The Key to Speaking in Blissymbolics, the Universal Language of Icons
Dr. White has created a font and communication code called Blisscii (Blissymbolics Code for Information Interchange) that allows rapid touchtyping of the Blissymbols developed during the 20th century by Charles Bliss. The documentation in PDF format includes an introduction to the elements, components, and compound icons of Blissymbolics. With the Blisscii font and input method a user may generate the currently attested Blissymbols plus create an endless number of new Blissymbols in a consistent digital format that anyone using the Blisscii font will be able to display and read. Included in the documentation are alphabetically sorted PS-English and English-PS word lists that include symbols attested in Semantography-Blissymbolics and Blissymbols for Use. Dr. White has also developed in the documents a phonetic language that allows users to enter code swiftly on a computer and to speak the symbols as a coherent spoken language that precisely describes in sound the iconic forms of the Blissymbols. This may be the first time that a language has evolved from symbols to speech rather than from speech to symbols. It is also unique in that each phonetic sound exactly and consistently encodes a specific image. As such it constitutes a remarkable experiment in linguistics and a model for the development of future information systems. The Blisscii font (based on the Semant 37-46 fonts made available by George F. Sutton under a GNU license for use, study, modification and redistribution at http://www.symbols.net/zips/) will be available to download at no charge under a similar GNU license, although users must be forewarned that care must be taken in making any modified versions of the Blisscii font or later versions may become incompatible with earlier versions for generating documents. Delta Point Educational Technologies will charge a small ($10) fee for the documentation in electronic format.
For a free copy of the Blisscii font, send an email to gracetia6@gmail.com with your request, and we will email it to you. That way you also will be on our email list to send you updates to the font and other information regarding the evolution of PS.