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A Visual Inter Lingua Neil Edwin Michael Leemans Worcester Polytechnic Institute Worcester Polytechnic Institute Digital WPI Doctoral Dissertations (All Dissertations, All Years) Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2001-04-24 VIL: A Visual Inter Lingua Neil Edwin Michael Leemans Worcester Polytechnic Institute Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.wpi.edu/etd-dissertations Repository Citation Leemans, N. E. (2001). VIL: A Visual Inter Lingua. Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.wpi.edu/etd-dissertations/154 This dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by Digital WPI. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations (All Dissertations, All Years) by an authorized administrator of Digital WPI. For more information, please contact [email protected]. VIL: A Visual Inter Lingua by Neil Edwin Michael (Paul) Leemans A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the WORCESTER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science by ____________________ April 2001 APPROVED: _____________________________________________ Dr. Lee A. Becker, Major Advisor _____________________________________________ Dr. David C. Brown, Committee Member _____________________________________________ Dr. Norman Wittels, Committee Member, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering _____________________________________________ Dr. Stanley S. Selkow, Committee Member __________________________________________________ Dr. Micha Hofri, Head of Department VIL: A Visual Inter Lingua _____________________________________________________________________ 1. Introduction __________________________________________9 1.1 A Brief History ______________________________________________________ 9 1.1.1 Artificial Languages _____________________________________________ 9 1.1.2 Non-Artificial Languages ________________________________________ 11 1.1.3 Visual Languages ______________________________________________ 12 1.2 The Organization of the dissertation____________________________________ 12 1.3 Contributions ______________________________________________________ 14 1.4 Criteria for a new language ___________________________________________ 14 2. Universal Languages & Linguae Franca__________________16 2.1 Pidgins and Creoles _________________________________________________ 16 2.1.1 Simplified Speech ______________________________________________ 17 2.1.2 Pidgins and Creoles_____________________________________________ 18 2.1.3 How does the simplification come about? ___________________________ 22 2.1.4 Extending the Vocabulary________________________________________ 24 2.1.5 Universals of Contact Situations___________________________________ 26 2.1.6 Summary _____________________________________________________ 27 2.2 Basic English _______________________________________________________ 28 2.2.1 Why Basic English? ____________________________________________ 28 2.2.2 What Basic English is ___________________________________________ 29 2.2.3 Arguments against Basic English __________________________________ 33 2.2.4 Visual aids in Language learning __________________________________ 35 2.3 Visual Communication Languages _____________________________________ 35 2.3.1 Why a Visual Interlingua?________________________________________ 36 2.3.2 Background on Semiotics and Icons ________________________________ 38 2.3.3 Visual Communication Systems (Pictorial and Iconic) _________________ 40 2.3.3.1 Division of Hieroglyphs and Traffic Signs into three groups _________ 41 2.3.3.2 American Indian Pictorial Language____________________________ 50 2.3.3.3 IICS: the Iconic Interactive Communication System _______________ 51 2.3.3.4 Before Computers Mediated: Isotype ___________________________ 53 2.3.3.5 Before Computers Mediated: Semantography ____________________ 53 2.3.3.6 The Hotel Booking System ___________________________________ 55 2.3.4 CD-Icon: an Iconic Communication Language _______________________ 56 2.3.4.1 The System _______________________________________________ 57 2.3.5 The Elephant’s Memory _________________________________________ 62 3. Language Design Semantics ____________________________65 3.1 Principles of VIL____________________________________________________ 65 3.1.1 Principles_____________________________________________________ 66 3.1.2 Parts of Speech ________________________________________________ 68 2 VIL: A Visual Inter Lingua _____________________________________________________________________ 3.2 Grammar and the Organization of the Iconicon __________________________ 71 3.2.1.1 Fillmore’s Case Grammar ____________________________________ 73 3.2.1.2 Schank’s Conceptual Dependency Theory _______________________ 78 3.2.2 Organization of the VIL Iconicon __________________________________ 83 3.2.2.1 Organizing Items within Categories ____________________________ 83 3.2.2.2 Terminology ______________________________________________ 84 3.2.2.3 Nouns ___________________________________________________ 85 3.2.2.4 Adjectives ________________________________________________ 94 3.2.2.5 The Classification of the Verb System _________________________ 100 3.3 VIL’s Grammar ___________________________________________________ 124 4. Visual Representation of the Language__________________132 4.1 Icon Design _______________________________________________________ 132 4.1.1 Improving Design, Aesthetics, and Context Functionality ______________ 134 4.1.2 Bad Icons____________________________________________________ 136 4.1.2.1 Misleading Syntax_________________________________________ 136 4.1.2.2 Dominant Secondary Elements _______________________________ 137 4.1.2.3 Images based on obscure references ___________________________ 137 4.1.2.4 Cultural or language dependencies ____________________________ 138 4.1.2.5 Offensive or suggestive imagery______________________________ 138 4.1.3 Icon Design Guidelines _________________________________________ 139 4.1.3.1 Simplicity _______________________________________________ 139 4.1.3.2 Reduction _______________________________________________ 140 4.1.3.3 Generality _______________________________________________ 141 4.1.3.4 Cohesiveness _____________________________________________ 141 4.1.3.5 Regularity _______________________________________________ 142 4.1.3.6 Viewpoints ______________________________________________ 142 4.1.3.7 Communicability__________________________________________ 143 4.1.3.8 Consistency ______________________________________________ 144 4.1.3.9 Subjectivity to Fashion _____________________________________ 146 4.2 Designing Cross-Cultural Icons_______________________________________ 147 4.2.1 Remove or Translate Text_______________________________________ 148 4.2.2 Avoid Culture-Specific Symbols _________________________________ 148 4.2.2.1 Puns and Verbal Analogies __________________________________ 148 4.2.2.2 Gestures and Body Parts ____________________________________ 148 4.2.2.3 Mythological and Religious Symbols __________________________ 149 4.2.2.4 Animals _________________________________________________ 149 4.2.2.5 Colors __________________________________________________ 150 4.2.2.6 Provincialism_____________________________________________ 151 4.2.3 Consider Reading and Scanning Direction __________________________ 151 4.2.4 Show the Best-Known Version___________________________________ 152 4.2.5 Use Abstract Symbols __________________________________________ 153 3 VIL: A Visual Inter Lingua _____________________________________________________________________ 4.3 VIL’s Icon Language _______________________________________________ 153 4.3.1 Determine what needs to be represented____________________________ 154 4.3.2 Design icons for visual elements and grammatical entities _____________ 155 4.3.2.1 Rules for representing visual elements _________________________ 161 4.3.2.2 Relationships among Objects ________________________________ 162 4.3.3 Icon Representation Principles for Verbs ___________________________ 164 4.3.4 Icons Representation principles for Nouns __________________________ 167 4.3.5 Designing Icons Representing Noun Modifiers or Adjectives ___________ 168 4.4 The Domain of Cooking, Eating and Drinking __________________________ 169 4.4.1 Nouns ______________________________________________________ 170 4.4.1.1 Physical World: Living World Categories ______________________ 171 4.4.1.2 Physical World: Living World Terminals_______________________ 173 4.4.1.3 Pronouns ________________________________________________ 176 4.4.1.4 Science: Household Categories_______________________________ 177 4.4.1.5 Science: Household Terminals _______________________________ 177 4.4.2 Verbs _______________________________________________________ 178 4.4.2.1 Voluntary Activity Categories _______________________________ 179 4.4.2.2 Voluntary Activity Terminals ________________________________ 179 4.4.2.3 Existence Categories _______________________________________ 180 4.4.2.4 Existence Terminals_______________________________________ 181 4.4.2.5 Physical Transfer & Location Categories _______________________ 181 4.4.2.6 Physical Transfer & Location Terminals _______________________ 182 4.4.3 Adjectives ___________________________________________________ 182 4.4.3.1 Measurement Categories____________________________________ 184 4.4.3.2 Measurement Terminals ____________________________________ 184 4.4.4 Program Icons ________________________________________________ 185 4.4.4.1 Toolbar icons_____________________________________________ 185 4.4.4.2
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