Standardization of a Graphic Symbol System as an Alternative Communication Tool for Turkish
Year: 2016
Type: article
Abstract: Introduction Writing is a crucial means of communication. Emotions, beliefs, comments, experiences, and knowledge can be expressed and shared with other people, organizations, or wider populations via writing (Gnanadesikan, 2009). Writing systems are divided into four categories: pictographic, hieroglyphic, cuneiform, and alphabetical. Most writing systems were originally pictographic, that is, symbols were used to represent words and ideas. However, symbols started to be used for sounds instead of concepts since such symbols gradually became less useful and new symbols were needed for every word. In the course of time, symbols became more stylized and less representative and thus they evolved from one to another (Coulmas, 2003; Lunde, 2009). The literature review shows that many countries use graphic symbol sets/systems to support the communication and learning capacities of individuals with speech, learning, and linguistic deficiencies (Volpato, Orton, & Blackburn, 1985; Carmeli, & Shen, 1998; Whittle, & Detheridge, 2001; Alant, Life, & Harty, 2005; Brown, 2006; Parette, Boeckmann, & Hourcade, 2008; Zainuddin, Zaman, & Ahmad, 2009). The literature provides many studies referring to graphic symbols used in learning and assessment of individuals whose expressive or receptive linguistic skills are not sufficiently developed (Heller, Ware, Allgood, & Castelle, 1994; Trudeau, Sutton, Dagenais, De Broeck, & Morford, 2007; AlJa'am, ElSeoud, Edwards, Ruiz, & Jaoua, 2009; Emms, & Gardner, 2010; Bunning, Kwiatkowska, & Weldin, 2012). Researchers, young children, individuals, and people in general are seeking an answer to the question: Is it possible to obtain more accurate and detailed information by means of a pictorial scale? (Harter, & Pike, 1984; Valla, Bergeron, & Smolla, 2000; Reid, Vallerand, Poulin, & Crocker, 2009). Graphic symbols are considered as alternative means of communication for most individuals who are not able to speak to communicate the need special education. They may also be regarded as materials stimulating visual intelligence for enriching learning environments for individuals showing normal development. In order to investigate whether or not graphic symbols can be used as a means of learning or communication, a lot of studies were carried out on different populations with and without any disability. As an example, Cohen, Allgood, Heller and Castelle (2001) researched the effects of picture dictionaries on expressive communication skills of professional training students with audial and mental problems. In the study which aimed at regulating the communications of students with their peers, manager and others in the work environment, customized picture dictionaries were devised which contain symbols and corresponding words or terms for individual participants. The dictionaries were configured by using black-and-white PCS symbols. Research results revealed that students could effectively utilize the picture dictionaries for expressing themselves. It was understood that students preferred picture dictionaries to take notes in most cases though all means of communication were available. As another research in this area, Visser (2006) examined a group of children aged 4 with normal development to find out their ability to recognize basic emotions expressed with graphic symbols. For four basic emotional status such as happy, upset and angry, 4 corresponding symbols were selected by a group of experts from the PCS, Picsyms and Makaton sets/systems. The participants responded 3 questions regarding each emotion by indicating the target symbol out of 16 random symbols on one page. It was found out that participants could recognize feelings transmitted with graphic symbols. Trudeau et al. (2007) investigated how graphic symbol expression is affected from syntactic complexity. Study participants consisted of French-speaking individuals with not communicative problem. …
Source: Educational Technology & Society
Authors: Yasemin Karal, Hasan Karal, Lokman Şılbır, Taner Altun
Language: English
Topic: Safety Warnings and Signage
Subfield: Human Factors and Ergonomics
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W2253587961