Pictogram

Apictogram(alsopictogramme,pictograph,or simplypicto^[1]) is a graphicalsymbolthat conveys meaning through its visual resemblance to a physical object. Pictograms are used in systems of writing and visual communication. A pictography is awriting system^[2]which uses pictograms. Some pictograms, such ashazard pictograms,may be elements offormal languages.

A pictographic traffic sign (top) warning motorists of horses and riders

In the field ofprehistoric art,the term "pictograph" has a different definition, and specifically refers to art painted on rock surfaces. Pictographs are contrasted withpetroglyphs,which are carved or incised.

Historical

Ojibwapictographs on cliff-face at Agawa Rock,Lake Superior Provincial Parkof a boat andMishipeshu,an animal with horns, painted with red ochre

Early written symbols were based on pictograms (pictures which resemble what they signify) andideograms(symbols which represent ideas). Ancient Sumerian, Egyptian, and Chinese civilizations began to adapt such symbols to represent concepts, developing them intologographic writing systems.Pictograms are still in use as the main medium of written communication in some non-literate cultures in Africa, the Americas, and Oceania.^{[citation needed]}Pictograms are often used as simple, pictorial, representational symbols by most contemporary cultures.

Several prehistoric engravings can be found aroundLa Silla Observatory.^[3]

Pictograms can be considered an art form, or can be considered a written language and are designated as such inPre-Columbian art,Native American art,AncientMesopotamiaandPainting in the Americas before Colonization.^[4]^[5]One example of many is theRock art of the Chumash people,part of theNative American history of California. In 2011, UNESCO's World Heritage List added "PetroglyphComplexes of the Mongolian Altai, Mongolia "^[6]to celebrate the importance of the pictograms engraved in rocks.

Some scientists in the field of neuropsychiatry and neuropsychology, such asMario Christian Meyer,are studying the symbolic meaning of indigenous pictographs and petroglyphs,^[7]aiming to create new ways of communication between native people and modern scientists to safeguard and valorize their cultural diversity.^[8]

Modern uses

An early modern example of the extensive use of pictograms may be seen in the map in the London suburban timetables of the London and North Eastern Railway, 1936–1947, designed byGeorge Dow,in which a variety of pictograms was used to indicate facilities available at or near each station. Pictograms remain in common use today, serving as pictorial, representational signs, instructions, or statistical diagrams. Because of their graphical nature and fairly realistic style, they are widely used to indicate public toilets, or places such as airports and train stations. Because they are a concise way to communicate a concept to people who speak many different languages, pictograms have also been used extensively at theOlympicssince the1964 summer gamesin Tokyo featured designs by Masaru Katsumi. Later Olympic pictograms have been redesigned for each set of games.^[9]^[10]^[11]

Pictographic writing as a modernist poetic technique is credited toEzra Pound,thoughFrench surrealistscredit thePacific Northwest American IndiansofAlaskawho introduced writing, viatotem poles,toNorth America.^[12]

Contemporary artistXu Bingcreated Book from the Ground, a universal language made up of pictograms collected from around the world. A Book from the Ground chat program has been exhibited in museums and galleries internationally.

In mathematics

A compound pictogram showing the breakdown of the survivors and deaths of the maiden voyage of theRMS Titanicby class and age/gender

In statistics, pictograms are charts in which icons represent numbers to make it more interesting and easier to understand. A key is often included to indicate what each icon represents. All icons must be of the same size, but a fraction of an icon can be used to show the respective fraction of that amount.^[13]

For example, the following table:

Day	Letters sent
Monday	10
Tuesday	17
Wednesday	29
Thursday	41
Friday	18

can be graphed as follows:


Day	Letters sent
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday

Key:= 10 letters

As the values are rounded to the nearest 5 letters, the second icon on Tuesday is the left half of the original.

Standardization

Pictograms can often transcend languages in that they can communicate to speakers of a number of tongues and language families equally effectively, even if the languages and cultures are completely different. This is whyroad signsand similar pictographic material are often applied as global standards expected to be understood by nearly all.

A standard set of pictograms was defined in theinternational standardISO 7001:Public Information Symbols.Other common sets of pictographs are thelaundry symbolsused on clothing tags and thechemical hazard symbolsas standardized by theGHS system.

Pictograms have been popularized in use on the Internet and insoftware,better known as "icons"displayed on a computer screen in order to help user navigate a computer system or mobile device.

Native Americanpictographs from the Great Gallery,Horseshoe Canyon,Canyonlands National Park
SampleNational Park Servicepictograms
This highly influential pictogram design was introduced at the1972 Munich Olympics,although pictograms first began to appear in the games at Tokyo in 1964.
British Railpassenger safety pictograms at the end of the platform atMeols railway station
Water, rabbit, deer pictograms on a replica of anAztec Stone of the Sun

Notes

^Gove, Philip Babcock. (1993).Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language Unabridged.Merriam-Webster Inc.ISBN 0-87779-201-1.
^Goody, Jack (1987).The interface between the written and the oral.Cambridge. p. 4.ISBN 0-521-33268-0.OCLC 14242868.{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^"Signatures from the Past".ESO.org.European Southern Observatory.30 January 2017.Retrieved30 January2017.
^Pharo, Lars Kirkhusmo (2018). "Multilingualism and Lingua Francae of Indigenous Civilizations of America". In Braarvig, Jens; Geller, Markham J. (eds.).Studies in Multilingualism, Lingua Franca and Lingua Sacra.Edition Open Access Max Planck Institute for the History of Science. p. 488.hdl:20.500.12657/25344.ISBN 9783945561133.
^Ambrosino, Gordon (2018-10-20)."Painted origins: inscribed landscape histories in the Fortaleza pictograph style during the Andean, late pre-Hispanic period".World Archaeology.50(5): 804–819.doi:10.1080/00438243.2019.1612272.ISSN 0043-8243.S2CID 198820112.
^"Petroglyphic Complexes of the Mongolian Altai".WHC.UNESCO.org.UNESCO World Heritage Centre. 2011.
^Meyer, Mario Christian (December 1985).Apprentissage de la langue maternelle écrite: étude sur des populations "les moins favorisées" dans une approche interdisciplinaire(PDF).ED-85/WS/65.
^Meyer, Mario Christian."Out Of The Forest & Into The Lab: Amerindian Initiation Into Sacred Science"(PDF).In Bloom, Pamela (ed.).Amazon Up Close.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 2012-03-17.
^Hall, C. Justin; Allen, Zachary."Olympic Pictograms".Visual Rhetoric.
^"Olympic Pictograms: Design through History".MediaMadeGreat.16 August 2016.
^Popovic, John Jan (ed.)."Olympic Games Pictograms".1stMuse.
^Reed 2003, p. xix
^"Understanding pictograms".BBC— Skillswise.Archived fromthe originalon 2013-12-29.Retrieved2014-05-11.

References

Reed, Ishmael(2003).From Totems to Hip-Hop: A Multicultural Anthology of Poetry Across the Americas, 1900–2002,Ishmael Reed, ed.ISBN 1-56025-458-0.

External links

Pictogram & Communication: About 1,500 practical pictograms based on Design principles of pictorial symbols for communication support(JIS T 0103:2005)
CAPL:The Culturally Authentic Pictorial Lexicon, photographic illustrations of objects for multiple languages
Pictogram Encyclopedia, The collection site of more than 500 pictograms, Pictograms are categorized, and easy to find unique pictogram
Pictopen- Modern Pictographic Writing
NounProject- Free Pictograms under open licences
Modern Pictograms- Explore word and pictogram relationships
Wolfram|Alpha- Number to pictogram translator
icons- download free icons for commercial and non commercial uses

[1] Gove, Philip Babcock. (1993).Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language Unabridged.Merriam-Webster Inc.ISBN 0-87779-201-1.

[2] Goody, Jack (1987).The interface between the written and the oral.Cambridge. p. 4.ISBN 0-521-33268-0.OCLC 14242868.{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

[3] "Signatures from the Past".ESO.org.European Southern Observatory.30 January 2017.Retrieved30 January2017.

[4] Pharo, Lars Kirkhusmo (2018). "Multilingualism and Lingua Francae of Indigenous Civilizations of America". In Braarvig, Jens; Geller, Markham J. (eds.).Studies in Multilingualism, Lingua Franca and Lingua Sacra.Edition Open Access Max Planck Institute for the History of Science. p. 488.hdl:20.500.12657/25344.ISBN 9783945561133.

[5] Ambrosino, Gordon (2018-10-20)."Painted origins: inscribed landscape histories in the Fortaleza pictograph style during the Andean, late pre-Hispanic period".World Archaeology.50(5): 804–819.doi:10.1080/00438243.2019.1612272.ISSN 0043-8243.S2CID 198820112.

[6] "Petroglyphic Complexes of the Mongolian Altai".WHC.UNESCO.org.UNESCO World Heritage Centre. 2011.

[7] Meyer, Mario Christian (December 1985).Apprentissage de la langue maternelle écrite: étude sur des populations "les moins favorisées" dans une approche interdisciplinaire(PDF).ED-85/WS/65.

[8] Meyer, Mario Christian."Out Of The Forest & Into The Lab: Amerindian Initiation Into Sacred Science"(PDF).In Bloom, Pamela (ed.).Amazon Up Close.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 2012-03-17.

[9] Hall, C. Justin; Allen, Zachary."Olympic Pictograms".Visual Rhetoric.

[10] "Olympic Pictograms: Design through History".MediaMadeGreat.16 August 2016.

[11] Popovic, John Jan (ed.)."Olympic Games Pictograms".1stMuse.

[12] Reed 2003, p. xix

[13] "Understanding pictograms".BBC— Skillswise.Archived fromthe originalon 2013-12-29.Retrieved2014-05-11.

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