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From: dik@cwi.nl (Dik T. Winter)
Subject: Re: Writing direction, was Re: (no subject)
Message-ID: <DBKw5F.6GC@cwi.nl>
Sender: news@cwi.nl (The Daily Dross)
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Organization: CWI, Amsterdam
References: <3546611678.58856715@pop.com>
Date: Wed, 12 Jul 1995 01:00:51 GMT
Lines: 24

In article <3546611678.58856715@pop.com> p_iannone@pop.com writes:
 > In message ID <3ttuhq$epv@imag.imag.fr> on 7/11/95, Abdel-Basset Assimi wrote:
 > : I'm looking for the origins of differnces existing in written
 > : languages'  direction. Why Arabic is written right to left, Engilish
 > : left to right  and traditional Chinese up to down? Does anyone know
 > : something about that?
 > 
 > Materials made a big difference. Bamboo slats were a convenient material in
 > East-Asia, which supported a vertical style. 
 > 
 > As for Arabic, there is a tradition that, as a holy language, it was written
 > --towards-- the heart.
 > 
Do not forget that in vertical systems you can again distinguish between
those where lines are written left to right and those were lines are
written right to left (Mongolian vs. Chinese amongst others).
Also in many early horizontal scripts lines would alternate between left
to right and right to left.  So while writing materials have a lot to do
with it, it is not the only factor.  (And I do not believe the Arabic
tradition.  Many scripts it derived from had been right to left.)  On the
other hand, most letter scripts are horizontal.
-- 
dik t. winter, cwi, kruislaan 413, 1098 sj  amsterdam, nederland, +31205924098
home: bovenover 215, 1025 jn  amsterdam, nederland; e-mail: dik@cwi.nl
