I've been thinking about type and font a lot lately. I suppose it started when we were working on our Carpoolchella signs.
One of the most exciting parts about starting a new language is learning how the people who speak it write. Learning languages that use non-Latin scripts is a way to start off with a clean slate: my Greek is more attractive than my English because of the amount of dexterity I had by the time I started learning to write it. My English still has hang-ups from kindergarten. The same is true for my Italian - although compared to most Italians my handwriting is gorgeous - though not my Latin: I write it fairly exclusively in majuscules, as Latin is wont to be written.
The thing I miss most about Japanese is calligraphy. Brush calligraphy has something that pen calligraphy doesn't. It was never an art at which I was particularly skillful, but I love India ink and the feeling of a brush on paper.
I was looking for my copy of Fitzgerald's translation of The Odyssey and came upon my Pentel color brush that I used to practice calligraphy. All the perks of brushwork with none of the mess. Because my finals are tomorrow, I am in high procrastination mode. This is the opening of Ὀδύσσεια.
At some point in my life, I would like to learn standard calligraphy... but scripts such as Devanagari and Longobardisca seem so much more fun, and the latter is something which would actually prove useful. I also want to make an illuminated abecedarium (I suppose it's properly called an abecediary, but being a Latinist and all...) but am certain that my inability to draw or paint would hinder me.
This guy, on the other hand, I think I could do:
One of the most exciting parts about starting a new language is learning how the people who speak it write. Learning languages that use non-Latin scripts is a way to start off with a clean slate: my Greek is more attractive than my English because of the amount of dexterity I had by the time I started learning to write it. My English still has hang-ups from kindergarten. The same is true for my Italian - although compared to most Italians my handwriting is gorgeous - though not my Latin: I write it fairly exclusively in majuscules, as Latin is wont to be written.
The thing I miss most about Japanese is calligraphy. Brush calligraphy has something that pen calligraphy doesn't. It was never an art at which I was particularly skillful, but I love India ink and the feeling of a brush on paper.
I was looking for my copy of Fitzgerald's translation of The Odyssey and came upon my Pentel color brush that I used to practice calligraphy. All the perks of brushwork with none of the mess. Because my finals are tomorrow, I am in high procrastination mode. This is the opening of Ὀδύσσεια.
At some point in my life, I would like to learn standard calligraphy... but scripts such as Devanagari and Longobardisca seem so much more fun, and the latter is something which would actually prove useful. I also want to make an illuminated abecedarium (I suppose it's properly called an abecediary, but being a Latinist and all...) but am certain that my inability to draw or paint would hinder me.This guy, on the other hand, I think I could do:
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