Many writing systems evolved from what we might consider icons. The letter A comes from the head of an ox, which becomes much more obvious if you put it upside

Many writing systems evolved from what we might consider icons. The letter A comes from the head of an ox, which becomes much more obvious if you put it upside down like ∀. Many Chinese characters retain a similarity to the objects they represent: "tree" is 木 and "fire" is 火 (imagine a bonfire). The Korean consonants ㄱ and ㄴ represent the general position and shape of your tongue when you make the "k" and "n" sounds, respectively. All of these symbols began their life as icons, but were later recognized as text as people converged on a certain usage.