The drawing of writing

Abstract

Nowadays writing is assumed to consist of an independent code, which is different and detached from the oral language one; however, the actual rejection of writing as the necessary counterpart of speech hardly occurs, because this is contrary to a deeply established common sense. This paper intends to define writing as a unnecessary relation with the oral language, as a phenomenon whose origin is not related to sound but mainly to visual sense. Thus, it is worth noticing how young children benefit from the “bio-morphism” of letter designs, turning them into the shape of persons, parts of the body, common objects, etc. This happens due to intellectual efforts through which letters are reinvented by the children, who play with the hidden symbolism of the alphabet.