • • • would be useful in giving thoughts less absurd and verbal than we now have. I think these thoughts will some day be carried out, so agreeable and natural appears to me this writing for rendering our conceptions more real." Gottfried Wilhelm Leibnitz (1679). "Bliss realized the ambition of the great mathematician

Leibnitz,"

Prof. Oliver Leslie Reiser (1951). "Bliss' work provides something of real importance." Prof. Julian Huxley (1954). Supporting Bliss' work means "performing an important service to mankind." "If schools throughout the world ( would) clarify the use of words calculated to promote passion, the existing hatred between nations, creeds, and political parties would very rapidly diminish, and the preservation of peace throughout the world would become an easy matter." Bertrand Russen (1950).

"Ideographic phonetic writing."

writing

will surely achieve

the final victory over

Prof. Basil Hall Chamberlain (1905).

STOP

PRESS

NEW YORK, U.S.A. The United Nations have decided to mark their 20th anniversary by inaugurating International Co-operation Year, with the promotion of pictorial symbols which can be read in all languages. CANBERRA, Australia. Following the decision of the United Nations, the Australian Government Department of External Affairs submitted the work Semantograpby of the Australian scientist C. K. lSliss (which has been praised by eminent scholars) to the Australian National University for an examination of its potential value. This proved favourable, and in consequence thereof, the Department authorized the United Nations Association of Australia to recommend Bliss' work to the United Nations for adoption and promotion. SYDNEY, Australia. Bliss remains sceptical. For 16 years he approached national and international authorities responsible for the slaughter on the roads. He offered free his pictorial symbols for any road warning needed. Bliss points to the fact that the former League of Nations had recommended some pictorial road symbols, which some states adopted, but others rejected. Why? The cause is a catastrophic brain perversion called bureaucracy, which makes many an official loath to admit that another guy has a better idea. But bureaucracy is not confined to officialdom. It is found in business too. NEW YORK. U.S.A. The money brought in by millions of tourists has become a major source of income for many countries. However, the greatest hindrance is the Babel of languages. Realizing this, American travel. hotel, and business groups have instituted the International Committee for Breaking the Language Barrier (ICBLB), by the use of pictorial symbols. Bliss submitted his 100 basic pictorial symbols which can be used in combination for any meaning needed in road, rail. ship and plane travel, as well as in hotels, shops, theatres, etc., likewise for written or typed correspondence with an adapted typewriter of ordinary size. which carries also the small letters of the alphabet. So far. the ICBLB has ignored Bliss. has proposed instead among other

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obsolete and inadequate symbols, the ancient astrological signs for Mars and Venus for men's and women's washrooms. ALBUQUERQUE, U.s.A. James L. Evans, Ph.D., Vice-President of Teaching Machines Inc., and a pioneer in new teaching methods, is already conducting a research program in using the basic Blissymbols for the teaching of English and any other languages. This may well revolutionize the outdated method of language teaching. Moreover, the logical simplicity of the symbols will in turn lead to the gradual removal of illogical irregularities in English and in other languages. Blissyrnbols, which can be read in all languages form the bridge to the corresponding words in English. This in turn, will lead to the spoken international language of mankind. This language (not Esperanto) b already the mother tongue of hundreds of millions of people. It is the virtual international language of commerce, industry, and science. It is taught in all countries of the world. It is English. Bliss has also worked out an international science abstract in English and the symbols underneath. This enables foreign scientists to read it in their own languages, and to pick up the corresponding words in English. CAPE KENNEDY, U.S.A. The first commercial satellite "Early Bird" bas been launched, and two more will follow, providing television shows for the whole world. Sub-titles will be needed, but in how many languages? Bliss proposes 5 minutes TV lessons with animated Disney figures dissolving into the pictorial symbols. This will teach all viewers to read any subtitle in their own languages. and to pick up the corresponding words in the English subtitles.

But the ~reatest advantage of this ONE WRITING FOR ONE WORLD is its simple semantics and logic, which enable everyone, even children, to recognize those vague, ambiguous, illogical and false words, which are used by demagogues and dictators to instigate hate, and the horrors of war. Here we have at last A LOGICAL WRITING FOR AN ILLOGICAL WORLD.

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All rights reserved See page 66 for conditions of copyrights, and the use of symbols. Copyright

©

by C. K. Bliss from 1942 to 1965 in this and the foregoing:

PUBLICATIONS ON SEMANTOGRAPHY (BLISSYMBOLICS) SEMANTOGRAPHY, by C. K. Bliss, 3 volumes, first edition 1949. Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 55-65550. THE

SEMANTOGRAPHY SERIES, by C. K. Bliss and other Writers. Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 55-14351. Over 200 issues from 1949 to 1965, among which are the following volumes:-

UNIFIED SYMBOLISM FOR WORLD UNDERSTANDING IN SCIENCE, by Professor Oliver L. Reiser, University of Pittsburgh (1954). SEMANTOGRAPHY AND THE ULTIMATE KIND, by C. K. Bliss (1954). IN SEARCH OF A LOGICAL EVERYONE'S (1964).

MEANINGS OF MAN-

GOD, by C. K. Bliss (1958).

SIMPLE LOGIC AND SEMANTICS,

by C. K. Bliss

ONE WRITING FOR ONE WORLD, by C. K. Bliss (1965). THE LIFE STORY OF ONE WRITING FOR ONE WORLD, by C. K. Bliss (1965). Printed in Australia and Japan by the printing firms listed on page 6 Enquiries (containing 2 international reply) may be directed to

SEMANTOGRAPHY

postal coupons for an airmail

(BLISSYMBOLICS) PUBLICATIONS (Non-Profit)

2 VICAR STREET, COO GEE, SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA

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•

DEDICATION This work is dedicated to mankind, and to the libraries of mankind, in the name of my parents, who gave me my life 'and ideals to live by, and who worked hard, so that they could send me to the university, and in the name of Claire, my companion and co-worker, who inspired and helped me, and who died heartbroken in 1961 after 15 years of pleadings with the educational authorities of mankind to take an interest in my work. There was no response, in spite of the praise by eminent scholars. •

Now that old age is overtaking all my endeavours, I thank all my friends for their encouragement. I ask all my readers to forgive the shortcomings of my typewritten manuscript, now photographed and printed in this book, and I greet all my new friends of the coming generations. May you carry on where I left off. May you be spared the hells ] went through as a prisoner of the war of words in the darkest holes on earth, where millions were put to death because of words. May you realize that we must overcome not only non-understanding in different languages, but also non-understanding in the same language. To overcome hatred, violence and war, we must learn to overcome the words which lead to hatred, violence and war within the families, within the nations, and within the family of nations. This was the dream of the great mathematician Leibnitz 300 years ago. Now that his dream has been realized, how long will it take until this work will be taught in the schools of the world? It is up to you, my young friends, to speed it up-before it is too late, before more millions of people will die because of words.

Sydney, 1965.

C.K.B.

6

•

THANKS My thanks to those scholars, academic colleagues, students, and Jay people, who recognized the value of my work, and who gave me encouragement and help, at least in words. Their names, and some of their sayings, are contained in the Semantography Series (see the catalog p. 796ff). Some excerpts are reprinted in the introductory pages. My thanks also to the scholars, authors, and their publishers, to the editors of newspapers, magazines, and scientific journals, who have given me their kind permission for reprinting the quotations, which have convinced me, and may convince others, that work on this idea is worthwhile. ~ I must also thank those people who have given me honourable membership in the exclusive order of scholarly cranks. Every new idea seems strange, and even absurd to many people. Max Planck said that a new idea does not gain ground by convincing its opponents. It gains acceptance as they die out, and new minds take over. But alas, when this happens, the pioneer is usually dead, too. The 700 large-sized pages of the first edition, filling 3 volumes, were typed and mimeographed as a manuscript by Claire and myself from 1946-1949. Without her, nothing would have come of it. Words cannot express my thanks to her. We hoped for acceptance, and a grant to print a properly typeset book. We hoped in vain. Now that her death has left me alone, all I can do is to arrange the photographic reproduction of the first edition, together with new typeset pages, and a typed dictionary index. The typeset pages of this second enlarged edition were printed by the following Sydney firms. The issues of the Semantography Series, and the dust jacket, by the Messenger Print. My thanks to Mr. H. M. Collier, Mr. R. J. Hind, and the staff. The other typeset pages were set by The Fleet Composition Service Pty. Ltd. My thanks to Mr. B. J. Reade, Mr. F. E. Holmes, and the staff. This second edition of the 3 volumes, reduced photographically, and bound in one handy volume, was photo-offset printed by the Tokyo publishing division of the American publisher Charles E. Tuttle Co. Inc. of Rutland, Vermont, U.S.A. My thanks to Mr. Charles E. Tuttle, Mr. Roland A. Mulhauser, Mr. Satoru Iwamoto, and the staff, for the excellent reproduction of a very imperfectly typed and mimeographed manuscript. Mv thanks to all my readers for understanding my difficulties, for realizing that I am an -inventor, not a writer, for excusing therefore the many awkward expressions and corrections, also the many mistakes still abounding, and the small and thin type due to the photographic reduction in size. My thanks to you for kindly overlooking all my faults. The blank pages at the end are reserved for your constructive corrections and suggestions.

My special thanks to my good brother Henry Bliss, and my good friendMr. Richard Henry Boyt, for their continuous help. They are, together with myself, the trustees of the Semantography Trust Fund, set up by the late Claire Bliss. They will carryon, when I too have left this earth and joined my Claire,

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SHORT OUTLINE OF CONTENTS For the detailed list of chapters see page 67 but watch out for double page numbers due to the following reasons: This second edition in one handy volume is a photographically reduced reproduction of the 3 large-sized volumes of the first edition. But more reading matter has been added, and therefore more pages. Hence new page numbers were necessary. But the page numbers of the first edition had to be retained, because of cross-references in the photographed text, and in other publications. Therefore: old page numbers are shown in brackets below the new page numbers. Sample page no. 183 shows below in brackets and smaller type thus (5 I) the page number of the first edition. SHORT OUTLINE OF CONTENTS The story of this pioneering work

.

9

13

This work led to unbelievable discoveries Quick information from the semantography series

.

15

A summary of the author's thoughts and findings

.

52

First edition 1949, the story of the manuscript

63

Detailed list of contents of chapters

.

67

Bibliography and list of quotations

.

77

Introduction

84

and summary

The 100 symbol elements

101

.

How the semantics of semantography works

142

Book I

The idea of semantography

183

Book II

The system of semantography

.

223

Book III The semantics of semantography

547

.

......796

Epilogue. To "whom" do we owe this work?

...... 809

Dictionary index of symbolized meanings

...... 827

Index of names and chapters ......

...... 868

Reader's notes, corrections and suggestions

...... 882

Catalog list of the semantography series

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FROM WORLD WRITING TO BLISS In 1942 I named my symbols World Writing, then chose in 1947 an international scientific term Semantograpby (from Greek semanticos significant meaning, and grapbein to write). The term Semantography became a tongue twister. It has been misspelt in journals and books, and even misused as a general term for forthcoming competing symbols. My friends argued that it is customary to name new writing systems after the inventors, as for instance Pitman, Gregg, etc. They, therefore, recommended the new term Blissymbolics, or Blissymbols, or simply Bliss in order to distinguish this work, because it contains an innovation not to be found in any other writing ever invented by man. This new One Writing for One World is not only a new kind of shorthand (see below), which can be read in all languages. It contains also a simple logic, semantics, and even ethics. No one argues to-day whether 2 2 == 4 or perhaps 5. Later generations with a little training in this new "Algebra of Thought" will instantly recognise any illogic, ambiguity, fallacy and demagogy in any statement they hear, or read, or think. Family, community, and political quarrels, carried on to-day with illogical and ambiguous words, will have to cease. Instead of obstinate opposition, there may be calm co-operation. Instead of bitterness, there may be bliss.

+

ALL SYMBOLS IN THIS BOOK are drawn FIVE TIMES LARGER in size than they would appear in print. This is done in order to show their extreme simplicity, and their maximum saving in space and time when compared with ordinary alphabetical letters. . This is therefore a new unheard-of shorthand writing which can be read in all languages. The following example will illustrate this: This symbol ~ means a letter. These two arrow symbols ;:: mean to and fro, forward and backward, etc. Hence this compound symbol EJ;:::: means letter correspondence. But if these symbols are drawn 5 times over-size, as they are drawn throughout this book, then the alphabetical letters would have to be correspondingly 5 times larger too, as shown below:

EI~ letter

correspondence

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THE STORY OF THIS PIONEERING WORK and the story of this book, first mimeographed with all the faults and ::::perfections of a typewritten manuscript, and now reproduced by the ;:boto-offset process, is the old story of most pioneering works ahead of :';:eir time, not understood and recognized, and without funds to produce a finely written and printed book. ~ In 1950 Bertrand Russell wrote: "Any man or men who will spend the money necessary to get this work printed will, in my opinion, be performing an important service to mankind." Year after year, the inventor went a-begging for a publication grant, out found no men willing to perform this "important service to mankind." You, dear reader, must therefore kindly excuse all the shortcomings 0: this book. Please see beyond them the vision of a great idea, which could bring understanding and unity to our divided world.

Babel, mankind's greatest handicap Slowly mankind begins to realize that the learning of languages in school will not overcome Babel. Even an international language like Esperanto will not help, because the billions of people go on babbling :"1 their thousands of different mother tongues. Slowly mankind begins to realize that the only way to overcome Babel are pictorial symbols which can be read and understood in all .anguages. On the motor roads of the world, where understanding in all .acguages is a matter of life and death, road warnings in the native languages are being taken down, and replaced by pictorial symbols. A. bent arrow means a CURVE in all languages.

r

This book belongs to the new generations A few educators have made private tests, and they reported that children were "fascinated and thrilled" by the simplicity, semantics, logic, and ethics contained in these symbols. A time will come when these pictorial symbols will be taught to the children of the world as a new medium of understanding across all ianguages. Then this book will be ready to serve mankind. Meanwhile may it rest in the libraries of the world. May it come into the hands of young people who will recognize its value, and who will ?~oneer this new world-embracing idea. It is dedicated to them and :0 all mankind.

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The vision of one writing for one world Today blind mankind write in Braille. A day will come when seeing and thinking mankind will write and think in Bliss. This is the vision of the friends of Bliss, who realize that no man has done this before: A writing which can be read in all languages A writing which can give literacy to all A writing which can expose illogic and lies A writing which can demask the demagogues A writing which contains a simple semantics and logic which even Children can use for their problems A writing which contains a universal ethics without religious legends, and acceptable to all

•

A writing which can unite our world, so disastrously divided by languages, legends, and lies

The story of semantography The inventor of semantography, Charles K. Bliss, was born in the Babel of old Austria, where 20 nationalities hated each other, mainly because they spoke and thought in different languages. . In 1922 he graduated from the Vienna University of Technology, and entered the electronic industry as a research chemist. Soon he realized that the Babel of scientific publications is the greatest handicap to scientific research. This in turn led him to the following thoughts. People, be they professors or primitives, don't like to learn foreign languages, and this includes Esperanto. Everyone likes to talk in his familiar mother tongue. However, 1 2 == 3 can be read in all languages. H20 means water in all languages, and the pictorial symbols of radio wiring diagrams are also understood in all languages.

+

Pictorial symbols are already a reality on the highways of the world. Motorists traverse linguistic frontiers in a matter of hours, and some die in a matter of minutes if they can't read the warning signs in the native languages. •

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But a Babel of misunderstanding exists even between people who soeak the same language. Demagogues, who want to dominate -',their ::-:::~on and the world, use vague, ambiguous, and fallacious words. Children and adults are not taught in any school how to recognize such .. ords, which bring misery upon mankind.

Adolf Hitler used demagogic language to drive his nation and the --:odd into war. When he overran Austria, Bliss was deported to the death camps of Dachau and Buchenwald. He went through horrors from 1938 to 1939. He saw how men can be induced by words to kill with a clear conscience. Freed through the heroic fight of his good wife Claire, they fled to China. There Bliss saw in amazement how people, who speak different .anguages, can nevertheless read the same book and the same paper, and can write letters to each other. Scholars of China's history informed him that the pictorial and ideographic writing of China was the main unifying factor which brought :ogether people of different languages, and formed them into the largest nation on earth. Even the many invaders learned to read it in their own .anguages, and it made them Chinese in the end. These scholars are convinced that a European nation would have been a reality centuries ago if Frenchmen and Finns, Englishmen and Estonians, Greek and Germans, Romans and Russians, and all the others, had a common bond in a common writing which they all could read in ::H their languages. Bliss saw in Shanghai schools that children pick up these partly pictorial symbols much quicker than the laborious alphabet. He saw that only 1500 basic words, expressed in symbols, are sufficient for reading :he papers, and for writing letters.

For centuries Chinese governments tried to introduce

a Westerntype phonetic writing. It always failed. The Japanese have a phonetic writing since the 9th century. Yet, the 1500 symbols they took over from Chinese writing still prove simpler and better, and this in a highly industrialized country where 100 million people speak one language only. They use their phonetic letters to indicate grammatical inflections only. Professor Basil Hall Chamberlain summed it up in the amazing prophecy: "Ideographic writing will surely achieve the final victory over phonetic writing." It can be read in all languages. It can unite the world.

Bliss soaked all this up in ever growing enthusiasm.

Then he set to +ork to develop a modern, simple, scientifically constructed, pictorial symbol writing, which can be typed on a typewriter of ordinary size, and can be used in international commerce and communication, industry, and even science.

And then he learned of the dream of Leibnitz.