List of constructed scripts

This list of constructed scripts is in alphabetical order. ISO 15924 codes are provided where assigned. This list includes neither shorthand systems nor ciphers of existing scripts.

Script name ISO 15924 Year created Creator Comments (click to sort by category)
Adlam Adlm 1989 Ibrahima & Abdoulaye Barry Proposed alphabet used to write the Fula language
Afaka Afak 1910 Afáka Atumisi Syllabary used to write the Ndyuka language, an English-based creole of Surinam
Aiha 1985 Ursula K. Le Guin Alphabet of the fictional Kesh language in her novel Always Coming Home
Ariyaka c. 1840 Mongkut Invented to transcribe Pali, the liturgical language of Theravada Buddhism, and inspired by the Greek and Burmese-Mon scripts
Armenian Armn ca. 405 Mesrop Mashtots Alphabet thought to have been based on Greek used to write Armenian
Ath 1996 Hiroyuki Morioka Alphabet of the fictional Baronh language in his novel Crest of the Stars
aUI 1962 John W. Weilgart Language and alphabet attempting to unify sound and meaning
Aurebesh 1993 Stephen Crane Alphabet originally for Star Wars Miniatures Battles Companion based on glyphs by Joe Johnston, subsequently used for other media in the franchise[1]
Avoiuli 1990s Viraleo Boborenvanua Alphabet used by the Turaga indigenous movement for some languages in Vanuatu
Bagam ca. 1900 King Pufong Largely lost logosyllabic script used for letters and records in the Mengaka language
Bamum Bamu 1896–1910 Ibrahim Njoya Syllabary for Bamum developed from what initially was a pictographic system
Bharati[2] 2016-* Prof. V. Srinivasa Chakravarthy and others Alternative common script of major Indian languages (both Indo-Aryan and Dravidian) to facilitate easy communication
Blissymbol Blis 1949 Charles K. Bliss Conceived as a non-spoken (soundless), purely ideographic script
Bopomofo Bopo 1913 Zhang Binglin Semisyllabary to transcribe spoken Mandarin, Holo, &c., mainly for teaching
Braille Brai 1821 Louis Braille Tactile alphabet for the blind using embossed dots; dozens of derived scripts
Canadian Aboriginal syllabics Cans 1840s James Evans Family of abugidas used to write a number of Aboriginal Canadian languages of the Algonquian, Inuit, and (formerly) Athabaskan language families
Caucasian Albanian Aghb ca. 408 Mesrop Mashtots Alphabet used to write the now extinct Caucasian Albanian language
Cherokee Cher 1819 Sequoyah Syllabary inspired by Latin glyph shapes used to write the Cherokee language
Chữ Việt Trí 2012 Tôn Thất Chương Alphabet designed for the Vietnamese language
Cirth Cirt 1930s[3] J. R. R. Tolkien Runic elven script, mainly for dwarven writing in his novel The Lord of the Rings
Clear Script 1648 Zaya Pandit Alphabet used to write the Oirat language; based on Mongolian script
Coorgi-Cox 2005 Gregg M. Cox A proposed abugida for the Kodava language
Cyrillic Cyrl / Cyrs ca. 940 Saint Cyril or his students Alphabet mainly used to write Slavic languages; based primarily on Greek
Deseret Dsrt mid-19th century University of Deseret A phonemic alphabet designed for the English language
D'ni 1997 Richard A. Watson Alphabet for the fictional language in the game Riven and its sequels
Duployan shorthand Dupl 1891 Jean-Marie Le Jeune Historically used as the main (non-shorthand) script for Chinook Jargon
Elbasan Elba 1761 disputed Alphabet for Albanian used to write the Elbasan Gospel Manuscript
Engsvanyáli 1940s M. A. R. Barker Abugida used in the Empire of the Petal Throne role-playing game
Eskayan ca. 1920–1937 Mariano Datahan Syllabary based on cursive Latin script for the auxiliary Eskayan language
Extensions to the IPA (extIPA) Latn 1990–* International Clinical
Phonetics and Linguistics Association
A set of letters and diacritics to augment the International Phonetic Alphabet for the phonetic transcription of disordered speech
Fraser Lisu 1915 Sara Ba Thaw Alphabet used to write the Lisu language; improved by James O. Fraser
Gargish 1990 Herman Miller Alphabet for the fictional Gargish language in Ultima VI: The False Prophet
Glagolitic Glag 862–863 Saints Cyril and Methodius Historically used to write Slavic languages, before Cyrillic became dominant
Gothic Goth ca. 350 Ulfilas Alphabet based primarily on Greek historically used to write the Gothic language
HamNoSys 1985 University of Hamburg General phonetic transcription system for all sign languages
Hangul Hang 1443 Court of Sejong the Great Alphabet written in syllable blocks used to write the Korean language; the oldest and most widespread featural script in use
iConji 2010 Kai Staats Pictographic writing system for messenging
International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) Latn 1888–* International Phonetic Association Regarded as being an extension of the Latin script
Ithkuil 2004 John Quijada Script for the constructed Ithkuil language
Jurchen Jurc ca. 1119 Wanyan Xiyin Largely undeciphered logographic script with phonetic elements for Jurchen
Kēlen 1980 Sylvia Sotomayor Alphabet for a fictional alien language without verbs
Khitan large script Kitl 920 by order of Abaoji

Largely undeciphered logographic script for the Khitan language

Khitan small script Kits ca. 924 Yelü Diela Partially deciphered logographic script with phonetic elements for Khitan
Khom 1924 Ong Kommandam Semi-syllabary used for secret communication among dissidents in French Laos
Kikakui Mend ca. 1917 Mohammed Turay Syllabary used to write the Mende language of Sierra Leone
KLI pIqaD Piqd ca. 1990 anonymous Glyphs created for Star Trek: The Next Generation, later sent as a font to the KLI
Limbu Limb ca. 1740 Te-ongsi Sirijunga Xin Thebe Abugida derived from Tibetan to write the Limbu language
Lisu syllabary 1924–1930 Ngua-ze-bo Syllabary of about 800 characters used to write the Lisu language
Manchu 1599; 1632 Nurhaci; Dahai Alphabet based on Mongolian script to write the nearly extinct Manchu language
Mandombe 1978 Wabeladio Payi Alphabet written in syllable blocks for Kikongo, Lingala, Ciluba and Kiswahili
Miꞌkmaw hieroglyphic writing after 1675 Chrestien Le Clercq Logographic script used historically for the Miꞌkmaq language
Neomeroitic 2022-2023 Amundé Musango Proposed alphabet to write the Swahili language and other African languages using a non-indigenous script
Night writing 1808 Charles Barbier Forerunner of Braille; tactile alphabet intended for communication in total darkness
N'Ko Nkoo 1949 Solomana Kante Alphabet used to write the Manding languages, including a kind of koine
Ol Chiki Olck 1925 Raghunath Murmu Official alphabet for the Santali language
Old Permic Perm 1372 Stephen of Perm Alphabet mainly based on Cyrillic and Greek once used to write mediaeval Komi
Phags-pa Phag 1269 Drogön Chögyal Phagpa Used historically for the languages in the Yuan sector of the Mongolian Empire
Pollard Plrd 1936 Sam Pollard Abugida based on Cree used to write several minority languages in China
Quikscript 1966 Ronald Kingsley Read Phonemic alphabet designed to write the English language quickly and compactly
Sarati Sara 1910s J. R. R. Tolkien Precursor of his elven Tengwar script
Shavian Shaw ca. 1960 Ronald Kingsley Read Phonemic alphabet to write the English language; precursor to Quikscript
SignWriting Sgnw 1974 Valerie Sutton Proposed phonemic system of writing sign languages
Sitelen Pona 2014 Sonja Lang Logographic writing system used in Toki Pona
Sitelen Sitelen ca. 2006 Jonathan Gabel Non-linear writing system with both logographic and alphasyllabic characters, used in Toki Pona. Also known as Sitelen Suwi.
Soyombo Soyo 1686 Zanabazar Abugida historically used to write the Mongolian language
Stokoe notation 1960 William Stokoe Proposed featural system of writing sign languages
Tangut Tang 1036 Yeli Renrong Logographic script historically used to write the extinct Tangut language
Tengwar Teng 1930s J. R. R. Tolkien Elven script used for various languages in his novel The Lord of the Rings
Testerian 1529 Jacobo de Testera Pictorial writing system used until the 19th century to teach Christian doctrine to the indigenous peoples of Mexico
Thai Thai 1283 Ram Khamhaeng Abugida used to write Thai, Southern Thai and many others
Tibetan Tibt ca. 650 Thonmi Sambhota Abugida probably based on Gupta, a Brahmic script, for writing Tibetan
Unifon mid-1950s John R. Malone Phonemic alphabet to write the English language, based on the Latin alphabet
Unker Non-Linear Writing System[4][third-party source needed] 2010-* Alex Fink & Sai Complex script written and read in a nonlinear format
Universal Alphabet 1585 Thomas Harriot Phonetic alphabet used to transcribe the extinct Carolina Algonquian language
Vai Vaii ca. 1832 Momolu Duwalu Bukele Syllabary used to write the Vai language
Visible Speech Visp 1867 Alexander Melville Bell System of phonetic symbols to represent the position of the speech organs
Warang Wara ca. 1950 Lako Bodra Abugida, but with alphabet-like full vowel symbols, to write the Ho language
Yugtun ca. 1900 Uyaquq Syllabary historically used to write the Central Alaskan Yup'ik language
Zanabazar square Zanb pre-1686 Zanabazar Abugida based on a Brahmic script developed to write the Mongolian language
Natural language
Alphabet
Abugida
Syllabary
Logographic
Fiction
Miscellaneous

* Script in ongoing development.

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ "Echo Station - Aurebesh Soup". 19 April 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-04-19.
  2. ^ "Unified script of India - Bharati". bharatiscript.com. Retrieved 2022-09-29.
  3. ^ Tolkien, C., editor, The Treason of Isengard, The History of Middle-Earth, Houghton Mifflin, 1989
  4. ^ "Unker Non-Linear Writing System". s.ai. Retrieved 2023-08-23.
edit