Early Modern
16 scripts
Gujarati Script
Used for Gujarati with 60 million speakers. Very similar to Devanagari but without the hor...
Gurmukhi Script
Developed by the Sikh gurus for writing Punjabi. Has 35 original letters plus extensions. ...
Inuktitut Syllabics
Adapted from the Cree syllabics by James Evans. Used for Inuktitut and other Inuit languag...
Cherokee Syllabary
Invented by Sequoyah, a Cherokee silversmith who could not read any language. Has 85 chara...
Cree Syllabics
Developed by James Evans, a Methodist missionary. Each symbol represents a consonant-vowel...
Vai Script
An indigenous syllabic script invented in Liberia. Has over 200 characters. One of several...
Bamum Script
Invented by King Njoya of the Bamum people. Evolved from a pictographic system through mul...
Braille
Invented by Louis Braille when he was just 15 years old. Based on a failed military night-...
Morse Code
Developed by Samuel Morse and Alfred Vail. The letter E is a single dot, the most efficien...
International Phonetic Alphabet
A standardized system for representing every sound in human language. Has 107 letters and ...
Nushu
A script created and used exclusively by women of Jiangyong county in Hunan. Passed from m...
Manchu Script
Adapted from the Mongolian script for the Manchu founders of the Qing dynasty. Written ver...
Deseret Alphabet
A 38-letter English alphabet devised at the University of Deseret, now Utah. Promoted by t...
Pitman Shorthand
A phonetic shorthand by Isaac Pitman where stroke thickness distinguishes related sounds. ...
Gregg Shorthand
An American shorthand by John Robert Gregg based on flowing elliptical curves. Light-line ...
Moon System
A tactile writing for the blind by Dr William Moon, using raised simplified letters. Easie...