DRAWING AS A LANGUAGE

Drawing As A Language - Any language must have a set of rules that govern things like sentence structure, grammar, and spelling. Different languages have their own set of rules, and the rules of one do not always apply to the rules of another. Take the English and German languages, for example. The sequence of words is crucial in English. The subject is usually mentioned first, followed by the object. As a result, the phrases "the dog bit the man" and "the man bit the dog" have completely different meanings. In German, however, the subject and object are defined by the case of the definite or indefinite articles, not by word order. Despite the fact that word order is crucial in German, with the sequence 'time-manner-place' being the most common, it can be modified without losing meaning. 'The dog bit the man' is a German expression that means 'the dog bit the man.' The definite article is 'der' since the words for dog (Hund) and man (Mann) are both masculine. The shift of the definite article to 'den' in this situation indicates that the guy is the object. Although it may appear weird, the word order can be reversed to: 'den Mann bisst der Hund,' and the dog still bites the man. Although the languages are different, clear understanding is achieved due to the differences in the rules. Engineering drawing follows similar principles in that it relies on correct information transfer via two-dimensional paper or a computer screen. Different national and/or international standards determine the rules. The standards specify how a component's shape and form should be depicted on an engineering drawing, as well as how the part should be dimensioned and toleranced for manufacture. As a result, it's no wonder that engineering drawing has been referred to as a language.

Despite the fact that a language's norms define it, whether spoken or written, mistakes can nonetheless occur. This is due to the fact that information from person number one's brain is transferred to person number two's brain. The first graphic in Figure below depicts the number of times information is transferred in a spoken language. In brain number one, there is a concept that needs to be communicated. As a result, the concept is confined by the person's language understanding and abilities. In comparison to German, I find it much easier to explain myself in Sundanese. This is due to the fact that my mother tongue is Sundanese, and I only know enough German to travel in Germany. As a result, knowing how to speak a language is a sort of noise that can cause communication to be distorted. The speech is transported over the air, which might cause distortions owing to factors such as background noise. This is then received by the second person's ears and sent to the brain. Another chance for noise to infiltrate the Ccmmunication sequence exists here. The game 'Chinese whispers' is based on the amusement that can be had from mishearing things. If the communications sequence is free of noise, brain two receives the same thought that brain one desires to send. This is not always the case, as we all know to our cost! Perhaps all of the above might be summed up by a New York banner that reads, "I know you think you understand what I said, but I'm not sure you realize what you heard isn't what I meant"!

When it comes to drawing, the same information transfer sequence applies (see the second diagram in Figure below). In this example, the brain tells the hands to draw symbols, which the receiver's eye notices and sends to their brain. The flow of information can be distorted once again by noise. It's worth noting that this is independent of language; a design can be communicated through a drawing even if the two persons don't speak the same language. The symbols in engineering drawings are defined by several ISO standards, which are the equivalent of dictionaries and grammar books in engineering drawings.

The way a designer creates an artefact can differ. One draughtsman may use a different number of views and sections to express the same information as another. The name for this is 'draughtsman's license.' It's similar to how a person may verbally communicate a thought. The same notion can be communicated in two or more different ways by using different words and sentences. A design can be presented in a variety of ways in an engineering drawing, all of which are accurate and transmit the information for manufacture.