Language uses for communication among persongs persons who have grouped themselves together – develop a community with visual and verbal symbols which convey meaning,

Some children cannot develop intelligible speech but can understand the speech of others.

Other ways must be found:

0. writing – but might be phisically handicapped children with poor control on arms and hands.
1. Some children whose difficulty with symbols which are referenced to the sounds of language is manifested in speaking, reading and writing.

Must aquire another mode of communication in order to be able to communicate well in society.

Since 1971 – handicapped people – some with low cognitive levels – learned to communicate with Bliss symbols when “regular” language could not be learned.

3000 languages are spoken in the world.

700 artificial languages (since 1629) were proposed.

Two languages recieved attention: Volapuk (“world’s speech” – 1880 Schleyer – English and Roman). and Esperanto – (“one who hopes” - Zamenhof, 1887 words common to European languages, phonetic spelling). And Basic English (1926-1930, Ogden and Richards - 850 words – extensions for special interset area) .

Common to all: the reference to sound: symbols represent sounds made in speaking a word that stands for an object or event.

Development of Bliss Symbols

Karl Blitz – Born 1897 in Austria near Russian border.

Observed the “different nationalities hated each other because they spoke ant thought in different languages”

Survived concentration camp (“softened the hearts of his jailers” by playing music). Worked in London and then in Shanghai: acknowledged to the Chinese symbols; then emigrated to Australia.

In 1942 began developing pictorial symbols.

In 1942 published Semantography.

His work was generally ignored.

In 1971 – discovered by the Ontrario Crippled Children’s centere .

The vision of Bliss

1. Can be read in all languages
2. Can give literacy to all
3. Can expose illogic and lies
4. Can demask the demagogues
5. Contains a simple semantics and logic which even children can use for their problems
6. Contains a universal ethics without religious legends, and acceptable to all
7. Can unite our world, so disastrously divided by languages, legends and lies.

Blissymbolics was adopted for the need of communicatively handicapped personed – and the symbol system was revised and expanded for that purpose.

Communication using picture boards is not enough – allowing immediate needs but not more complex thoughts and feelings.

An interdisciplinary team was formed to develop a communication system, for the use of handicapped and also compatable with computers.

1971 – Shirley McNaughton "discovered” this language.

1972 – Bliss visited the center.

The use of language was widespread in widely separated centers.