{"id":550,"date":"2019-03-20T14:48:51","date_gmt":"2019-03-20T14:48:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/?p=550"},"modified":"2019-12-18T18:25:12","modified_gmt":"2019-12-18T18:25:12","slug":"episode-14-alphabets-and-writing-systems","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/?p=550","title":{"rendered":"Episode 14 &#8211; Alphabets and Writing Systems"},"content":{"rendered":"<div itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/AudioObject\"><meta itemprop=\"name\" content=\"Episode 14 &amp;#8211; Alphabets and Writing Systems\" \/><meta itemprop=\"uploadDate\" content=\"2019-03-20T14:48:51+00:00\" \/><meta itemprop=\"encodingFormat\" content=\"audio\/mpeg\" \/><meta itemprop=\"duration\" content=\"PT23M30S\" \/><meta itemprop=\"description\" content=\"Most people know, or at least have some idea what an alphabet is, but many people might not be so familiar with abjads, abugidas, syllabaries and other writing systems. In this episode I explain what these words mean, and how these writing systems wo...\" \/><meta itemprop=\"contentUrl\" content=\"http:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/radio\/episode14.mp3\" \/><meta itemprop=\"contentSize\" content=\"21.5\" \/><div class=\"powerpress_player\" id=\"powerpress_player_3804\"><audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-550-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"http:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/radio\/episode14.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/radio\/episode14.mp3\">http:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/radio\/episode14.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div><\/div><p class=\"powerpress_links powerpress_links_mp3\" style=\"margin-bottom: 1px !important;\">Podcast: <a href=\"http:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/radio\/episode14.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_pinw\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Play in new window\" onclick=\"return powerpress_pinw('https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/?powerpress_pinw=550-podcast');\" rel=\"nofollow\">Play in new window<\/a> | <a href=\"http:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/radio\/episode14.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_d\" title=\"Download\" rel=\"nofollow\" download=\"episode14.mp3\">Download<\/a><\/p><p>Most people know, or at least have some idea what an alphabet is, but many people might not be so familiar with abjads, abugidas, syllabaries and other writing systems. In this episode I explain what these words mean, and how these writing systems work. I also talk a bit about the history of writing.<\/p>\n<p>Here are some definitions:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Alphabet<\/strong> &#8211; a set of letters or other signs, usually arranged in a fixed order, used to represent the phonemes (sounds) of a language [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thefreedictionary.com\/alphabet\">source<\/a>].<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/images\/writing\/alphabets2.gif\" alt=\"Some alphabets\" width=\"526\" height=\"255\"><\/p>\n<p><strong>Abjad<\/strong> &#8211; a type of writing system where each symbol stands for a consonant, leaving the reader to supply the appropriate vowel [<a href=\"https:\/\/encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com\/abjad\">source<\/a>]. Also known as a <strong>consonant alphabet<\/strong>. Long vowels can be indicated by consonants, and short vowels can be indicated by lines, dots and other squiggles added to the consonants letters. When written with the short vowel symbols, they are said to be &#8216;vocalised&#8217;. Normally they are written &#8216;unvocalised&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/images\/writing\/abjads2.gif\" alt=\"Some abjads\" width=\"674\" height=\"171\"><\/p>\n<p><strong>Abugida<\/strong> &#8211; a segmental writing system in which consonant\u2013vowel sequences are written as a unit: each unit is based on a consonant letter, and vowel notation is secondary [<a href=\"https:\/\/encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com\/Abugida\">source<\/a>]. Also known as a <strong>syllabic alphabet<\/strong> or <strong>alphasyllabary<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/images\/writing\/abugidas.gif\" alt=\"Some abugidas\" width=\"567\" height=\"250\"><\/p>\n<p><strong>Syllabary<\/strong> &#8211; a set of written symbols that represent the syllables or (more frequently) moras which make up words [<a href=\"https:\/\/encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com\/syllabary\">source<\/a>].<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/images\/writing\/syllabaries.gif\" alt=\"Some syllabaries\" width=\"539\" height=\"136\"><\/p>\n<p><strong>Logograph<\/strong> &#8211; a single written symbol that represents an entire word or phrase without indicating its pronunciation [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thefreedictionary.com\/logograph\">source<\/a>].<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/images\/writing\/mayanlogograms.gif\" alt=\"Some Mayan logograms\" width=\"515\" height=\"108\"><\/p>\n<p><strong>Ideograph<\/strong> &#8211; a graphic character that indicates the meaning of a thing without indicating the sounds used to say it [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thefreedictionary.com\/ideograph\">source<\/a>].<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/images\/langsamples\/smp_chinese3.gif\" alt=\"Ideographs\" width=\"540\" height=\"67\"><\/p>\n<p><strong>Pictograph<\/strong> &#8211; a picture representing a word, phrase, or idea, especially one used in early writing systems. A picture or symbol standing for a word or group of words [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thefreedictionary.com\/pictograph\">source<\/a>].<\/p>\n<p>The development of the Chinese character for horse<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/images\/writing\/chinese_horse.gif\" alt=\"Evolution of the character for horse\" width=\"586\" height=\"89\"><\/p>\n<p>The tunes featured in the episode are:<\/p>\n<h3>The Blackbird&#8217;s Tail \/ Cynffon yr Aderyn Du<\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" scrolling=\"no\" allow=\"autoplay\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?url=https%3A\/\/api.soundcloud.com\/tracks\/366804782&amp;color=%23ff5500&amp;auto_play=false&amp;hide_related=false&amp;show_comments=true&amp;show_user=true&amp;show_reposts=false&amp;show_teaser=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"166\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3>The Dragon&#8217;s Fancy \/ Mwmpwy y Ddraig<\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" scrolling=\"no\" allow=\"autoplay\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?url=https%3A\/\/api.soundcloud.com\/tracks\/358996760&amp;color=%23ff5500&amp;auto_play=false&amp;hide_related=false&amp;show_comments=true&amp;show_user=true&amp;show_reposts=false&amp;show_teaser=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"166\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>If you would like to support this podcast, you can <a href=\"https:\/\/www.paypal.com\/uk\/cgi-bin\/webscr?cmd=_flow&amp;SESSION=aLjPfXL-vP_1gQ_U23Iz8_hSWLlhzLHPMFZrt32dIEfG8htoNFLYaPoWkv8&amp;dispatch=5885d80a13c0db1f8e263663d3faee8def8934b92a630e40b7fef61ab7e9fe63\">make a donation<\/a>, or <a href=\"\/donations.htm\">contribute to Omniglot in other ways<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/AudioObject\"><meta itemprop=\"name\" content=\"Episode 14 &amp;#8211; Alphabets and Writing Systems\" \/><meta itemprop=\"uploadDate\" content=\"2019-03-20T14:48:51+00:00\" \/><meta itemprop=\"encodingFormat\" content=\"audio\/mpeg\" \/><meta itemprop=\"duration\" content=\"PT23M30S\" \/><meta itemprop=\"description\" content=\"Most people know, or at least have some idea what an alphabet is, but many people might not be so familiar with abjads, abugidas, syllabaries and other writing systems. In this episode I explain what these words mean, and how these writing systems wo...\" \/><meta itemprop=\"contentUrl\" content=\"http:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/radio\/episode14.mp3\" \/><meta itemprop=\"contentSize\" content=\"21.5\" \/><div class=\"powerpress_player\" id=\"powerpress_player_3805\"><audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-550-2\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"http:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/radio\/episode14.mp3?_=2\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/radio\/episode14.mp3\">http:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/radio\/episode14.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div><\/div><p class=\"powerpress_links powerpress_links_mp3\" style=\"margin-bottom: 1px !important;\">Podcast: <a href=\"http:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/radio\/episode14.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_pinw\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Play in new window\" onclick=\"return powerpress_pinw('https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/?powerpress_pinw=550-podcast');\" rel=\"nofollow\">Play in new window<\/a> | <a href=\"http:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/radio\/episode14.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_d\" title=\"Download\" rel=\"nofollow\" download=\"episode14.mp3\">Download<\/a><\/p><p>Most people know, or at least have some idea what an alphabet is, but many people might not be so familiar with abjads, abugidas, syllabaries and other writing systems. In this episode I explain what these words mean, and how these writing systems work. I also talk a bit about the history of writing. Here [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[60,62,20,56,23,61,43,12,26,48,4,50,25,11,1,28,44,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-550","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-arabic-","category-chinese-","category-english","category-etymology","category-french","category-greek-","category-hebrew","category-italian","category-japanese","category-korean","category-language","category-latin","category-mandarin","category-music","category-podcast","category-spanish","category-vietnamese","category-welsh"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/550","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=550"}],"version-history":[{"count":30,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/550\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":926,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/550\/revisions\/926"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=550"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=550"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=550"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}