Научно-исследовательская работа на английском языке:You And Your Handwriting

Research Work
«You and your handwriting»
Sharifullina Elza DifkatovnaContents
I. History of handwriting
II. What is handwriting 1. Handwriting definition
2. Handwriting synonyms
3. Handwriting terminology
4. Features of letters
• slant • width and narrowness
• connectedness • directions and lions
• loops
• signatures • types of letters
III. Practical work
IV. Conclusion
V. Literature
I. History of handwriting
The study of interpreting handwriting is known as handwriting analysis. Those who specialize in graphology, the practice of handwriting analysis, believe your penmanship harbors more than the power of self-expression; they believe it bears the unique imprint of your personality.
Handwriting reveals hundreds of elements of the person's "personality and character" which includes glimpses into the subconscious mind, intellect, energy, fears, motivations, imagination, integrity, aptitudes, etc. There are over 100 individual traits revealed and an unlimited number of combinations.
The activity dates back many centuries, having originally (as far as we can tell) been taken from Southern India to China and from there to Greece, circa 2,000 BC. Aristotle claimed that he could define a person’s soul from studying his handwriting. The Roman historian Suetonius claimed that Emperor Augustus did not separate his words which led him to conclude that the Emperor did not pay attention to detail in forming a picture of the whole situation.
In 1622, the first known published book on graphology emerged. The book "How to recognize from a letter the nature and quality of a writer" was written by Camillo Baldi, an Italian doctor of medicine and philosophy (and professor at the University of Bologna).
It wasn't until much later though, that the word "graphology" appeared. In 1870 French monk named Jean Hippolyte Michon coined the phrase "Graphology" (from the Greek: "Graph" meaning, 'To write' or 'I write', and "Logos" meaning 'doctrine' or 'theory'), believed the brain, and not the hand, controlled handwriting. He broke handwriting down into a series of strokes, assigning a personality trait to each stroke.
Although graphology is scorned by many scientists due to a shortage of supporting empirical evidence, the technique is widely used in both unofficial and official capacities around the world - from working with learning disadvantaged children to employee screening or helping people find the most compatible mate.
II. What is handwritingIf we look up in the dictionary, we shall see the following hand·writ·ing (n) definitions:
writing done by hand, with pen, pencil, etc.,
a style or way of forming letters and words in writing,
archaic: something written by hand.
In the dictionary of synonyms we can find such handwriting synonyms as: penmanship, hand, writing, script, longhand, chirography, scrawl, scribble, manuscript, style of penmanship, autography, holographic writing, scription, calligraphy, scrivening, penscript, pencraft, scrivenery, griffonage, hieroglyphics, pothooks, scratching, chicken tracks, fist; see also autograph, signature.
The handwriting in a manuscript can provide considerable information about an individual manuscript, and how it relates to other manuscripts. It is possible, for example, to establish details about the writer at work, such as where he or she started a fresh session of writing or where the text has been corrected after being first written. Consider the following questions:
How many scribes were at work on a given document?
Were these two copies of the same text made by the same person?
Is this poem holograph (in the author's hand) or scribal? 
Identifying a common writer is possible, of course, because no two people write exactly alike, and in many cases two samples are clearly the work of different people. Even in these straightforward cases, it is important to have a clear terminology for describing specific features of handwriting in order to explain the reasoning behind your conclusions.

Handwriting Terminology
The process of comparing handwriting is not always straightforward and unambiguous, and it is usually less easy to claim identity than to discount it.
It is also important to have a generally agreed set of terms with which to describe the handwriting's features, and this terminology should be as clear and unambiguous as possible. A number of terms are outlined below. They are based on the definitions given by Antony Petti in English Literary Hands from Chaucer to Dryden (London, 1977).
A mark made by the pen is a pen stroke, the direction of which are described by such terms as upstroke and downstroke. A downstroke is typically thicker than an upstroke because the movement involves muscle contraction (as the writing instrument is moved towards the writer), and thus the application of increased pressure. A letter may also be called a graph, however a graph may consist of more than one letter joined together as a ligature. The connecting stroke in a ligature is called a link, whereas a stroke connecting distinct parts of a single letter is a tie. Ornamental strokes are termed flourishes, or (if they are curled) curlicues.
Letters may be capitals, also called majuscules, or minuscules. The terms upper and lower case refer specifically to printing so should be avoided when discussing handwriting. Graphs may also be distinguished by their position within the word: initial, medial, or terminal. It is common for letters to be formed in different ways depending on their position.
An important point of reference when discussing letters is the base of the line of writing. Many letters project to roughly the same point above the base line: these are known as linear letters. A simple linear vertical stroke is the most basic stroke, and is called a minin. Those letters that extend substantially above the line formed by the top of linear letters are supralinear, while those that descend below it are infralinear, and double-length letters go both above and below the base line. However, supralinear upstrokes are also often termed ascenders, while infralinear downstrokes are descenders.
Features of Letters
The following illustrations depict typical examples of Elizabethan secretary hand.
 Anatomical terminology is often used to describe the components of individual letters, for example the main part of the letter is its body. This majuscule D has a primary vertical line called the back, and two loops, one forming its head, the other its foot.
In double length letters like this minuscule s, the vertical line may be called the shaft. In linear letters the same part of the letter is usually termed the stem.
Minuscule r in secretary script is often double stemmed, as in this example. The stroke joining the two stems is a cross-bar.
This is an example of a reversed e, a very common secretary form. The upper portion of an e is usually called its eye rather than its head.
The lower rounded part of a letter, as in this minuscule d, is called the bowl. This open bowled d form is common in secretary hand, and can look very similar to a reverse e.
Lines that extend upwards are arms. The left arm on this minuscule v is longer than the right - a common secretary feature for this letter.
Lines extending downwards, such as in this minuscule n, are called legs.
The lower portion of an infralinear letter, such as this minuscule g, is called the tail. The head of this g is closed by a head-stroke, a horizontal stroke at or near the top of the back. The tail of this g terminates in a hook.
Horizontal lines crossing the stem lower down, such as is characteristic of minuscule t, are cross-strokes.
This is a spurred a, well known as a distinguishing characteristic of Shakespeare's handwriting. A spur is a stroke that begins at the top right of a letter and moves left, and may form a link to the preceding letter.
Now we shall dwell on the features which are most useful for handwriting comparison.
Size
The size of a person’s handwriting symbolizes the person’s assessment of him or herself. The average or “normal” size of a small letter is 3mm. larger letters may indicate such positive characteristics as seriousness, pride in one’s work and generosity, or they may indicate negative characteristics as arrogance, conceit and boastfulness. The positive aspects of a small script are devotion, humility and tolerance. Alternatively it can mean shyness, lack of self-confidence, fear or faint-heartedness.
Slant
Writing that slants to the right shows an extroverted and outward going personality which, in its positive aspects, is active, friendly and sympathetic but might also be restless, hasty or even hysterical. An upright script indicates a self-sufficient and reserved nature; the head rules the heart, occasionally to such an extent that the writer may be accused of rigidity and coldness. A left sloping script with an angle of less than 85 degrees can be interpreted to mean self-control. When the slope is less than 60 degrees, it can mean shyness, withdrawal or fear of the future.
Width and Narrowness
In normal writing the distance between the down-strokes of small letters is equal to the height. Wide writing indicates a warm and vivacious person, whereas narrow writing shows timidity and perhaps inhibition in personal relationships.
Connectedness
When four or more letters are written with one stroke the writing is considered to be connected. Breaks for dotting “I”s do not count. It generally means a co-operative nature, but can mean over-adaptability and a tendency to follow the crowd.
In disconnected script, less than four letters are written with one stroke of the pen. It tends to mean an intuitive, self-reliant and individualistic personality. The negative aspects of such characteristics are egocentricity, inconsistency or loneliness.
Directions of Lines
Does your writing slope upwards? This may mean you are an ambitious and optimistic person, or alternatively that you often lose your temper or are rather frivolous. If your writing slopes downwards over the page it indicates a pessimistic and over-sensitive nature. But take heart! The direction of the lines is one of the least permanent aspects of our writing and probably only reveals a passing mood.
Loops
Full round loops in the upper zone of the writing mean vision, imagination and colorful speech. An absence of loops indicates an analytical mind and strong moral tendencies. Loops in the lower zone tend to indicate erotic fantasies and behavior sensuousness, materialism and country interests. Small loops - or no loops at all - show a business mind and realism, but sometimes also pessimism and an obsession with money.
Signatures
Signatures are significant in as much as they differ in size from the rest of the text. A much larger signature shows a person who has an overblown opinion of him or herself. A much smaller signature indicates a shy and retiring personality. Differences of size, angle and width between the Christian name and the family name symbolize the relationship between the writer and his or her family.
Types of letters
Rounded Letter: Writing of this type has rounded formations. It seems as if the writer has written in comfort and at leisure. These people are lazy, luxurious, and hate to do hard work. They have all the time in the world to chat but still think that they are busy. However, they are also peace- loving, law-abiding and crave the better things in life.
Block Writing: These letters are plain simple and unadorned. The writing is straight. People of this type are hard-working, meticulous and practical. They are generally busy and are reserved by nature.
Angular Writing: This is distinguished from 'Block' and 'Round' types of writing. People who write this way are full of energy and life. They want to lead people but are aggressive and desire quick results. They do not take criticism well. If the writing is too angular it shows a person as money-minded. If moderately angular the writer could be wise, loving and experienced.
Single Letters: If the size of the letter does not change, it indicates that a person is very careful and conscious. These people never neglect their duties and are careful to finish whatever task is assigned to them. They are usually absorbed in the minutest details of any work that they undertake.
Irregular Letters: Writing of this type is full of large and small letters. These people are rarely reliable and could be fickle. They take the most convenient route to anything.
Small to Large Letters: Writing of this type indicates restrained behaviour. These people are eager to express themselves, work hard and want to get success through honest means.
Large to Small Letters: This shows a tactful and friendly nature. People like this make good use of their connections. They are fair in all their dealings.
III. Practical work
I would like to share with my research work based on my topic. I have made an experiment in my class. There are 25 pupils in it. I asked each of them to write three or four sentences in English on separate sheet of papers. Then I gathered them and looked through. So many men, so many handwritings. Having analysed all the works I came to the conclusion that:
- 60% of pupils have slants to the right. It shows frank personality which in positive aspects is active, friendly, kind, responsible but might also be restless or hasty:
- 30% of pupils have upright script. It indicates a self-sufficient and reserved nature:
- 10% of pupils have left-slanting script with corner of less than 85 degrees. It can be interpreted to mean self-control. When the slant is less than 60 degrees it can mean shyness or fear of the future.
Comparing feminine and masculine handwritings I found out that girls write more accurate, they have more loops and connectedness. That means girls have more imagination, vision, they are more emotional and cooperative. As to the boys, they have analytical or business mind and strong moral tendencies
IV. Conclusion
In conclusion we would like to point out, that the initial task in handwriting analysis is to distinguish the individual characteristics, which have evidential value, from the style characteristics, which do not.
The validity of a piece of handwriting comparison is dependent on individual characteristics being correctly distinguished from style characteristics, since a style characteristic is not unique to any particular writer so does not help to prove that documents share an author. The problem is that it is not always easy to know which characteristics are which. Different people with similar social status, form of employment, place and level of education, are particularly likely to have style characteristics in common.
The problem of correctly identifying individual characteristics is particularly acute with historical handwriting. When investigating modern hands there is a large amount of supporting evidence available; for example, which copybooks were in use where at what time. When looking further back in time, however, we know relatively little about how people were taught to write. Furthermore, professional hands (e.g. specialised legal hands such as 'Chancery') were much more widespread until the twentieth century, and such hands are carefully trained to lack individual characteristics.
Resources:
1.wisegeek.com›what-is-handwriting.htm2. http://www.typesof.com/types-of-handwriting/
3. https://www.urbanpro.com/a/graphology-handwriting-analysis