Syllabary
10 scripts
Yi Script
Used by the Yi people of southwest China. Originally a logographic system with over 8,000 ...
Cherokee Syllabary
Invented by Sequoyah, a Cherokee silversmith who could not read any language. Has 85 chara...
Vai Script
An indigenous syllabic script invented in Liberia. Has over 200 characters. One of several...
Linear B
The oldest known form of Greek writing. Deciphered in 1952 by Michael Ventris, an architec...
Old Persian Cuneiform
A simplified cuneiform created for the royal inscriptions of Darius I. About 40 signs, far...
Nushu
A script created and used exclusively by women of Jiangyong county in Hunan. Passed from m...
Bopomofo
The official phonetic alphabet of China, also called Zhuyin. 37 symbols derived from Chine...
Kikakui Script
A syllabic script for the Mende language of Sierra Leone. Invented by Mohamed Turay around...
Hiragana
The flowing cursive syllabary of Japanese, developed from cursive forms of Chinese charact...
Katakana
The angular syllabary of Japanese, developed by monks as shorthand pronunciation marks bes...