Buzz
Writing emerged roughly 6,000 years ago, with the earliest known examples being clay tablets from Mesopotamia. The first alphabetic writing system was created by the Phoenicians, and later adapted by the Greeks, who adjusted it to match the sounds of their language.
The Romans then adopted and adapted the Greek alphabet for Latin. Today, many writing systems still use some form of the Roman alphabet, though other scripts like Cyrillic, Arabic, and Devanagari have also gained global usage.
Yet, there are a few rare writing systems that were specifically designed for just one language. Below, we explore 10 of these distinct scripts.
10. Pahawh Hmong - The Hmong Syllabary
In 1959, Shong Lue Yang, born into a poor farming family, created the Hmong script. Having lost his parents at a young age, Yang did not receive formal schooling. Legend says that he invented the Hmong syllabary through divine guidance.
One day, Yang’s grandfather sent him to the fields to chase away monkeys stealing crops. After falling asleep, Yang dreamed of two spirits who gave him the gift of writing. They placed a book in his hands and instructed him to 'spread writing to the Hmong.'
The Hmong script is syllabic, not alphabetic, with only two possible types of syllables: a vowel on its own or a consonant followed by a vowel. Moreover, vowels can carry one of seven distinct tones.
The system is straightforward. Each syllabic symbol consists of three components: the consonant onset (if present), the vowel, and the tone. Interestingly, the vowel comes first in writing, even if a consonant begins the syllable. This method works well since approximately 90% of the language is monosyllabic.
Shong Lue Yang eventually escaped from communist-controlled Vietnam to Laos, where he shared his script with the Hmong community living there. Tragically, in 1971, he was killed by Laotian soldiers due to his growing influence with a resistance movement. While his script remains, it is less widely used compared to the Roman alphabet-based writing system.
9. Hangul - Korean
Hangul, the writing system of Korea, was developed in 1443 by a team of linguists under the direction of King Sejong. A remarkable feature of Hangul is its 'visual phonetics.' Each character was thoughtfully designed to visually represent the pronunciation of the sound it represents.
For instance, consonant sounds produced by the lips, such as [b], [m], and [p], are represented by box-like symbols. Plosive consonants, which involve a brief stop of airflow, are indicated by a horizontal line at the top of the symbol. Vowel symbols are depicted with intersecting straight lines that are perpendicular to one another, making them visually distinct from the consonants.
A notable aspect of Hangul is that its letters aren’t written sequentially like most alphabets. Rather, each syllable is organized into a block, with some letters placed above or below others. There are countless possible syllables, and you can explore a comprehensive list of them here.
Each syllabic block starts with a consonant symbol, followed by a vowel symbol that is either placed below or to the right, depending on the shape of the vowel. Detailed rules for arranging these symbols can be found here.
In 2009, speakers of Cia-Cia, an Austronesian language from Indonesia, launched an initiative to adapt Hangul to their language. Unfortunately, the project was eventually abandoned due to an Indonesian law mandating that languages be written using the Roman alphabet.
8. OghamPrimitive Irish
The Irish language, a branch of the Celtic languages, is predominantly spoken in Ireland. Today, it uses the Roman alphabet, though it once had its own complex spelling system. Irish once relied on ogham, its original writing script.
Numerous ogham inscriptions have been discovered throughout Ireland and western Britain. Many of these inscriptions, typically simple and consisting mainly of names, can be viewed via this collection of images.
Ogham is a vertical script, meant to be read from the bottom upwards. It is often carved on wood or stone, with a central line running through the middle. Consonants and vowels are represented by lines drawn perpendicular to this main line. Some sounds are depicted with diagonal lines, and a few vowels are marked by dots.
The ogham alphabet consists of letters categorized based on the direction of the intersecting lines. These categories are derived from an ancient Irish classification of trees. Letters with lines extending to the left are known as “ordinary trees,” while those with lines to the right are referred to as “chieftain trees.” Diagonal crossing lines represent “shrub trees,” and those with horizontal lines crossing are termed “bramble trees.”
7. DongbaNaxi
Naxi is a Sino-Tibetan language spoken by approximately 300,000 people in Yunnan province, China. Its traditional writing system is fascinating for its blend of phonetic and pictographic systems. Some characters represent sounds, while others are pictures that convey specific concepts directly.
For example, the word 'flower' is represented as an actual image of a flower rather than as a series of symbols indicating the sounds of the word. This page provides numerous examples of Naxi-written documents. The precise origins of this script are uncertain, but it likely developed in the 13th century, influenced by other writing systems such as Chinese and Tibetan.
Currently, very few people are familiar with this writing system, which is primarily used in religious practices. The traditional Naxi religion, Dongba, shares its name with the script. Today, most Naxi speakers use the Roman alphabet for writing. Ancient Naxi texts are listed in UNESCO's Memory of the World program.
6. Cherokee SyllabaryCherokee
Cherokee is an Iroquoian language spoken in Oklahoma, North Carolina, and Delaware. The alphabet used to write this language was created by Sequoyah, a Cherokee man, in the early 1800s. What makes this achievement particularly remarkable is that Sequoyah was previously illiterate and had never learned to read any other languages. He independently discovered the principle of phonetic writing.
The Cherokee observed that English colonists were able to communicate using written words on paper, but they did not understand the process. Sequoyah believed that symbols on paper represented words. Confident that his people could do the same, he embarked on a multiyear effort to create a writing system for Cherokee from scratch.
In his first attempt, Sequoyah tried to assign a symbol for each word. However, he soon realized that this method would require thousands of symbols and would be too difficult to learn.
He then came up with the idea of representing sounds instead of entire concepts. This approach proved to be much more efficient. After further refinement, Sequoyah had developed around 80 syllabic symbols.
To prove that the system worked, Sequoyah taught it to his six-year-old daughter. He then took her to visit a distant group of Cherokee. While she waited out of earshot, Sequoyah wrote down some words spoken by others. When he called his daughter over, she amazed everyone by reading and repeating the exact words.
Sequoyah's writing system rapidly gained popularity among the Cherokee. It was easy to learn, and most people were able to master it within a week. Today, it remains widely used for a variety of purposes, from newspapers and novels to Wikipedia.
5. VahBassa
Bassa, a Niger-Congo language belonging to the Kru family, is spoken in Liberia and Sierra Leone. The Vah script was created by Thomas Narvin Lewis in the early 1900s.
The Vah script is an alphabetic system with distinct symbols for consonants and vowels. While many West African languages are tonal, most indigenous writing systems don't mark tone. The Vah script, however, is unique in this aspect, featuring special tone symbols that can be added to vowels.
The precise origins of the Vah script remain unclear. Lewis, who was originally from Africa, studied at Syracuse University in the US. After returning to Liberia, he claimed to have encountered a small group of Bassa who had preserved an ancient script.
Lewis's Vah alphabet is believed to be based on this ancient script, although others argue that he created it elsewhere, either while studying in the US or possibly during a trip to Brazil.
Tragically, Lewis’s life ended when he was poisoned in a conspiracy involving his wife and brother. The Liberian government, perceiving him as a threat to their nationalization programs, allegedly paid his family to kill him.
4. Fraser AlphabetLisu
Lisu is a Tibeto-Burman language spoken in various areas of southwest China, northern Burma, and Thailand. This alphabet was developed by Protestant missionaries in the 1910s and refined over several years. It carries the name of James Fraser, a prominent missionary who contributed to its creation.
The symbols of the Fraser alphabet resemble uppercase letters from the Roman alphabet, though some are flipped or rotated. Interestingly, many of these symbols don't correspond to the sounds one might expect from English. For example, the letter 'F' represents the sound [ts], and the upside-down 'J' represents the sound [f].
In 1915, the use of flipped characters in the Lisu alphabet caused issues with typing it on traditional typewriters. To work around this, people would leave blank spaces in their text and manually insert the rotated characters later on.
The letters, however, didn't always align correctly on the page. In the 1920s, people modified their old typewriters by attaching upside-down letters to unused keys. Today, there is even a Unicode block for the Fraser alphabet.
The Fraser alphabet continues to be used today, especially among Lisu Christians. In 1992, the Chinese government officially recognized it as the official writing system for Lisu.
3. Stokoe Notation: American Sign Language
William Stokoe, one of the 20th century's most renowned linguists, made a groundbreaking contribution to sign language. Prior to the 1960s, it was widely believed that sign languages were merely gestures or pantomimes without any grammar. Stokoe showed that sign languages have intricate systems of syntax and morphology, and can be analyzed in the same way as spoken languages.
He even devised a system for writing American Sign Language. This might seem impossible at first glance. Written language represents sounds, but sign languages are silent by nature. So, how could this be done?
Stokoe's research revealed that signs are not indivisible units but are composed of smaller components. These parts can be reused and recombined to create various signs, much like how consonants and vowels are combined to form different words in spoken language.
In his writing system, Stokoe outlined three key properties of a sign. The first is location, which indicates the specific place in physical space where the sign is made. For instance, a sign can be formed near the eyes, at the chin, or at chest level.
The second property is handshape, which determines which fingers are extended and whether they are straight or bent. The third property is movement, representing how the hands travel through space during the act of signing. Unfortunately, facial expressions—also crucial to signing—cannot be captured in this notation.
This particular system of notation is now seldom used outside of linguistic studies. Today, most people who use American Sign Language are also fluent in written English.
2. Mayan
Mesoamerica stands out as one of the few regions in the world where writing developed independently. Multiple writing systems emerged, with the Mayan script being the most thoroughly deciphered and researched.
Studies show that Mayan writing is among the oldest in the Mesoamerican region. It's also one of the most intricate writing systems globally. The Mayan script blends both syllabic and logographic elements: some characters stand for a syllable, while others represent entire words.
Interestingly, the same word can be written using either system, and in some cases, both are combined. The script contains around 700 distinct symbols, each rich in detail. Many of these symbols resemble images of animals, people, spirits, or objects.
Mayan words were arranged in units called glyph blocks, with each block comprising one or more symbols. Typically, a central symbol dominates, with additional symbols stacked to the left (prefix), right (postfix), above (superfix), or below (subfix). For example, in the ergative case, verb subjects are prefixes, while in the absolutive case, they are often subfixes.
Literacy in Mayan society was not widespread. Writing knowledge was primarily confined to a specialized class of scribes. Many Mayan codices were destroyed by the Spanish during their efforts to convert the Mayan people to Christianity. However, a few texts did survive, mostly dealing with astronomy and religion.
1. Vai
Vai is a language from the Mande family, spoken in the region between Sierra Leone and Liberia. The Vai writing system is syllabic, meaning each symbol corresponds to either a vowel or a combination of a consonant and vowel.
The spoken Vai language includes 12 vowels and 31 consonants, creating a wide range of possible syllables. As a result, the writing system is extensive, with over 200 distinct symbols.
The symbols in the Vai script are intricate. Mathematical analysis has shown that they are more complex than those found in the Latin or Cyrillic alphabets.
The origins of this writing system are somewhat mysterious. In the 1820s, a Vai man named Momolu Duwalu Bukele created it, claiming that God revealed the symbols to him in a dream. Bukele’s experience is not unique, as other instances of divine inspiration for creating writing systems can be found across West Africa.
An alternative theory is that the Vai script may have been influenced by the Cherokee language, spoken in the Southeastern United States. Despite the considerable distance between the two regions, there is some evidence of a connection.
A Cherokee man named Austin Curtis moved to Liberia and married into a Vai family. It’s possible that he introduced aspects of the Cherokee writing system, which could have inspired the creation of the Vai script.
