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Foreigners Write Backwards
- 88 statements
- 16 feature instances
- 5 referencing feature instances
| Foreigners Write Backwards | type |
FeatureClass | |
| Foreigners Write Backwards | label |
Foreigners Write Backwards | |
| Foreigners Write Backwards | page |
ForeignersWriteBackwards | |
| Foreigners Write Backwards | comment |
So you have a Cipher Language or your characters write in Wingdinglish. But it needs to be made just a leeeettle bit more exotic. How would you do that? Just mention someone writing it right to left, or top to bottom, or in other directions, and that instantly cements the language's foreignness! This writing order generally also carries over to illustrations or Feelies. The direction of writing is occasionally (now rarely) characterized to be a holdover from writing in ink or clay, the direction preventing a trailing sleeve from smudging the writing. Advertisement:propertag.cmd.push(function() { proper_display('tvtropes_mobile_ad_1'); })One particularly popular style of writing seems to be boustrophedonic writing (from the Classical Greek for "as the ox ploughs") in which the first line is written from left to right, the second line from right to left, the third line from left to right, the fourth line from right to left, and so on. Examples |
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| Foreigners Write Backwards | fetched |
2020-04-11T03:40:19Z | |
| Foreigners Write Backwards | parsed |
2020-06-24T14:59:12Z | |
| Foreigners Write Backwards | processingComment |
Dropped link to PlayedWith: Not an Item - FEATURE | |
| Foreigners Write Backwards | isPartOf |
DBTropes | |
| Foreigners Write Backwards / int_28fe1376 | type |
Foreigners Write Backwards | |
| Foreigners Write Backwards / int_28fe1376 | comment |
On Fringe, The Observer writes right to left in unintelligible symbols. The Child in the first season, who probably had some connection to the Observer, wrote in English upside down and backwards. | |
| Foreigners Write Backwards / int_28fe1376 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Foreigners Write Backwards / int_28fe1376 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Fringe | hasFeature |
Foreigners Write Backwards / int_28fe1376 | |
| Foreigners Write Backwards / int_3cf86f10 | type |
Foreigners Write Backwards | |
| Foreigners Write Backwards / int_3cf86f10 | comment |
In one of the Professor Branestawm stories, the Professor is puzzled by a letter in mirror writing. While trying to decide what language it is, one that he mentions it definitely isn't is written around the edges of the paper. | |
| Foreigners Write Backwards / int_3cf86f10 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Foreigners Write Backwards / int_3cf86f10 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Professor Branestawm | hasFeature |
Foreigners Write Backwards / int_3cf86f10 | |
| Foreigners Write Backwards / int_468bebb0 | type |
Foreigners Write Backwards | |
| Foreigners Write Backwards / int_468bebb0 | comment |
From Discworld again, in Mort, the book Death uses to work out who's due to die is read spiralling out from the centre of the page. | |
| Foreigners Write Backwards / int_468bebb0 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Foreigners Write Backwards / int_468bebb0 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Discworld | hasFeature |
Foreigners Write Backwards / int_468bebb0 | |
| Foreigners Write Backwards / int_50bcf7a6 | type |
Foreigners Write Backwards | |
| Foreigners Write Backwards / int_50bcf7a6 | comment |
Homestuck: the script used on Alternia is typed right-to-left. | |
| Foreigners Write Backwards / int_50bcf7a6 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Foreigners Write Backwards / int_50bcf7a6 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Homestuck (Webcomic) | hasFeature |
Foreigners Write Backwards / int_50bcf7a6 | |
| Foreigners Write Backwards / int_76e7de99 | type |
Foreigners Write Backwards | |
| Foreigners Write Backwards / int_76e7de99 | comment |
In the Forgotten Realms, dwarves' runic script is often inscribed to circle around a central drawing, symbol or emblem. | |
| Foreigners Write Backwards / int_76e7de99 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Foreigners Write Backwards / int_76e7de99 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Forgotten Realms (Tabletop Game) | hasFeature |
Foreigners Write Backwards / int_76e7de99 | |
| Foreigners Write Backwards / int_78db2b3b | type |
Foreigners Write Backwards | |
| Foreigners Write Backwards / int_78db2b3b | comment |
The Lilliputians of Gulliver’s Travels write "neither from the left to the right, like the Europeans; nor from right to the left, like the Arabians; nor from up to down, like the Chinese; nor from down to up, like the Cascagians; but aslant from one corner to the other, like ladies in England." | |
| Foreigners Write Backwards / int_78db2b3b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Foreigners Write Backwards / int_78db2b3b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Gulliver's Travels | hasFeature |
Foreigners Write Backwards / int_78db2b3b | |
| Foreigners Write Backwards / int_81692f99 | type |
Foreigners Write Backwards | |
| Foreigners Write Backwards / int_81692f99 | comment |
In Star Trek Vulcan◊ is written vertically (with occasional links from one column to another) and Ferengi◊ branches from a central point at 60 degree angles. | |
| Foreigners Write Backwards / int_81692f99 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Foreigners Write Backwards / int_81692f99 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Star Trek (Franchise) | hasFeature |
Foreigners Write Backwards / int_81692f99 | |
| Foreigners Write Backwards / int_853937a3 | type |
Foreigners Write Backwards | |
| Foreigners Write Backwards / int_853937a3 | comment |
Referenced in My Fair Lady: "And the Hebrews learn it backwards, which is absolutely frightening." | |
| Foreigners Write Backwards / int_853937a3 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Foreigners Write Backwards / int_853937a3 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| My Fair Lady (Theatre) | hasFeature |
Foreigners Write Backwards / int_853937a3 | |
| Foreigners Write Backwards / int_9d34190a | type |
Foreigners Write Backwards | |
| Foreigners Write Backwards / int_9d34190a | comment |
In The Elder Scrolls series, the language of the demonic Daedra is simply a substitution cipher for English, give or take a few letters. However, it has notably been written in various ways throughout the series, including in reverse, from top to bottom, upside down, with the first letter much larger (and in a different color), and even with the characters superimposed on top of one another. | |
| Foreigners Write Backwards / int_9d34190a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Foreigners Write Backwards / int_9d34190a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Elder Scrolls (Franchise) | hasFeature |
Foreigners Write Backwards / int_9d34190a | |
| Foreigners Write Backwards / int_a825da3e | type |
Foreigners Write Backwards | |
| Foreigners Write Backwards / int_a825da3e | comment |
In Magic: The Gathering, the language of the sinister Phyrexian invaders is written upon a continuous line which can go in any direction. A long vertical stroke marks the beginning of each sentence. | |
| Foreigners Write Backwards / int_a825da3e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Foreigners Write Backwards / int_a825da3e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| MagicTheGathering | hasFeature |
Foreigners Write Backwards / int_a825da3e | |
| Foreigners Write Backwards / int_c564dcf0 | type |
Foreigners Write Backwards | |
| Foreigners Write Backwards / int_c564dcf0 | comment |
A plot point in Moving Pictures is a book written in pictograms depicts a "man behind the door", which is translated as "a prisoner". When the Librarian start reading it and follows his read with his finger, the protagonist notices him reading backwards and understands the man is in front of the door, "a guardian". | |
| Foreigners Write Backwards / int_c564dcf0 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Foreigners Write Backwards / int_c564dcf0 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Moving Pictures | hasFeature |
Foreigners Write Backwards / int_c564dcf0 | |
| Foreigners Write Backwards / int_c565e657 | type |
Foreigners Write Backwards | |
| Foreigners Write Backwards / int_c565e657 | comment |
Inverted in A Canticle for Leibowitz: the Wandering Jew (well, a wandering Jew) refers to Gentiles writing backwards when he reads what Brother Francis writes on a rock — since Hebrew is written right to left, Western script looks foreign and backwards to him. | |
| Foreigners Write Backwards / int_c565e657 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Foreigners Write Backwards / int_c565e657 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| A Canticle for Leibowitz | hasFeature |
Foreigners Write Backwards / int_c565e657 | |
| Foreigners Write Backwards / int_d66ef045 | type |
Foreigners Write Backwards | |
| Foreigners Write Backwards / int_d66ef045 | comment |
In Atlantis: The Lost Empire the Atlantean language uses a boustrophedonic Wingdinglish script and is described as the "mother language" from which all others descended. | |
| Foreigners Write Backwards / int_d66ef045 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Foreigners Write Backwards / int_d66ef045 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Atlantis: The Lost Empire | hasFeature |
Foreigners Write Backwards / int_d66ef045 | |
| Foreigners Write Backwards / int_e1575a9d | type |
Foreigners Write Backwards | |
| Foreigners Write Backwards / int_e1575a9d | comment |
Japanese is traditionally written from top to bottom, with the columns starting from the right. This is why manga is published "backwards", and why many Western manga-style comics (MegaTokyo and Scott Pilgrim for example) will have a message printed on the last page reminding you to read the book starting from the other end because it's NOT from Japan. Zig-zagged in that nowadays it's usually written left-to-right outside of manga, which came about as books in both Japanese and Western languages meant people had to keep rotating the books to read text. | |
| Foreigners Write Backwards / int_e1575a9d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Foreigners Write Backwards / int_e1575a9d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| MegaTokyo | hasFeature |
Foreigners Write Backwards / int_e1575a9d | |
| Foreigners Write Backwards / int_f01be35d | type |
Foreigners Write Backwards | |
| Foreigners Write Backwards / int_f01be35d | comment |
In Gor writing on the planet Gor is done left-to-right for the first line, then right-to-left for the second, etc. | |
| Foreigners Write Backwards / int_f01be35d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Foreigners Write Backwards / int_f01be35d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Gor | hasFeature |
Foreigners Write Backwards / int_f01be35d | |
| Foreigners Write Backwards / int_f3ef0f86 | type |
Foreigners Write Backwards | |
| Foreigners Write Backwards / int_f3ef0f86 | comment |
The Fairies in Artemis Fowl are mentioned writing in spirals. Later Defied by having the green text horizontal and explaining that the spirals gave the fairies migraines — the example shown is a very old piece of writing. | |
| Foreigners Write Backwards / int_f3ef0f86 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Foreigners Write Backwards / int_f3ef0f86 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Artemis Fowl | hasFeature |
Foreigners Write Backwards / int_f3ef0f86 |
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