Category Archives: Rating: 4 “Huh, interesting!”

Aramaic — Syria, 900 BC

Posted on January 30, 2011 by ducky

Aramaic script was a very important writing system.  While the Phoenician script spread westward via sea trading, Aramaic script spread eastward via land trading.   It was the major trade language along much of the Silk Road, and was the official … Continue reading →

Posted in Abjad, Rating: 4 "Huh, interesting!" | 8 Comments

Byblos — 1800 BC, Lebanon

Posted on January 22, 2011 by ducky

Byblos was a city in Phoenicia (now Ǧubayl, Lebanon) that has been inhabited since about 5000BC — perhaps is the oldest continuously-inhabited city in the world.  Byblos was a centre of publishing for a very very long time: the name … Continue reading →

Posted in Rating: 4 "Huh, interesting!", Undeciphered | 1 Comment

Hieratic — 3200 BC, Egypt

Posted on January 20, 2011 by ducky

Hieratic was a version of Egyptian hieroglyphics that developed in parallel with hieroglyphics. While the question of “is it a writing system or isn’t it?” has come up several times already in these postings, hieratic is interesting because it brings … Continue reading →

Posted in Abjad, Evolved slowly from parent, Rating: 4 "Huh, interesting!" | 4 Comments

Proto-Elamite — 3000BC?, Iran

Posted on January 18, 2011 by ducky

Proto-writing happened over an extensive area over thousands of years.  While proto-writing developed into “proto-cuneiform” in modern-day Iraq and from there into Sumerian cuneiform, it developed into proto-Elamite in Iran (and from there into Elamite).  We don’t hear much about … Continue reading →

Posted in developed by illiterate(s), Logograms, Rating: 4 "Huh, interesting!", Undeciphered | 1 Comment

Epi-Olmec — 900BC? ~450 BC?, Mexico

Posted on January 12, 2011 by ducky

How many independently-developed writing systems have there been?  One hundred years ago, educated people would have told you without hesitation, “three: Sumerian or Egyptian in the Middle East, Chinese in China, and Mayan in Central America”.  Very well-educated people would … Continue reading →

Posted in Logograms, Rating: 4 "Huh, interesting!", Syllabaries, Undeciphered | Leave a comment

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

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

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

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

Sumerian cuneiform — 3200 BC, Iraq

Posted on January 2, 2011 by ducky

Scholars argue about which came first, Egyptian hieroglyphics or Sumerian cuneiform, but neither side has convinced me. Given that they developed within 100 years (in about 3200 BC) and 1000 kilometers of each other, it’s pretty certain that one led … Continue reading →

Posted in Logograms, probably developed by illiterate(s), probably first in its area, Rating: 4 "Huh, interesting!", technology influenced | 9 Comments