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==Alphabets== |
==Alphabets== |
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'Alphabet' is used for specific applications of a segmental script, usually with a defined sorting order and sometimes with |
'Alphabet' is used for language-specific applications of a segmental script, usually with a defined sorting order and sometimes with not all of the letters, or with additional letters: |
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*[[Latin alphabet]] (for Latin) |
*[[Latin alphabet]] (for Latin) |
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*[[English alphabet]] |
*[[English alphabet]] |
Revision as of 23:44, 16 August 2011
Names of articles on writing systems typically consist of a proper or other identifying name combined with a broad typological specification of the script, such as 'script', 'alphabet', or 'syllabary', or of the element of the writing system, such as 'letter' or 'type'. The specifying element is not always necessary.
Scripts
The term 'script' is used with four meanings:
- A general segmental writing system, as opposed to the alphabets based on it:
- Latin script (or Roman script; cf. Latin alphabet, roman type)
- Arabic script (cross-linguistic; cf. Arabic alphabet)
- In the plural for a family or geographic group of such scripts. 'Writing systems' conveys the same idea:
- A calligraphic style. In many cases 'hand' may be used instead, and may this avoid confusion with other uses of the term 'script':
- A non-segmental writing system, especially one which is logographic, mixed, or of unknown character:
- Maya script ('hieroglyphs' is widely considered a misnomer)
- Khitan small script
- Yi script (syllabic and logographic variants)
Alphabets
'Alphabet' is used for language-specific applications of a segmental script, usually with a defined sorting order and sometimes with not all of the letters, or with additional letters:
- Latin alphabet (for Latin)
- English alphabet
- Arabic alphabet (for Arabic)
- Urdu alphabet
- Russian alphabet
- Thai alphabet
The terms abjad and abugida, though often used in the text, are considered jargon and inappropriate for a title.
If an article conflates a script and the dominant alphabet using that script, as Georgian alphabet does, then the name should reflect the preponderance of the coverage of the article: 'Script' if it details the various alphabets that use the script, but 'alphabet' if it's largely concerned with the orthography of the dominant alphabet. These topics may of course be developed sufficiently to split into separate script and alphabet articles.
Syllabaries
For true syllabaries:
Unspecified
Where an unambiguous conventional name exists, 'script', 'alphabet', or 'syllabary' may not be necessary:
- Note: "hieroglyphics" is deprecated.
Exceptions may also occur where a different technical term is widely used:
Modifiers
Modifiers may be used for subtypes or other cases of disambiguation:
Glyphs and other elements
Names should include some indication that the article concerns a glyph and not a word.
- Kra (letter) – 'Latin' is generally understood
- Pi (letter) – like most Greek letters, pi is used in conjunction with the Latin script
- Pe (Cyrillic) – 'Cyrillic' cannot be a language, and so is unambiguous
- Pe (Persian letter) – 'Pe (Persian)' could be about a Persian word pe
- Ka (kana) – cf. Ka (Cyrillic)
- Zeta – the Greek letter is the WP:primary topic, as any word zeta derives from the letter
- Ou (ligature)
- Radical (Chinese character)
- Ascender (typography)