English
English uses an alphabet, though spelling and sound do not always align.
Alphabetic writing uses letters, but historical spelling can obscure sound.
Writing is not language itself. It is a technology for representing language. Alphabets, abjads, syllabaries, and logographic systems choose different units to write: sounds, consonants, syllables, or meaning-bearing characters. This explains why English, Arabic, Japanese, and Chinese feel so different on the page.
Core concepts
1
An alphabet represents consonants and vowels with letters.
2
An abjad primarily represents consonants.
3
A syllabary represents syllable units.
4
Logographic systems use symbols connected to morphemes or meanings.
Examples
Japanese and Chinese
Japanese mixes scripts; Chinese uses characters connected to morphemes.
Writing systems can combine units and histories inside one literacy tradition.
Visual model
What gets written?
Alphabet
English: letters for consonants and vowels
Abjad
Arabic: consonant-centered writing
Syllabary
Japanese kana: symbols for syllables
Logographic
Chinese: characters tied to morphemes
A writing system is a lens on language, not the whole language.
Interactive exploration
Choose a writing strategy.
Alphabet
Alphabetic systems break speech into smaller sound units represented by letters.
English writes cat with separate letters.
Language detective
Identify the hidden structure
Identify the universal claim behind the terminology.
Best: 0/5
English
Writing systems represent language visually.
Look for roles, time, mode, and polarity.
Knowledge check
Test the concept
Best: 0/3
Three conceptual checks