Writing, its origin, spread and adaptation

This lecture goes into more detail about writing systems in SEA.

Important concepts:

• alphabetic/segmental
• calligraphy
• featural
• logographic
• phonographic
• syllabic

Readings and Resources

Slides: Writing Systems

The reading is Goddard, Chapter 6. I also strongly recommend the omniglot web site: omniglot.com.

A map of the world’s writing systems

From Amazing Maps accessed 2025-11-05