Writing system
There are two common meanings of the term writing system: it may refer to how a set of signs is used to represent a language, or it can mean a set of rules used to write a language, such as conventions of spelling and punctuation. In linguistics, the study of writing systems often focuses on the first sense of the term, though both are considered.
Through the definition of 'writing system' as ordered, written signs, linguists divide the world's written languages into several types: (morpho)phonemic writing systems such as the Roman alphabet; morphemic; consonantal, syllabic, or moraic. The first sense of 'writing system' is therefore related to the terms script and orthography - the actual appearance of the writing as letters, characters or other signs; and the rules for arranging those signs (i.e. the second sense of the term). For example, the Roman alphabet is a single script, but each language it is used for has a different orthography.[1]
Languages may also incorporate more than one writing system type into their overall written language system - often because one is more easy to read in one context than another. Written Japanese uses four scripts: morphemic (or morphosyllabic) Chinese-derived characters (漢字 kanji), two mora-based systems (ひらがな hiragana and カタカナ katakana), and the phonemic Roman alphabet (ローマ字 roomaji). These are used for different purposes: for example, katakana is typically used for words of recent foreign origin. Orthographic rules determine which system is used.
Footnotes
- ↑ Cook & Bassetti (2005: 2-3).