List of constructed scripts
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 | |
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 |
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 |
Cirth | Cirt | 1930s[2] | 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; | 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 | |
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 | 2012 | Sonja Lang | Logographic writing system used in Toki Pona | |
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 | |
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 |
unnamed | 2019 | Jon Ingold | The script used by the Ancients in the game Heaven's Vault | |
* Script in ongoing development.
See also[]
- Constructed script
- List of writing systems
- ConScript Unicode Registry
External links[]
References[]
- ^ "Echo Station - Aurebesh Soup". 19 April 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-04-19.
- ^ Tolkien, C., editor, The Treason of Isengard, The History of Middle-Earth, Houghton Mifflin, 1989
Categories:
- Constructed scripts
- Constructed languages
- Writing