A constructed script is a new

writing system A writing system is a method of visually representing verbal communication, based on a script and a set of rules regulating its use. While both writing and speech are useful in conveying messages, writing differs in also being a reliable fo ...

specifically created by an individual or group, rather than having evolved as part of a language or culture like a natural script. Some are designed for use with

constructed language A constructed language (sometimes called a conlang) is a language whose phonology, grammar, and vocabulary, instead of having developed naturally, are consciously devised for some purpose, which may include being devised for a work of fiction ...

s, although several of them are used in

linguistic Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

experimentation or for other more practical ends in existing languages. Prominent examples of constructed scripts include Korean

Hangul The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The le ...

and the

International Phonetic Alphabet The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is an alphabetic system of phonetic notation based primarily on the Latin script. It was devised by the International Phonetic Association in the late 19th century as a standardized representation ...

Constructed scripts and traditional "natural" writing systems

All scripts, including traditional scripts ranging from

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

to Arabic script, are human creations. However, scripts usually evolve out of other scripts rather than being designed by an individual. In most cases, alphabets are ''adopted'', i.e. a language is written in another language's script at first, and gradually develops peculiarities specific to its new environment over the centuries (such as the letters w and j added to the

Latin alphabet The Latin alphabet or Roman alphabet is the collection of letters originally used by the ancient Romans to write the Latin language. Largely unaltered with the exception of extensions (such as diacritics), it used to write English and th ...

over time, not being formally considered full members of the English (as opposed to Latin) alphabet until the mid-1800s). In the vast majority of cases, inventors of writing systems have been either literate themselves or familiar with the concept of writing (see History of writing). As such, constructed scripts tend to be informed by at least one older writing system, making it difficult in some cases to decide whether a new script is simply an adoption or a new creation (for example the Cyrillic and the

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

alphabets, which are heavily influenced by the Greek alphabet but were nevertheless designed by individual authors). In the rare cases where a script evolved not out of a previous script, but out of proto-writing (the only known cases being the Cuneiform script,

Egyptian hieroglyphs Egyptian hieroglyphs (, ) were the formal writing system used in Ancient Egypt, used for writing the Egyptian language. Hieroglyphs combined logographic, syllabic and alphabetic elements, with some 1,000 distinct characters.There were about 1, ...

, the

Chinese script Chinese characters () are logograms developed for the writing of Chinese. In addition, they have been adapted to write other East Asian languages, and remain a key component of the Japanese writing system where they are known as ''kanji' ...

and the Mayan script, with ongoing debate as to whether the hitherto-undeciphered

Indus script The Indus script, also known as the Harappan script, is a corpus of symbols produced by the Indus Valley Civilisation. Most inscriptions containing these symbols are extremely short, making it difficult to judge whether or not they constituted ...

and

Rongorongo Rongorongo (Rapa Nui: ) is a system of glyphs discovered in the 19th century on Rapa Nui (Easter Island) that appears to be writing or proto-writing. Numerous attempts at decipherment have been made, with none being successful. Although some c ...

are true writing or proto-writing), the process was nevertheless a gradual evolution of a system of symbols, not a creation by design.

Overview of constructed writing systems

For previously unwritten languages

Some scripts were invented to for spoken languages that did not have adequate writing systems, including

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...

, Syllabics,

N'Ko N'Ko () is a script devised by Solomana Kante in 1949, as a modern writing system for the Mandé languages of West Africa. The term ''N'Ko'', which means ''I say'' in all Mandé languages, is also used for the Mandé literary standard written i ...

Fraser Fraser may refer to: Places Antarctica * Fraser Point, South Orkney Islands Australia * Fraser, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb in the Canberra district of Belconnen * Division of Fraser (Australian Capital Territory), a former federal e ...

, Tangut and Pollard scripts.

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

, and

Glagolitic The Glagolitic script (, , ''glagolitsa'') is the oldest known Slavic alphabet. It is generally agreed to have been created in the 9th century by Saint Cyril, a monk from Thessalonica. He and his brother Saint Methodius were sent by the Byzan ...

may fit in this category, though their origin is not known.

For religious and mystical purposes

Many scripts are created for religious or mystical purposes. Missionaries and religious scholars may be motivated to devise new scripts for previously-unwritten languages to facilitate the translation of religious writings, as was the case for several of the scripts mentioned in the previous section. Religious leaders may promulgate new writing systems among their followers for liturgical use and/or the promotion of cultural identity and unity, as with Sorang Sompeng,

Medefaidrin Medefaidrin (Medefidrin), or ', is a constructed language and script created as a Christian sacred language by an Ibibio congregation in 1930s Nigeria. It has its roots in glossolalia ('speaking in tongues'). History Speakers consider Medefa ...

and the

script Script may refer to: Writing systems * Script, a distinctive writing system, based on a repertoire of specific elements or symbols, or that repertoire * Script (styles of handwriting) ** Script typeface, a typeface with characteristics of handw ...

invented by the Zomi religious leader

Pau Cin Hau Pau Cin Hau is the founder and the name of a religion followed by some Tedim, Hakha in Chin state and Kale in Sagaing division in the north-western part of Myanmar. Pau Cin Hau was born in the Tedim (Tiddim) in 1859; and lived until 1948. He sta ...

, among many others. Relatedly, some scripts are created for

mystical Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight in u ...

or magical uses, such as communication with purported spiritual entities. Such is the case with John Dee and

Edward Kelley Sir Edward Kelley or Kelly, also known as Edward Talbot (; 1 August 1555 – 1597/8), was an English Renaissance occultist and scryer. He is best known for working with John Dee in his magical investigations. Besides the professed ability to ...

Enochian Enochian ( ) is an occult constructed language — said by its originators to have been received from angels — recorded in the private journals of John Dee and his colleague Edward Kelley in late 16th-century England. Kelley was a scryer who w ...

language and alphabet, the various scripts (including

Celestial Celestial may refer to: Science * Objects or events seen in the sky and the following astronomical terms: ** Astronomical object, a naturally occurring physical entity, association, or structure that exists in the observable universe ** Celes ...

Malachim Malachim was an alphabet published by Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa in the 16th century. Other alphabets with a similar origin are the Celestial Alphabet and Transitus Fluvii. "Malachim" is a plural form from Hebrew (מלאך, mal'ach) and means "a ...

, Theban, and

Transitus Fluvii Transitus Fluvii ("passing through the river" in Latin) or ''Passage Du Fleuve'' (in French) is an occult alphabet consisting of 22 characters described by Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa in his '' Third Book of Occult Philosophy'' (Cologne, 1533, bu ...

) documented by

Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim (; ; 14 September 1486 – 18 February 1535) was a German polymath, physician, legal scholar, soldier, theologian, and occult writer. Agrippa's '' Three Books of Occult Philosophy'' published in 1533 dre ...

and his teacher Johannes Trithemius, and possibly the ''litterae ignotae'' devised by

Hildegard of Bingen Hildegard of Bingen (german: Hildegard von Bingen; la, Hildegardis Bingensis; 17 September 1179), also known as Saint Hildegard and the Sibyl of the Rhine, was a German Benedictine abbess and polymath active as a writer, composer, philosopher ...

to write her Lingua Ignota. Several of these scripts are described by their creators as having been revealed during or developed in response to visionary experiences.

For fictional languages

The best-known constructed scripts dedicated to

fictional language Fictional languages are the subset of constructed languages (conlangs) that have been created as part of a fictional setting (e.g. for use in a book, movie, television show, or video game). Typically they are the creation of one individual, while ...

s are

J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlins ...

's elaborate

Tengwar The Tengwar script is an artificial script, one of several scripts created by J. R. R. Tolkien, the author of ''The Lord of the Rings''. Within the fictional context of Middle-earth, the Tengwar were invented by the Elf Fëanor, and use ...

and Cirth, but many others exist, such as the pIqaD script for '' Star Treks

Klingon language The Klingon language ( tlh, tlhIngan Hol, links=no, '' '': , ) is the constructed language spoken by a fictional alien race called the Klingons, in the ''Star Trek'' universe. Described in the 1985 book '' The Klingon Dictionary'' by Marc Ok ...

, Aurebesh from '' Star Wars'',

D'ni ''Myst'' is a franchise centered on a series of adventure video games. The first game in the series, ''Myst'', was released in 1993 by brothers Rand and Robyn Miller and their video game company Cyan, Inc. The first sequel to ''Myst'', ''Riven' ...

from the ''Myst'' series of video games, and the script of the Orokin language (referred to by members of the community as "Tennobet", a portmanteau of "Warframe#Setting, Tenno" and "alphabet") from the video game ''Warframe''.

For technical purposes

Several writing systems have been devised for technical purposes by specialists in various fields. One of the most prominent of these is the

(IPA), used by linguists to describe the sounds of human language in exhaustive detail. While based on the

, IPA also contains invented letters, Greek letters, and numerous diacritics. Other scripts, such as John Malone's Unifon, Sir James Pitman's Initial Teaching Alphabet, and Alexander Melville Bell's Visible Speech were invented for pedagogy, pedagogical purposes. Yerkish, a communication system created for use by non-human primates, involves a system of lexigrams- visual symbols corresponding to various objects and ideas. Shorthand systems may be considered constructed scripts intended to facilitate speed and ease of writing.

Language reform

Some constructed scripts are intended to replace existing writing systems. In the mid-1800s, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints promoted the Deseret alphabet as an alternative writing system Phonemic orthography, better suited to English phonology; roughly a century later, the estate of Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw commissioned the Shavian alphabet (later developed into Quikscript) to serve similar aims. Graphic Designer Bradbury Thompson's Bradbury Thompson#Alphabet 26, Alphabet 26 represents a similar project. (see also: English-language spelling reform). Taking language reform further, various proposed Philosophical language, philosophical or International auxiliary language, auxiliary languages- such as aUI (constructed language), aUI, Solresol, and the language outlined in John Wilkins' 1668 ''An Essay Towards a Real Character, and a Philosophical Language'' have associated writing systems. Charles K. Bliss's Blissymbols represent a proposed international auxiliary language whose primary mode is written rather than spoken.Bliss, C. K. (1965). [''Semantography'' (''Blissymbolics''). 2d enlarged edition. ''A simple system of 100 logical pictorial symbols, which can be operated and read like 1+2=3 in all languages'' (...)] . Sydney: Semantography (Blissymbolics) Publications. OCoLC: 1014476.

Other

Several constructed scripts serve unique purposes not outlined above. Ong Kommandam's Khom script (Ong Kommadam), Khom Script, in addition to serving a religious role, was used to conceal military communications during the Holy Man's Rebellion. Around the turn of the 18th century, Frenchman George Psalmanazar invented a purported 'Formosan' alphabet to further his fraudulent claims of being the first Taiwanese visitor to Europe; the Coelbren y Beirdd alphabet invented by Iolo Morganwg is another such example of linguistic forgery. Braille and most other tactile alphabets were invented to serve the needs of the visually impaired, or, in the case of Lewis Carroll's Nyctography, of sighted people without access to light.“The Life And Letters Of Lewis Carroll (Rev. C. L. Dodgson)” by Stuart Dodgson Collingwood B.A. Christ Church, Oxford
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Encoding

Some neographies have been encoded in Unicode, in particular the Shavian alphabet and the Deseret alphabet. A proposal for Klingon writing systems#KLI pIqaD, Klingon pIqaD was turned down because most users of the Klingon language wrote it using the

, but both

and Cirth were under consideration in 2010. An unofficial project exists to coordinate the encoding of many constructed scripts in specific places in the Unicode Private Use Areas ( to U+F8FF and U+000F0000 to U+0010FFFF), known as the ConScript Unicode Registry. Some of the scripts have identifying codes assigned among the ISO 15924 codes and IETF language tags.

References

External links

Omniglot Neographies

ConScript Unicode Registry

Deseret Alphabet
{{Constructed languages Constructed languages Writing Constructed scripts,