This list of constructed scripts is in alphabetical order. ISO 15924 codes are provided where assigned. This list includes neither shorthand systems nor ciphers of existing scripts.
Script name | ISO 15924 | Year created | Creator | Comments (click to sort by category) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Adlam | Adlm | 1989 | Ibrahima & Abdoulaye Barry | Proposed alphabet used to write the Fula language |
Afaka | Afak | 1910 | Afáka Atumisi | Syllabary used to write the Ndyuka language, an English-based creole of Surinam |
Aiha | 1985 | Ursula K. Le Guin | Alphabet of the fictional Kesh language in her novel Always Coming Home | |
Ariyaka | c. 1840 | Mongkut | Invented to transcribe Pali, the liturgical language of Theravada Buddhism, and inspired by the Greek and Burmese-Mon scripts | |
Armenian | Armn | ca. 405 | Mesrop Mashtots | Alphabet thought to have been based on Greek used to write Armenian |
Ath | 1996 | Hiroyuki Morioka | Alphabet of the fictional Baronh language in his novel Crest of the Stars | |
aUI | 1962 | John W. Weilgart | Language and alphabet attempting to unify sound and meaning | |
Aurebesh | 1993 | Stephen Crane | Alphabet originally for Star Wars Miniatures Battles Companion based on glyphs by Joe Johnston, subsequently used for other media in the franchise[1] | |
Avoiuli | 1990s | Viraleo Boborenvanua | Alphabet used by the Turaga indigenous movement for some languages in Vanuatu | |
Bagam | ca. 1900 | King Pufong | Largely lost logosyllabic script used for letters and records in the Mengaka language | |
Bamum | Bamu | 1896–1910 | Ibrahim Njoya | Syllabary for Bamum developed from what initially was a pictographic system |
Bharati[2] | 2016-* | Prof. V. Srinivasa Chakravarthy and others | Alternative common script of major Indian languages (both Indo-Aryan and Dravidian) to facilitate easy communication | |
Blissymbol | Blis | 1949 | Charles K. Bliss | Conceived as a non-spoken (soundless), purely ideographic script |
Bopomofo | Bopo | 1913 | Zhang Binglin | Semisyllabary to transcribe spoken Mandarin, Holo, &c., mainly for teaching |
Braille | Brai | 1821 | Louis Braille | Tactile alphabet for the blind using embossed dots; dozens of derived scripts |
Canadian Aboriginal syllabics | Cans | 1840s | James Evans | Family of abugidas used to write a number of Aboriginal Canadian languages of the Algonquian, Inuit, and (formerly) Athabaskan language families |
Caucasian Albanian | Aghb | ca. 408 | Mesrop Mashtots | Alphabet used to write the now extinct Caucasian Albanian language |
Cherokee | Cher | 1819 | Sequoyah | Syllabary inspired by Latin glyph shapes used to write the Cherokee language |
Chữ Việt Trí | 2012 | Tôn Thất Chương | Alphabet designed for the Vietnamese language | |
Cirth | Cirt | 1930s[3] | J. R. R. Tolkien | Runic elven script, mainly for dwarven writing in his novel The Lord of the Rings |
Clear Script | 1648 | Zaya Pandit | Alphabet used to write the Oirat language; based on Mongolian script | |
Coorgi-Cox | 2005 | Gregg M. Cox | A proposed abugida for the Kodava language | |
Cyrillic | Cyrl / Cyrs | ca. 940 | Saint Cyril or his students | Alphabet mainly used to write Slavic languages; based primarily on Greek |
Deseret | Dsrt | mid-19th century | University of Deseret | A phonemic alphabet designed for the English language |
D'ni | 1997 | Richard A. Watson | Alphabet for the fictional language in the game Riven and its sequels | |
Duployan shorthand | Dupl | 1891 | Jean-Marie Le Jeune | Historically used as the main (non-shorthand) script for Chinook Jargon |
Elbasan | Elba | 1761 | disputed | Alphabet for Albanian used to write the Elbasan Gospel Manuscript |
Engsvanyáli | 1940s | M. A. R. Barker | Abugida used in the Empire of the Petal Throne role-playing game | |
Eskayan | ca. 1920–1937 | Mariano Datahan | Syllabary based on cursive Latin script for the auxiliary Eskayan language | |
Extensions to the IPA (extIPA) | Latn | 1990–* | International Clinical Phonetics and Linguistics Association |
A set of letters and diacritics to augment the International Phonetic Alphabet for the phonetic transcription of disordered speech |
Fraser | Lisu | 1915 | Sara Ba Thaw | Alphabet used to write the Lisu language; improved by James O. Fraser |
Gargish | 1990 | Herman Miller | Alphabet for the fictional Gargish language in Ultima VI: The False Prophet | |
Glagolitic | Glag | 862–863 | Saints Cyril and Methodius | Historically used to write Slavic languages, before Cyrillic became dominant |
Gothic | Goth | ca. 350 | Ulfilas | Alphabet based primarily on Greek historically used to write the Gothic language |
HamNoSys | 1985 | University of Hamburg | General phonetic transcription system for all sign languages | |
Hangul | Hang | 1443 | Court of Sejong the Great | Alphabet written in syllable blocks used to write the Korean language; the oldest and most widespread featural script in use |
iConji | 2010 | Kai Staats | Pictographic writing system for messenging | |
International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) | Latn | 1888–* | International Phonetic Association | Regarded as being an extension of the Latin script |
Ithkuil | 2004 | John Quijada | Script for the constructed Ithkuil language | |
Jurchen | Jurc | ca. 1119 | Wanyan Xiyin | Largely undeciphered logographic script with phonetic elements for Jurchen |
Kēlen | 1980 | Sylvia Sotomayor | Alphabet for a fictional alien language without verbs | |
Khitan large script | Kitl | 920 | by order of Abaoji |
Largely undeciphered logographic script for the Khitan language |
Khitan small script | Kits | ca. 924 | Yelü Diela | Partially deciphered logographic script with phonetic elements for Khitan |
Khom | 1924 | Ong Kommandam | Semi-syllabary used for secret communication among dissidents in French Laos | |
Kikakui | Mend | ca. 1917 | Mohammed Turay | Syllabary used to write the Mende language of Sierra Leone |
KLI pIqaD | Piqd | ca. 1990 | anonymous | Glyphs created for Star Trek: The Next Generation, later sent as a font to the KLI |
Limbu | Limb | ca. 1740 | Te-ongsi Sirijunga Xin Thebe | Abugida derived from Tibetan to write the Limbu language |
Lisu syllabary | 1924–1930 | Ngua-ze-bo | Syllabary of about 800 characters used to write the Lisu language | |
Manchu | 1599; 1632 | Nurhaci; Dahai | Alphabet based on Mongolian script to write the nearly extinct Manchu language | |
Mandombe | 1978 | Wabeladio Payi | Alphabet written in syllable blocks for Kikongo, Lingala, Ciluba and Kiswahili | |
Miꞌkmaw hieroglyphic writing | after 1675 | Chrestien Le Clercq | Logographic script used historically for the Miꞌkmaq language | |
Neomeroitic | 2022-2023 | Amundé Musango | Proposed alphabet to write the Swahili language and other African languages using a non-indigenous script | |
Night writing | 1808 | Charles Barbier | Forerunner of Braille; tactile alphabet intended for communication in total darkness | |
N'Ko | Nkoo | 1949 | Solomana Kante | Alphabet used to write the Manding languages, including a kind of koine |
Ol Chiki | Olck | 1925 | Raghunath Murmu | Official alphabet for the Santali language |
Old Permic | Perm | 1372 | Stephen of Perm | Alphabet mainly based on Cyrillic and Greek once used to write mediaeval Komi |
Phags-pa | Phag | 1269 | Drogön Chögyal Phagpa | Used historically for the languages in the Yuan sector of the Mongolian Empire |
Pollard | Plrd | 1936 | Sam Pollard | Abugida based on Cree used to write several minority languages in China |
Quikscript | 1966 | Ronald Kingsley Read | Phonemic alphabet designed to write the English language quickly and compactly | |
Sarati | Sara | 1910s | J. R. R. Tolkien | Precursor of his elven Tengwar script |
Shavian | Shaw | ca. 1960 | Ronald Kingsley Read | Phonemic alphabet to write the English language; precursor to Quikscript |
SignWriting | Sgnw | 1974 | Valerie Sutton | Proposed phonemic system of writing sign languages |
Sitelen Pona | 2014 | Sonja Lang | Logographic writing system used in Toki Pona | |
Sitelen Sitelen | ca. 2006 | Jonathan Gabel | Non-linear writing system with both logographic and alphasyllabic characters, used in Toki Pona. Also known as Sitelen Suwi. | |
Soyombo | Soyo | 1686 | Zanabazar | Abugida historically used to write the Mongolian language |
Stokoe notation | 1960 | William Stokoe | Proposed featural system of writing sign languages | |
Tangut | Tang | 1036 | Yeli Renrong | Logographic script historically used to write the extinct Tangut language |
Tengwar | Teng | 1930s | J. R. R. Tolkien | Elven script used for various languages in his novel The Lord of the Rings |
Testerian | 1529 | Jacobo de Testera | Pictorial writing system used until the 19th century to teach Christian doctrine to the indigenous peoples of Mexico | |
Thai | Thai | 1283 | Ram Khamhaeng | Abugida used to write Thai, Southern Thai and many others |
Tibetan | Tibt | ca. 650 | Thonmi Sambhota | Abugida probably based on Gupta, a Brahmic script, for writing Tibetan |
Unifon | mid-1950s | John R. Malone | Phonemic alphabet to write the English language, based on the Latin alphabet | |
Unker Non-Linear Writing System[4][third-party source needed] | 2010-* | Alex Fink & Sai | Complex script written and read in a nonlinear format | |
Universal Alphabet | 1585 | Thomas Harriot | Phonetic alphabet used to transcribe the extinct Carolina Algonquian language | |
Vai | Vaii | ca. 1832 | Momolu Duwalu Bukele | Syllabary used to write the Vai language |
Visible Speech | Visp | 1867 | Alexander Melville Bell | System of phonetic symbols to represent the position of the speech organs |
Warang | Wara | ca. 1950 | Lako Bodra | Abugida, but with alphabet-like full vowel symbols, to write the Ho language |
Yugtun | ca. 1900 | Uyaquq | Syllabary historically used to write the Central Alaskan Yup'ik language | |
Zanabazar square | Zanb | pre-1686 | Zanabazar | Abugida based on a Brahmic script developed to write the Mongolian language |
* Script in ongoing development.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Echo Station - Aurebesh Soup". 19 April 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-04-19.
- ^ "Unified script of India - Bharati". bharatiscript.com. Retrieved 2022-09-29.
- ^ Tolkien, C., editor, The Treason of Isengard, The History of Middle-Earth, Houghton Mifflin, 1989
- ^ "Unker Non-Linear Writing System". s.ai. Retrieved 2023-08-23.