Writing system

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A writing system comprises a set of symbols, called a script, as well as the rules by which the script represents a particular language. The earliest writing was invented during the late 4th millennium BC. Throughout history, each writing system invented without prior knowledge of writing gradually evolved from a system of proto-writing that included a small number of ideograms, which were not fully capable of encoding spoken language, and lacked the ability to express a broad range of ideas.

Writing systems are generally classified according to how its symbols—called graphemes—generally relate to units of language. Phonetic writing systems, which include alphabets and syllabaries, use graphemes that correspond to sounds in the corresponding spoken language. Alphabets use graphemes called letters that correspond to spoken phonemes—with abjads only having letters for consonants, and pure alphabets having them for both consonants and vowels. In abugidas, graphemes correspond to spoken consonant–vowel pairs. Syllabaries use graphemes called syllabograms that represent spoken syllables or moras. By contrast, morphographic (or logographic) writing systems use graphemes that represent a language's units of meaning, such as words or morphemes. Alphabets typically use fewer than 100 symbols, while syllabaries and logographies may use hundreds or thousands respectively.

A writing system also includes any punctuation used to aid readers and encode additional meaning, including that which would be communicated in speech via qualities of rhythm, tone, pitch, accent, inflection, or intonation.