Monthly Archives: January 2011

Indus script — 2600 BC, Pakistan

Posted on January 11, 2011 by ducky

Like the Sumerians and the Egyptians, the Harappans inhabited a fertile river valley (this one in Pakistan) in around 3300 BC.  Like in the Middle East, the Harappans developed a sophisticated civilization.  Like in the Middle East, the Harappans put … Continue reading →

Posted in first in its area, Logograms, probably developed by illiterate(s), Rating: 2 "Not all that interesting", Undeciphered | 3 Comments

Bopomofo — 1913 AD, China

Posted on January 10, 2011 by ducky

Because Chinese is a (mostly) logographic language, it isn’t obvious how to pronounce written characters.  To deal with that, in 1913, the government of China developed a system to write the pronunciation of characters.  Its official name is Zhuyin Fuhao, … Continue reading →

Posted in Alphabet, government-mandated, Rating: 4 "Huh, interesting!", Syllabaries | 3 Comments

Administration: post-publication changes

Posted on January 9, 2011 by ducky

1. I made a minor change to the titles of the posts, including the (rough) date that the writing system came into existence and what (modern-day) country it appeared in.  (The country will need to be approximate.  Usually the exact … Continue reading →

Posted in Administration | 2 Comments

Simplified Chinese — 1956 AD, China

Posted on January 9, 2011 by ducky

In 1956, the People’s Republic of China promoted a simplified writing scheme, with the goal of improving literacy. Currently, Simplified Chinese is used in the PRC (except for Hong Kong), Malaysia, and Singapore; Traditional Chinese is used everywhere else.  The … Continue reading →

Posted in government-mandated, Logograms, Rating: 4 "Huh, interesting!" | 2 Comments

Traditional Chinese — 220 AD, China

Posted on January 8, 2011 by ducky

Traditional Chinese — also called “Regular Chinese” or “kǎishū”, appeared around 200 BC. There were numerous evolutionary stages between Small Seal and Traditional Chinese, including a looser, more calligraphic style called “Clerical Script”. At this stage, some of the stylistic … Continue reading →

Posted in Evolved slowly from parent, Logograms, Rating: 5 "Whoa!!", technology influenced | 18 Comments

Chinese Seal Scripts — ~800BC, China

Posted on January 7, 2011 by ducky

After the Oracle Bones script, there was a long period where the script changed slowly and not totally uniformly across China.  These scripts are sort of all called “Large Seal” or “Great Seal” or “Bronze Script”. Eventually, in around 220BC, … Continue reading →

Posted in Evolved slowly from parent, government-mandated, Logograms, now ceremonial, Rating: 2 "Not all that interesting" | 1 Comment

Chinese Oracle bones — ~1500BC, China

Posted on January 6, 2011 by ducky

Written Chinese is, by some measures, the most successful writing system on the planet.  It has persisted for thousands of years and is still in use today.  While it has gone through a number of distinct changes, those changes have … Continue reading →

Posted in first in its area, Logograms, probably developed by illiterate(s), Rating: 3 "I did not know that" | 2 Comments

Akkadian cuneiform — ~2300 BC, Iraq

Posted on January 5, 2011 by ducky

The Sumerians and the Akkadians lived near each other for quite a while, with the culture of the Sumerian city-states being dominant at first.   Eventually the Akkadians recognized a good thing, so adopted writing from the Sumerian cuneiform.  The Akkadian … Continue reading →

Posted in Logograms, previous script didn't quite work, Rating: 4 "Huh, interesting!", Syllabaries | 7 Comments

Vinca — 5300 BC, Serbia

Posted on January 4, 2011 by ducky

There are some cases where there are symbols that experts can’t definitively agree are or are not writing.  Maybe the symbols are just decoration. Vinca is one such script, found on pottery and figurines in modern-day Serbia and adjoining countries … Continue reading →

Posted in developed by illiterate(s), first in its area, Rating: 3 "I did not know that", Undeciphered | 3 Comments

Egyptian hieroglyphics — 3200 BC, Egypt

Posted on January 3, 2011 by ducky

Egyptian hieroglyphics were profoundly influential and in use for thousands of years.  Like Sumerian cuneiform, the early symbols were of recognizable things.  Unlike Sumerian cuneiform, the symbols stayed recognizable: a snake stayed a snake, a foot stayed a foot.  Like … Continue reading →

Posted in Abjad, Logograms, probably developed by illiterate(s), Rating: 4 "Huh, interesting!" | 6 Comments