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Logogram

A reference page linking a name, group, or concept to the materials that discuss it.

A sign representing a word or related words; context selects the reading, and a sign may also have phonetic uses.

Modern distinction between logogram, phonetic use and determinative. Functions overlap; no ancient signs or fixed universal stages reproduced
Modern distinction between logogram, phonetic use and determinative. Functions overlap; no ancient signs or fixed universal stages reproducedIL Archive · original explanatory diagram · CC BY 4.0 · CC BYImage source

Text

A logogram represents a word in written context. Semantically related words may share a sign, so shape alone cannot recover pronunciation. Woods distinguishes this function from phonetic use and an unspoken classifier.[1]

Logograms do not imply a language-free pictorial system; phonetic use does not imply complete grammatical recording. Functions can overlap. The modern diagram explains distinctions without copying a tablet or ancient signs.[1]

References and notes

  1. Christopher Woods (2010), The Earliest Mesopotamian Writing; Joachim Marzahn, catalogue no. 39 (translated by Robert Wagner). In C. Woods, E. Teeter & G. Emberling, Visible Language. OIMP 32. Selected chronology/language passages; p. 43: URI3+NA and Nanna; p. 70, no. 39, VAT14540: clay Inanna emblem, page visually inspected. Not the whole book. Catalogue photograph not republished. Emblem origin balanced against van Dijk-Coombes. Return to the text ↑

Research history

Substantive changes are retained here. Minor copy edits remain in the internal operational log.

  1. Edition 2 · 11 October 2026 · editor:aladmin

    Substantive record update

    Read this revision in its original language (Arabic)

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IL Archive, «Logogram», Edition 2, https://ilarchive.com/en/entities/logogram