Heterogram

A heterogram is a logogram whose belonging to a foreign writing system remains synchronically transparent and functionally relevant in the text: the scribe deliberately employs signs from another language as such, not as elements absorbed into the current system. The distinction from a logogram is therefore not diachronic (foreign origin) but synchronic (perceived and codified otherness).

The paradigmatic case is that of Aramaic heterograms in epigraphic Middle Persian, where sequences such as MLKʾ are written in Aramaic but read in Middle Persian (šāh, “king”).

Overview

• 𝑆 = any sign (Unicode character) ∉ STOP_SET (cf. Technical Catalogue of Symbols) otherwise preceded by the escape character \.
• 𝑁 = number of characters (represented by char or digits).
• fₛ ∈ ["gf", "graphic", "function"] = label for the graphic function.
• fₕ ∈ ["ht", "heterogram"] = value of the graphic function indicating a heterogram.
• fₖ = canonical key for the graphic function derived from the corresponding label.

Syntax

Syntax

Any number of Unicode characters constituting the logogram followed by a semicolon ; (representing any sequence of IbiUnit variants), followed by one of the keys indicating the graphic function (graphic, function or gf), an equal sign = and the value ht (or heterogram); all enclosed within ampersands &…&.

Examples

&MLKʾ;
gf=ht;
tl=MLKʾ;
read=šāh;
dipl=𐭬𐭫𐭪𐭠&

&ŠNT;
gf=ht;
tl=ŠNT;
read=sāl;
dipl=𐭔𐭍𐭕&

&'YŠH;
gf=ht;
tl='YŠH;
read=zan;
dipl=𐼰𐼷𐽁𐼳&

EpiDoc Outputs

&MLKʾ;
gf=ht;
tl=MLKʾ;
read=šāh;
dipl=𐭬𐭫𐭪𐭠&

<ab>
    <w xml:id="gen-0" type="hg" norm="MLKʾ">MLKʾ</w>
    <note target="#gen-0" type="reading">šāh
    </note>
</ab>

&ŠNT;
gf=ht;
tl=ŠNT;
read=sāl;
dipl=𐭔𐭍𐭕&

<ab>
    <w xml:id="gen-0" type="hg" norm="ŠNT">ŠNT</w>
    <note target="#gen-0" type="reading">sāl
    </note>
</ab>

&'YŠH;
gf=ht;
tl='YŠH;
read=zan;
dipl=𐼰𐼷𐽁𐼳&

<ab>
    <w xml:id="gen-0" type="hg" norm="&apos;YŠH">&apos;YŠH</w>
    <note target="#gen-0" type="reading">zan
    </note>
</ab>

Structural Analysis (Conceptual AST)

&MLKʾ;
gf=ht;
tl=MLKʾ;
read=šāh;
dipl=𐭬𐭫𐭪𐭠&

LexicalUnit[meta]
  Plain("MLKʾ")

&ŠNT;
gf=ht;
tl=ŠNT;
read=sāl;
dipl=𐭔𐭍𐭕&

LexicalUnit[meta]
  Plain("ŠNT")

&'YŠH;
gf=ht;
tl='YŠH;
read=zan;
dipl=𐼰𐼷𐽁𐼳&

LexicalUnit[meta]
  Plain("'YŠH")