FAQ

What is the oldest writing system?

Cuneiform, developed by the Sumerians around 3400 BC in Mesopotamia. Egyptian hieroglyphs appeared shortly after around 3200 BC. The debate continues over which truly came first. Chinese characters emerged independently around 1200 BC. Writing was independently invented only 3 or 4 times in human history.

What is the difference between an alphabet and an abjad?

An alphabet has separate letters for both consonants and vowels, like Latin or Greek. An abjad has letters only for consonants, with vowels implied or marked optionally, like Arabic or Hebrew. An abugida has consonant letters with inherent vowels that change with diacritics, like Devanagari.

How many writing systems exist today?

Over 100 writing systems are in active use. Over 30 have more than a million users. The Latin alphabet dominates globally, used by over 2.5 billion people. Many endangered scripts are being revived through Unicode support and digital tools. New scripts are still being invented occasionally.