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Alphabets & Writing Systems
 Websites presented in alphabetical order African Writing Systems 
 The African Writing Systems Web page highlights different forms of writing systems used on the African continent, such as pictographic, alphabetic, and petrographic. Writing systems are defined as "philosophical because they assist in synthesizing ideas, thoughts, and deeds through the use of signs, symbols or other pictorial renderings." A collaborative effort between Cornell University assistant professor Ayele Bekerie and the university's John Henrik Clarke Africana Library. http://www.library.cornell.edu/africana/Writing_Systems/Welcome.html Topics: Language, Regions of the World, Regions of the World, Writing Last updated Jan 17, 2002 Arab Gateway: Calligraphy
Descriptions, images, and an animated version of a moving pen of the twenty-eight letters of the Arabic alphabet are presented here, along with exquisite examples of ancient and modern Arabic calligraphy (decorative writing). Includes many links to Web sites with information on scholarly works, famous calligraphers, writing lessons, articles, clip art, and books on calligraphy. From Arab Gateway, which "aims to introduce non-Arabs to the Arabs and their culture." http://www.al-bab.com/arab/visual/calligraphy.htm Topics: Language, Writing Last updated Nov 20, 2002 ASL Spelling Study: The Alphabet
A site designed for learning the one-handed manual alphabet used in American Sign Language (ASL). Study the alphabet by watching a large animated hand form letters as they would be seen by the person reading the spelling--not the speller. A timed test is available in which students click on the letter of the alphabet the hand is forming. An excellent resource for those who are just beginning to learn fingerspelling. http://www.duber.com/CALL/asl.html Topics: Disabilities, Language, Languages, Writing Last updated Dec 20, 2004 Chinese Seals
Images of hundreds of pages from "a 14-volume set of imprints of ancient Chinese seals. On each page is a carefully executed impression of a seal and drawing of the seal stone." Not annotated. From the University of California, Merced, Library. http://library.ucmerced.edu/sc/seals/ Topics: Language, Languages, Writing Last updated Aug 30, 2006 Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI)
The work "of Assyriologists, museum curators and historians of science to make available through the internet the form and content of cuneiform tablets dating from the beginning of writing, ca. 3350 BC, until the end of the pre-Christian era." Contains browsable descriptions and photographs. Portions available in French and German. A joint project of the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science and the University of California, Los Angeles. http://www.cdli.ucla.edu/ Topics: Language, Photograph Collections, Writing Last updated Dec 11, 2007 The Cuneiform Inscriptions
Transliterations, translations, and photographs of 16 clay tablets, two clay cones, and one inscribed and sealed clay tag, all in cuneiform, the script of ancient Mesopotamia. "These documents include sixteen administrative records from various cities of Sumer in the Ur III period (late 3rd millennium BCE), and three short royal inscriptions from the cities of Isin and Uruk in the early Old Babylonian period (early 2nd millennium BCE)." From the University of Minnesota. http://special.lib.umn.edu/rare/cuneiform/ Topics: Language, Writing Last updated May 10, 2006 Cuneiform Tablets: From the Reign of Gudea of Lagash to Shalmanassar III
This site "presents clay tablets, cones, and brick fragments inscribed using the ancient pictographic writing system known as cuneiform from the Library of Congress' collections." Contents include "school tablets, accounting records, and commemorative inscriptions." Features 38 cuneiform tablets, along with links to related resources. Searchable; browsable by title and subject. From the African and Middle Eastern Division, Library of Congress. http://international.loc.gov/intldl/cuneihtml/ Topics: Archaeology, History By Place, Language, Writing Last updated Mar 9, 2005 The Evolution of Alphabets
This site has animated images portraying the evolution of the Western alphabet. Beginning with a demonstration of cuneiform syllabic pictographs, and after showing the evolution of the ancient Phoenician single-sound alphabet, the Greek, Arabic, Hebrew, Cyrillic, and Latin alphabets are each traced from their Phoenician roots. Each animation is shown once, with a return to the main screen being necessary in order to view it again. The evolution of the Latin alphabet, which covers Western European languages, requires a large monitor or side-to-side scrolling. http://terpconnect.umd.edu/~rfradkin/alphapage.html Topics: Language, Writing Last updated Sep 30, 2009 Hebrew Keyboard Tutor
Five levels of animated lessons in typing in the Hebrew alphabet following the English QWERTY keyboard layout. http://www.zigzagworld.com/HKTutor/hten.htm Topics: Judaism, Languages, Writing Last updated May 9, 2007 The International Phonetic Association: Reproduction of the International Phonetic Alphabet
View the entire chart of phonetic characters or particular parts of speech on the chart--consonants, vowels, diacritics, and more. http://www.arts.gla.ac.uk/IPA/ipachart.html Topics: Language, Writing Last updated Feb 3, 2004 Islamic Culture and the Medical Arts
An online exhibition in honor of the 900th anniversary of the transcription of "an Arabic treatise by one of the most important medieval physicians and clinicians -- Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Zakariya' al-Razi, who worked in Baghdad in the previous century and was later known to Europe as Rhazes." This site traces the history and development of Islamic medicine. Included is a bibliography of additional readings. A transcribed interview about Islamic calligraphy is accompanied by several video clips. From the National Library of Medicine. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/islamic_medical/islamic_00.html Topics: Health, Holidays and Observances Individually, Language, Medical Treatments & Devices, Nonfiction by Genre, Writing Last updated Apr 7, 2004 Little Explorer's Dictionary
This multi-lingual alphabet dictionary features more than a thousand illustrated entries, many linked to carefully selected sites appropriate for the primary grades. http://www.enchantedlearning.com/Dictionary.html Topics: Language, Writing Last updated Apr 15, 2002 The Mayan Epigraphic Database Project
Provides a "database of [Mayan] glyphs ('gnumbers'), images, phonetic values ('pvalues'), and semantic values ('svalues') according to the consensus among various American Mayanists." From a professor at Princeton. http://www2.iath.virginia.edu/med/ Topics: Languages, Writing Last updated Nov 8, 2008 Ms. Gingrich's Web Page
A collection of web resources for younger children learning the alphabet, with links to related activities, songs, and stories. Organized alphabetically. http://www.westcler.org/wv/geigerj/ Topics: Internet Guides & Search Tools, Language, Writing Last updated Jul 29, 2005 Omniglot: A Guide To Writing Systems
This site is "a guide to over 200 different alphabets, syllabaries and other writing systems." Essays discuss what writing is and alphabetic, syllabic, logographic, and alternative writing systems. Each language discussed features a brief history, examples of the alphabet and who uses the language, and links to Web sites on that language. http://www.omniglot.com/ Topics: Language, Writing Last updated Apr 18, 2002 Paper, Leather, Clay and Stone: The Written Word Materialized
Images of manuscripts and texts exploring "the visual and tactile aspects of the written word." Includes information on writing surfaces before paper (stone, cuneiform tablets, coins, wood, papyrus, parchment, bark, leaves), historical and reference works (early encyclopedias and legal texts), banned books ( Index librorum prohibitorum ), and chapbooks. Also contains related activities for teachers. From Cornell University Library. http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/Paper-exhibit/ Topics: Language, Writing Last updated Aug 1, 2002 Rubbings of Chinese Inscriptions
Thirteen images of rubbings of pictorial reliefs and texts taken from Chinese stone tablets (151-1912). Includes brief information on Chinese inscriptions and rubbings. From the East Asian Library, University of California, Berkeley. http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/Rubbings/ Topics: Language, Writing Last updated Jul 14, 2004 Selections from the Naxi Manuscript Collection
This site "features ceremonial writings of the Naxi people of Yunnan Province, China. ... The Naxi use a unique pictographic writing system that is similar to the ancient Egyptian and Mayan writing systems. It is the only living pictographic language in the world today. This online presentation features 185 manuscripts, a ... funerary scroll and an annotated catalog of the entire collection." Browsable and searchable. From the Library of Congress (LOC). http://international.loc.gov/intldl/naxihtml/ Topics: Language, Languages, Regions of the World Last updated Jun 9, 2004 Selections of Arabic, Persian, and Ottoman Calligraphy
"This presentation exhibits 355 Arabic calligraphy sheets, ranging from the 9th to the 19th centuries." Searchable, or browse the sheets by calligrapher, title, or subject (such as decoupage or poetry). Images are accompanied by background essay about the scripts. The site also includes special presentations on Ottoman and Persian calligraphic styles and noteworthy items, and a bibliography. From the Library of Congress. http://international.loc.gov/intldl/apochtml/ Topics: Language, Languages, Writing Last updated Jun 22, 2006 The Story of the Rosetta Stone: Finding a Lost Language
Describes the history, importance, and discovery of the Rosetta stone, which led to the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphics. From the EMuseum at Minnesota State University, Mankato. http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/egypt/hieroglyphics/rosettastone.html Topics: Language, Writing Last updated Feb 12, 2004 The Washington Calligraphers Guild
The website for this Washington, D.C., nonprofit organization features brief histories of calligraphy and penmanship, an exhibit of calligraphy samples, images of winning calligraphy pieces from the Graceful Envelope contest, and a bibliography of resources on calligraphy technique, Asian and Middle East calligraphy, handwriting and penmanship, and related topics. http://www.calligraphersguild.org Topics: Language, Writing Last updated Jan 23, 2006 |
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