Writing systems:
abjads |
alphabets |
syllabic alphabets |
syllabaries |
semanto-phonetic scripts
undeciphered scripts |
alternative scripts |
your con-scripts |
A-Z index |
Direction index
Writing systems:
abjads |
alphabets |
syllabic alphabets |
syllabaries |
semanto-phonetic scripts
undeciphered scripts |
alternative scripts |
your con-scripts |
A-Z index |
Direction index
Writing is a method of representing language in visual or tactile form. Writing systems use sets of symbols to represent the sounds of speech, and may also have symbols for such things as punctuation and numerals.
Here are a number of ways to define writing systems:
a system of more or less permanent marks used to represent an utterance in such a way that it can be recovered more or less exactly without the intervention of the utterer.
From The World's Writing Systems
a set of visible or tactile signs used to represent units of language in a systematic way, with the purpose of recording messages which can be retrieved by everyone who knows the language in question and the rules by virtue of which its units are encoded in the writing system.
From the The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Writings Systems
All writing systems use visible signs with the exception of the raised notation systems used by blind and visually impaired people, such as Braille and Moon. Hence the need to include tactile signs in the above definition.
In A History of Writing, Steven Roger Fischer argues that no one definition of writing can cover all the writing systems that exist and have ever existed. Instead he states that a 'complete writing' system should fullfill all the following criteria:
Writing systems are both functional, providing a visual way to represent language, and also symbolic, in that they represent cultures and peoples. In The writing systems of the world, Florian Coulmas describes them as follows:
As the most visible items of a language, scripts and orthographies are 'emotionally loaded', indicating as they do group loyalties and identities. Rather than being mere instruments of a practical nature, they are symbolic systems of great social significance which may, moreover, have profound effect on the social structure of a speech community.
Writing systems can be divided into two main types: those that represent consonants and vowels (alphabets), and those which represent syllables (syllabaries), though some do both. There are a number of subdivisions of each type, and there are different classifications of writing systems in different sources.
You can find links to all the writing systems on Omniglot in the A-Z index.
Abjads, or consonant alphabets, have independent letters for consonants and may indicate vowels using some of the consonant letters and/or with diacritics. In Abjads such as Arabic and Hebrew full vowel indication (vocalisation) is only used in specific contexts, such as in religious books and children's books.
The image below shows the word 'language' in Arabic and Hebrew, both without vowel marks (unvocalised) and with vowel marks (vocalised).
In Semitic languages like these most words have roots made up of three consonants, e.g. k-t-b (كتب) is the root for words related to marking, inscribing or writing in Arabic. Adding vowels and other consonants to such roots creates different words such as katîb, writer; kutub, books; kutubî, bookdealer; maktab, school, office; and maktaba, library, literature.
Many of the ancient alphabets used in West Asia and North Africa were abjads, as are the Arabic and Hebrew scripts.
Alphabets, or phonemic alphabets, are sets of letters that represent consonants and vowels. In some languages, such as Czech, each letter or combination of letters represents one sound, while in others, such as English, letters might represent a variety of sounds, or the same sounds can be written in different ways.
Here is an example of how the sh sound [ʃ] is represented in different languages and alphabets:
The most widely-used alphabets are the Latin or Roman alphabet and the Cyrillic alphabet. They have been adapted to write hundreds of different languages and are used on every continent.
More information about alphabets
Syllabic alphabets, alphasyllabaries or abugidas are writing systems in which the main element is the syllable. Syllables are built up of consonants, each of which has an inherent vowel, e.g. ka, kha, ga, gha. Diacritic symbols are used to change or mute the inherent vowel, and separate vowel letters may be used when vowels occur at the beginning of a syllable or on their own.
The illustration below shows some of the letters and other symbols used in Devanagari, which is used to write Hindi, Marathi, Nepali and many other languages. The vowel diacritics are highlighted in red, and the consonant clusters are used when two or more consonants occur together without vowels between them.
Most of the writing systems used in South and South East Asia are syllabic alphabets
More information about syllabic alphabets
A syllabary is a phonetic writing system consisting of symbols representing syllables. A syllable is often made up of a consonant plus a vowel or a single vowel.
The illustration below shows a selection of symbols from Japanese Hiragana, and Inuktitut. In Hiragana each syllable is represented by a separate symbol. In Inuktitut the orientation of the symbols is used indicate different vowels, and the small symbol is used to write syllable final consonants, as in Inuktitut.
More information about syllabaries
The symbols used in semanto-phonetic writing systems often represent both sound and meaning. As a result, such scripts generally include a large number of symbols: anything from several hundred to tens of thousands. In fact there is no theoretical upper limit to the number of symbols in some scripts, such as Chinese. These scripts could also be called logophonetic, morphophonemic, logographic or logosyllabic.
Semanto-phonetic writing systems may include the following types of symbol:
Pictograms or pictographs resemble the things they represent. Logograms are symbols that represent parts of words or whole words. The image on the right shows some examples of pictograms from the Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic and Chinese scripts. The Chinese characters used to look like the things they stand for, but have become increasingly stylized over the years.
Ideograms or ideographs are symbols which graphically represent abstract ideas. The image below shows a number of ideographic Chinese characters.
The majority of characters in the Chinese script are semanto-phonetic compounds: they include a semantic element, which represents or hints at their meaning, and a phonetic element, which shows or hints at their pronunciation. Below are a few such compound characters which all share a semantic element meaning 'horse'.
Sometimes symbols are used for their phonetic value alone, without regard for their meaning, for example when transliterating foreign names and loan words.
More information about semanto-phonetic writing systems
Writing systems that have yet to be deciphered or have only been partially deciphered.
More information about undeciphered writing systems
Written and spoken language differ in many ways. However some forms of writing are closer to speech than others, and vice versa. Below are some of the ways in which these two forms of language differ:
Writing is usually permanent and written texts cannot usually be changed once they have been printed/written out.
Speech is usually transient, unless recorded, and speakers can correct themselves and change their utterances as they go along.
A written text can communicate across time and space for as long as the particular language and writing system is still understood.
Speech is usually used for immediate interactions.
Written language tends to be more complex and intricate than speech with longer sentences and many subordinate clauses. The punctuation and layout of written texts also have no spoken equivalent. However some forms of written language, such as instant messages and email, are closer to spoken language.
Spoken language tends to be full of repetitions, incomplete sentences, corrections and interruptions, with the exception of formal speeches and other scripted forms of speech, such as news reports and scripts for plays and films.
Writers receive no immediate feedback from their readers, except in computer-based communciation. Therefore they cannot rely on context to clarify things and have to make sure that they explain things clearly and unambiguously.
Speech is usually a dynamic interaction between two or more people. Context and shared knowledge play a major role, so it is possible to leave much unsaid or indirectly implied.
Writers can make use of punctuation, headings, layout, colours and other graphical effects in their written texts. Such things are not available in speech
Speech can use timing, tone, volume, and timber to add emotional context.
Written material can be read repeatedly and closely analysed, and notes can be made on the writing surface. Only recorded speech can be used in this way.
Some grammatical constructions are only used in writing, as are some kinds of vocabulary, such as some complex chemical and legal terms.
Some types of vocabulary are used only or mainly in speech. These include slang expressions, and tags like y'know, like, etc.
Copyright 1998- Simon Ager
