LoCoS

LoCoS (short for Lovers Communication System) is a pictorial language developed by Yukio Ota of Japan in 1964. It was meant as communication for the deaf and mute as well as for the illiterate. It is a universal and simple language, and as Ota put it, "It should emphasize the importance of communication among all the people of all the countries of the world."

LoCoS
Script type	Ideographic
Creator	Yukio Ota
Created	1964
Direction	Left-to-right
Languages	LoCoS

LoCoS
Lovers Communication System
Created by	Yukio Ota
Date	1964
Purpose	Constructed language International auxiliary language Pasigraphy LoCoS
Language codes
ISO 639-3	–

Symbols

There are eight major symbols in LoCoS.

Symbol	Description
	sun, day
	man, person
	thing
	thought
	feeling
	place, land
	question
	existence

Words

Words are made by combining different symbols in different ways. For example if you put a dot inside a circle it will represent today, or if you put a fish in an open ring shape it will be a fisherman.

• 
  today
• 
  fisherman

There are around 80 words that are official according to Yukio Ota. Words can be created as long as they follow the basic word syntax.

• 
  emotion
• 
  laugh
• 
  happy
• 
  attention
• 
  fear

Sentences

It's very good to meet you.

• 
  it
• 
  is
• 
  very good
• 
  to
• 
  meet
• 
  you

It's sad you can't stay any longer.

• 
  it
• 
  is
• 
  sad
• 
  you
• 
  cannot
• 
  stay
• 
  long

But this short stay was very interesting.

• 
  but
• 
  this
• 
  short
• 
  stay
• 
  (past)
• 
  very
• 
  interesting

We learnt lots from you.

• 
  we
• 
  (past)
• 
  learn
• 
  a lot
• 
  from
• 
  you

Hope you were happy.

• 
  hope
• 
  you
• 
  (past)
• 
  happy

We hope you'll succeed.

• 
  we
• 
  (present)
• 
  hope
• 
  you
• 
  will
• 
  succeed

Hope to see you.

• 
  hope
• 
  (future)
• 
  see
• 
  you

Love you lots.

• 
  lot
• 
  love

Bibliography

• Bliss, C.K. (1965). Semantography (Blissymbolics). Sydney, Australia: Semantography Publications, second edition, 882 pp. The book presents a system for universal writing, or pasigraphy.
• Ota, Yukio (1973). «LoCoS: An Experimental Pictorial Language.» Icographic, No. 6, pp. 15-19. Published by ICOGRADA, the International Council of Graphic Design Associations, based in London.
• Ota, Yukio (1987). Pictogram Design, Kashiwashobo, Tokyo, ISBN 4-7601-0300-7, 1987. The author presents a world-wide collection of case studies in visible language signage systems, including LoCoS.

External links

• Lovers Communication System