6533b7d3fe1ef96bd1261448

RESEARCH PRODUCT

THE KNOT SCRIPT – THE LOST WRITING SYSTEM OF THE LATVIAN LANGUAGE

Uģis Nastevičs

subject

LiteratureEngineeringFolkloreclew; folk songs; knot alphabet; knot records; knot script; knot writing; Latvia; Latvian language; Lithuania; quipu; song ball; song clew; Vismantai; writing system; yarn ballbusiness.industryMetaphormedia_common.quotation_subjectGlobeLatvianWitnesslanguage.human_languageLiteracymedicine.anatomical_structureWriting systemmedicinelanguagebusinessKnot (mathematics)media_common

description

The article analyses a writing system of the Latvian language that has been scarcely researched before. The evidence of the usage of the knot script and song clews is present in the Latvian folklore, although it has been commonly considered as a metaphor. At the beginning of the 20th century there were individuals still using it prior to the conventional literacy increase due to the general education. Similar knot scripts can be found in several cultures around the globe. The article encompasses a study of previous researches and evidence in periodicals, Latvian community in Lithuania, education of commoners in Latvia, reciprocal comparison of the Latvian knot script writing systems, interview with a contemporary witness and experiment on reconstruction of the Latvian knot script.

yearjournalcountryeditionlanguage
2016-12-20Education Reform in Comprehensive School: Education Content Research and Implementation Problems
https://doi.org/10.17770/ercs2016.2178