kids encyclopedia robot

List of languages by writing system facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Have you ever wondered how different languages are written down? This article explores various writing systems, also known as scripts, used by languages around the world. A writing system is a set of symbols that represent sounds or ideas, allowing us to read and write. Many languages use unique scripts, while others share the same one. Sometimes, a single language can even be written using more than one script!

Scripts Around the World

Arabic Script

The Arabic script is a beautiful writing system that reads from right to left. It's used by many languages, especially in the Middle East, North Africa, and parts of Asia.

Many languages in Russia and Central Asia also used Arabic script before they switched to Latin and later Cyrillic. Some of these include:

Armenian Script

The Armenian script is a unique alphabet created in the 5th century. It is used for:

Borama Script

The Borama script is a writing system created for the Somali language.

Brahmic Family and Related Scripts

The Brahmic family of scripts is a large group of writing systems that originated in ancient India. Many languages in South and Southeast Asia use scripts from this family.

Devanagari

Devanagari is a widely used script in India and Nepal. It's known for its horizontal line at the top of the letters.

Bengali/Assamese Script

The Assamese and Bengali scripts are very similar and are used in parts of India and Bangladesh.

Burmese Script

The Burmese script is used in Myanmar (Burma) and is known for its circular shapes.

Gujarati Script

The Gujarati script is used mainly in the Indian state of Gujarat.

Gurmukhi Script

The Gurmukhi script is a special script used for the holy texts of Sikhism.

  • Punjabi (in India, also written in Shahmukhi, a form of Arabic script, in Pakistan)

Javanese Script (Hanacaraka)

The Javanese script is an ancient script from the island of Java in Indonesia.

  • Javanese (used in old writings and for cultural heritage)
  • Sundanese

Kannada Script

The Kannada script is used in the Indian state of Karnataka.

Khmer Script

The Khmer script is used in Cambodia.

Lao Script

The Lao script is the national writing system of Laos.

Malayalam Script

The Malayalam script is used in the Indian state of Kerala.

Oriya Script

The Oriya script is used in the Indian state of Odisha.

Sinhala Script

The Sinhala script is used in Sri Lanka.

Tamil Script

The Tamil script is one of the oldest writing systems still in use.

Telugu Script

The Telugu script is used in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

Thai Script

The Thai script is the national writing system of Thailand.

Tibetan Script

The Tibetan script is used in the Himalayan region.

Canadian Aboriginal Script

Canadian Aboriginal script is a group of syllabic writing systems used by several Indigenous languages in Canada.

Cherokee Script

The Cherokee script is a unique syllabary created for the Cherokee language.

Coptic Alphabet

The Coptic alphabet is based on the Greek alphabet and was used for:

  • Coptic (now an extinct language, but still used in religious ceremonies)

Cyrillic Script

The Cyrillic script is widely used across Eastern Europe and Central Asia. It's named after Saint Cyril, who helped create it.

Ge'ez Script (Ethiopic)

The Ge'ez script is an ancient script from Ethiopia and Eritrea.

Georgian Script

The Georgian script is a unique alphabet used in the country of Georgia.

Greek Script

The Greek script is one of the oldest alphabets still in use today.

Chinese Characters and Related Scripts

Chinese characters are logograms, meaning each character represents a word or idea. They are very old and complex.

  • Chinese (including Mandarin, Cantonese, and other dialects)
  • Japanese (uses Chinese characters, called kanji, along with two other scripts called kana)
  • Korean (used Chinese characters, called hanja, in the past, but now mostly uses Hangul)
  • Vietnamese (used Chinese characters, called Chu nho and Chữ nôm, historically)

Hangul

Hangul is the modern alphabet for Korean. It's known for being very logical and easy to learn.

Hebrew Script

The Hebrew script reads from right to left and is used by several Jewish languages.

Kana

Kana refers to two Japanese syllabic scripts: Hiragana and Katakana. They are used alongside kanji (Chinese characters).

Latin Script

The Latin script is the most widely used writing system in the world. It's the alphabet English uses!

Mongolian and Related Scripts

This family of scripts is used in Mongolia and surrounding regions.

Mongolian Script

The Mongolian script is unique because it's written vertically from top to bottom, and columns go from left to right.

Manchu Script

The Manchu script is also written vertically and is related to the Mongolian script.

N'Ko Script

The N'Ko script is a modern writing system created for the Manding languages of West Africa.

  • N'ko

Ogham

Ogham is an ancient alphabet used mainly in early medieval Ireland and Britain. It consists of lines and notches carved into stone.

  • Primitive Irish

Osmanya Script

The Osmanya script was another writing system created for the Somali language in the early 20th century.

Runic Script

Runic script are ancient alphabets used by Germanic peoples, especially in Scandinavia and the British Isles, from the 1st to the 16th centuries.

Syriac Script

The Syriac script is an ancient Aramaic script used in the Middle East.

Tifinagh

Tifinagh is an ancient script used by the Berber people of North Africa.

Yi Script

The Yi script is a syllabic writing system used by the Yi people in China.

  • Yi
kids search engine
All content from Kiddle encyclopedia articles (including the article images and facts) can be freely used under Attribution-ShareAlike license, unless stated otherwise. Cite this article:
List of languages by writing system Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.