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Map language (was: Re: Non-spoken colangs?)

From:Estel Telcontar <estel_telcontar@...>
Date:Saturday, April 26, 2003, 15:31
Okay.  Here is my rough outline for a purely visual language based on a
map system:

Stage 1: Plain geographical map-making:
Symbols basically for physical and geographical features.
Mountain, hill, house, tree (deciduous, needleleaf, unspecified)
Bodies of water (lake, pond, stream, river; direction of flow
indicated)
Types of terrain (grassy, rocky, forest).
Basic directions (North-orientation)

Stage 2: Simple route planning and directions:
Symbols for route features added.
Starting point, your location, destination, my location, route to take,
suggested camping places.

Stage 3: detailed route description:
Added symbols include time(duration)symbols, method of travel symbols.
Duration: indicated between marked points on the route; expected travel
time in hours or days.
Time: e.g travel only by day/night; route impassable in winter.
Method of travel: by foot, by boat etc (important for time estimates.)
Probably the first stage that it was used to make records of past
trips.

Stage 4: description of travel events/places:
Expanded capacity to describe camping places, how to camp at a certain
location, how to navigate a difficult part of a route, what to pack.
Instructions were usually put at the foot of the page, or on a separate
page from the main map.
Probably the first stage at which it could be considered a limited
language.

Stage 5: full-fledged language


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