The beauty of sounds, an illustration workshop by Chiyun Yeh
-What does your language look like?

A phonetic transcription system is a set of symbols or characters that represent the sounds of human speech. It is a way of writing down the sounds of a language in a consistent and standardized way. 

Phonetic transcription systems are used in linguistics, language learning, and speech pathology to describe and analyze the sounds of speech. There are various phonetic transcription systems used in different parts of the world, such as the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), which is widely used for English and other languages, or the Cyrillic script, an alphabet used to transcribe Slavic languages and several others.

Bopomofo (ㄅㄆㄇㄈ), also known as Zhuyin (注音), is a phonetic transcription system used in Taiwan for transcribing spoken Mandarin Chinese. It was created in the early 20th century and consists of 37 characters, which represent the sounds of Mandarin Chinese. Bopomofo is primarily used for teaching Chinese pronunciation to children and foreigners learning Mandarin, and it is also used in some electronic devices and computer input systems.

▶︎ The 37 symbols of the Zhuyin (注音) phonetic transcription system.

Over the course of a year, Taiwanese artist Chiyun Yeh undertook the task of illustrating each of the Bopomofo symbols using fashionable and elegant female characters as her inspiration. The resulting collection is comprised of 37 distinct artworks that not only captivate the viewer with their pleasant aesthetics and color palette, but also invite them to explore the Mandarin pronunciation system that is primarily used in Taiwan.

▶︎ Some of the illustrations of the “Do you know ㄅㄆㄇㄈ?” project by Chiyun Yeh.

Chiyun was motivated to undertake this project because she realized that very few people were familiar with Bopomofo. The illustrations served the purpose of sharing her own culture, while also enabling her to learn about her audience’s mother tongues and sparking meaningful conversations about sounds and words that were linked to personal experiences such as childhood and school memories.

▶︎ Fans react to the Instagram post presenting “Do you know ㄅㄆㄇㄈ?”

In this workshop, Chiyun Yeh will take the conversation a step further by inviting participants to illustrate the unique sounds and words of their own mother tongues. Through this engaging and interactive experience, attendees will have the opportunity to try their hand at watercolor pencil illustration, and then share their creations with others.

Don’t miss this lively exchange of art, language, and culture!

▶︎ Join to design the special sounds of your language together with Chiyun!

Workshop Program

First Section: Input

• Introduction
• About “Do you know ㄅㄆㄇㄈ？”
• Chiyun Yeh’s creative process

(Break)

Second Section: Practical Exercise

• Brainstorming
• Draft
• Watercolor painting

Sharing and closing