Gourt > Science > Social Sciences > Linguistics > Graphemics and Orthography (2)
The orthography of a language is the set of symbols (glyphs and diacritics) used to write a language, as well as the set of rules describing how to write these glyphs correctly, including spelling, punctuation, and capitalization. The term is derived from Greek ορθο ortho- ("correct") and γραφος graphos ("that writes"). Orthography is distinct from typography.
Orthography includes the writing system of a language. English, for example, has an alphabet of 26 letters for both consonants and vowels, but no glyph for stress. However, each English letter may represent more than one sound, and each English sound (phoneme) may be written by more than one letter. An example of an orthographic rule describing how letters are used is i before e except after c; another is that the plural is written with the letter s regardless of whether it is pronounced as an as in cats, or as a [z, as in dogs. In addition, combinations of letters called digraphs, such as th, represent single sounds in English orthography. Other languages which use the same alphabet as English may not use the same digraphs.
One of the most complex orthographies is that of Japanese, which uses a combination of several thousand logographic glyphs (Chinese characters Hanzi) called kanji, two syllabaries called katakana and hiragana, and the Latin alphabet, rōmaji. All words in Japanese can be written in either katakana, hiragana, or rōmaji. Most words also have a kanji form. The choice of which type of writing to use depends on a number of factors, including standard conventions, readability, and stylistic choices.
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Character Encoding :: Globalization
Epigraphy :: Topics
Omniglot - Guide to all major alphabets, syllabaries and other writing systems. Also includes information on languages and links to other online language resources.
Meta Description: [ Details of just about every alphabet and of many languages, useful phrases, tips on learning languages, and much more. ]
A Philippine Leaf - A description of literacy and writing systems in Pre-Hispanic Philippines.
Meta Description: [ A description of literacy and writing systems in early Philippines. ]
A Short Presentation and Overview of the Rune alphabet, the Futhark - Contains a good discussion of the changes in the Norse Runic alphabet (the Futhark) over time.
A Study of Chinese Writing Systems - Academic paper which examines Chinese orthography .
African Writing Systems - An examination of the writing systems of Africa, including Amharic (Ethiopian).
Amanye Tenceli:The Writing Systems of Aman - Complete descriptions of the Sarati and Tengwar scripts created by J.R.R. Tolkien for his celebrated artificial languages. Also includes fonts and specialized writing programs.
Ancient Mesoamerican Writing - Mesoamerican culture as expressed in Precolumbian writing systems, inscriptions and codices, with links to related sites.
Meta Description: [ Mesoamerican culture as
expressed in precolumbian writing systems, inscriptions and
codices, with links to related sites and other resources.
(non-Frames version) ]
Ancient Scripts of the World - Lawrence Lo describes the origins, types and families of writing systems. Sections on phonetics, historical linguistics. Bibliography and links.
Blissymbolics Resources - Integrated Pictographic Language System for international communication, currently used by people with language-related disabilities.
Meta Description: [ Integrated Pictographic Language System for international communication,
currently used by people with language-related disabilities. ]
C. C. Elian - An alternative writing system examplified through art works that are visually similar to Asian and Middle Eastern systems, but based on Western concepts of language as it relates to perception and the implied ability to experience and control reality.
Meta Description: [ Works in the Elian Script, a non-linear writing system synthesizing elements of both Eastern and Western systems; one that fosters bi-hemispheric coordination, e.g. the expression of intellect connected to feeling. ]
Creative Ideas: Evolutions in the English Lexicon - The combination of the symbology of the English language with that of mathematics to create new meanings.
Meta Description: [ Here we introduce a new concept in grammar, a new language, linguists and lexicographers might be interested in this new lexicon and this form of neologisms. ]
Eskaya Script - Describes the Eskaya people of Bohol, and their writing, numerical, and calendar system, as well as links to information about other Philippine scripts.
Meta Description: [ The mysterious and undeciphered scripts of the Philippines. ]
Evolution of Alphabets - Site details the evolution of many of the world's major alphabets.
Indian Alphabet Comparison - A comparison of written Hindi, Punjabi, Bengali and Gujarati by Eden Golshani.
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Multilingual Computing - Links to sites of interest in multilingual computing and other closely related areas of scripts and languages as well as a guide for finding language fonts on the Internet.
Naxi Dongba Pictographs Software - Commercial software for writing in Dongba, a pictographic writing system. Also includes some background information on Dongba.
Orthography Examples - Samples of non-Latin writing systems, including Cyrillic, Aramaic, a syllabary, and a phonetic system.
Symbols - Encyclopedia of western signs and ideograms. More than 2,500 signs, from ideograms to graffiti, arranged into groups according to their graphic characteristics. Their histories, uses, and meanings.
Meta Description: [ Welcome to the World's Largets Online Encyclopedia of Western Signs and Ideograms. ]
The Numbers in Various Writing Systems - Numbers 1-10, in syllabaries, consonantal scripts, and sign.
Truetype fonts by Curtis Clark - Downloadable Truetype fonts of ancient alphabets.
Meta Description: [ Truetype fonts of ancient alphabets and mythic and scientific symbols ]
World Writing Systems - Features linguistic basics of writing systems, attempts of spelling reforms, social and political aspects of many languages' orthographies.
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