Writing system

From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Writing systems of the world today.
Writing systems of the world today.

A writing system is a system of symbols that are used to represent language.

There are different kinds of writing systems, with symbols that represent different things: logographic, syllabic and alphabetic.

[edit] Logographic system

A logographic system, is a writing system with symbols that mean whole words, symbols that represent things or ideas. These symbols are called logogram or logograph. An example for a logographic writing system is the system used for the Chinese language.

[edit] Syllabary

A syllabary is a writing system with symbols that mean a syllable. An example for syllabaries are the hiragana and katakana used for the Japanese language.

[edit] Alphabet

An alphabet is a writing system with symbols that mean a sound. An example for an alphabetic writing system is the Latin alphabet, which is used in large parts of the world.

In other languages