Content area
This project examines cultural education through language. Exploring the facilitation of decoding the letter-sound correspondence in the alphabet of the Indian Hindi language, for speakers of English, the project's central aim is to illuminate the ways in which iconography embedded into digital fonts simplifies the learning of new letters. Topics investigated include the evaluation of icons as pictographic mnemonics that aid in accurate icon recognition, the identification of sound repetition, and ultimately, the establishment of the icon-letter-sound correspondence in the reading process.
Starting with the selection and development of 10 consonant character-icon sets—totaling 40 glyphs—in the Hindi language, this study at present establishes a pilot test for visual language learning in a non-native script for readers proficient in English. The test evaluates the role of icons in the font to support decoding letter-sound correspondence and to increase the familiarity of characters in the script that would otherwise be foreign to English readers. Additionally, the test informs a discussion on the impact of embedded iconography on participant motivation to learn a language in a foreign script.
These activities serve as both a reflection of existing design methodology and an exploration of a new application offered by such design systems. The study expands our understanding of typography's role as a tool for learning within the capabilities and limitations of learners' individual linguistic backgrounds. Outcomes include insights into design constraints that aid in icon identification and the decoding of letter-sound correspondence while learning new letters. When expanded further into the development of the entire font set, this project holds strong implications for integration into language learning curricula, promising cultural preservation, emphasis on linguistic diversity and cross-cultural communication in an increasingly globalized world.