View source for Writing system

A '''writing system''' (also called a '''script''') is a system of symbols used to represent [[language]].<ref>Martin H-J. 1994. ''The history and power of writing''. Chicago University Press. ISBN 0-226-50836-6</ref><ref>Diringer, David. 1965. ''Writing''. London, Thames & Hudson.</ref> There are different kinds of [[writing]] systems, with symbols that represent different things. For example, English uses an [[alphabet]] (the [[Latin alphabet]]).

[[File:World alphabets & writing systems.svg|thumb|500x500px|Writing systems of the world today.]]

The fundamental principle is that symbols stand for sound, but there is more to it than that. The term "writing system" includes more than just (for example) an alphabet. Alphabets are part of a "graphic inventory" which includes [[punctuation]], [[diacritic]]s, [[ideograms]] (e.g. numbers) and [[logograms]] (standing for specific words such as $, & etc.).
== Types of writing systems ==
There are many different types of writing systems. Each [[grapheme]], or symbol, can mean different things in different writing systems. Depending on what an individual symbol means, such as a whole word or a sound, each writing system is categorized as a different type.
== Phonetic ==
A phonetic writing system is one where symbols mean individual sounds (or [[phoneme]]s). There are different types of phonetic writing systems.
== Alphabets ==
{{main|Alphabet}}
A true alphabet is a writing system with symbols that mean both [[consonant]]s and [[vowel]]s.

Examples of alphabetic writing systems are the Latin alphabet, (used in large parts of the world), the [[Greek alphabet]] (used in [[Greek language|Greek]]), and the [[Cyrillic alphabet]] (used in many countries in [[Eastern Europe]] and [[Central Asia]], where [[Russia]] had a major influence during the days of the [[Soviet Union]]).
== Abjad ==
{{main|Abjad}}
Alphabets that only write consonants (and do not write vowels) are called abjads. The logic is that people in those areas know what vowels are used when the words are spoken. Many modern Abjads use optional diacritics to clarify their vowels, known as an ''Impure Abjad'' (less commonly, ''Voiced Abjad'' or ''Alphasyllabary''). These are different from vowel letters in alphabets, as they are not written on their own but only as attached to a consonants.

Examples of abjads are the [[Arabic alphabet]], which is used in much of the [[Islam|Muslim world]], and the [[Hebrew language#Alphabet|Hebrew alphabet]] used for [[Judaism|Jewish]] languages like [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] and [[Yiddish]]. Both of these abjads are written in lines that run from right to left.
== Abugida ==
{{main|Abugida}}
Abugidas are alphabets where consonants are written as a symbol, and vowels are written as [[diacritic]]s. Diacritics in Abugidas are mandatory, as the lack of diacritic implies a default vowel sound (e.g. क (k) in Devanagari is pronounced 'ka' with no diacritic).

Examples of abugidas are many writing systems of [[India]] and [[Southeast Asia]], such as [[Devanagari]] (used in [[Hindi]] and [[Sanskrit]]).
== Syllabary ==
{{main|Syllabary}}
A syllabary is a writing system with symbols that each mean a [[syllable]]. This is different from Abugidas, as syllables with similar consonant or vowel sounds do not necessarily share similar symbols (e.g. か (ka) and き (ki) in Japanese).

Examples of syllabaries are ''[[hiragana]]'' and ''[[katakana]]'' (used in [[Japanese language|Japanese]]) and the [[Cherokee syllabary]] (used in [[Cherokee language|Cherokee]]).
== Logographic ==
{{main|Logogram}}

A logography is a writing system with symbols that mean whole words or symbols that represent ideas. These symbols are called "logograms" or "logographs". In practice, no writing system is fully logographic: many symbols are combinations where one part represents the sound and another part represents the meaning. (e.g. 女 (nǚ), “woman”, and 马 (mǎ), “horse”, create 妈 (mā) "mother" in Mandarin Chinese).

Examples of logographies are [[Chinese characters]] (used in [[Chinese language|Chinese]]) and [[hieroglyph]]s.
== Direction of writing ==
Each writing system can be written in different directions. English (which uses the Latin alphabet) is written from left to right. Some languages, like [[Arabic language|Arabic]], are written from right to left.

Some languages can be written vertically, such as [[Chinese language|Chinese]] and Japanese (from top to bottom), and [[Hanunoo language|Hanuoo]] (from bottom to top).

Besides being written horizontally and vertically, languages could theoretically be written diagonally, but no known examples of this exist.

== Writing System Media ==
<gallery widths='160px' heights='100%' mode='traditional' caption=''>
File:Diagram of the spoken, written, and signed modalities of language.svg|The relationship between spoken, written, and signed modes of language, as modelled by Meletis & Dürscheid (2022){{sfnmp|1a1=Meletis|1a2=Dürscheid|1y=2022|1p=17}} While many spoken or signed languages are not written, there are no written languages without a spoken counterpart that they originally emerged to record.

File:Comparison between single- and double-storey ⟨a⟩.svg|Comparison between double-storey {{gph|a}} (left) and single-storey {{gph|ɑ}} (right) [[lowercase]] forms of the Latin letter {{angbr|[[A]]}}

File:Sanskrit Brhama English alphabets (cropped).jpg|Table of scripts in the introduction to the ''Sanskrit–English Dictionary'' by [[Monier Monier-Williams]]

File:Cherokee stop sign.png|A stop sign in [[Tahlequah, Oklahoma]] written in [[Cherokee language|Cherokee]] using both the [[Cherokee&nbsp;syllabary]] (top) and [[Latin&nbsp;alphabet]] (middle), alongside English (bottom)

File:Bible printed with Balinese script.jpg|A passage from the biblical [[Gospel of Luke]] printed using [[Balinese script]]
</gallery>
== Related pages ==
* [[Writing tool]]
* [[Constructed script]] - a writing system made by someone for a specific purpose
== References ==
{{reflist}}{{Writing Systems}}{{Systems science}}

[[Category:Writing systems| ]]