Wikipedia:Naming conventions (writing systems)

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. Magical alphabets, ciphers, and other special purpose writing systems may deviate from these guidelines.

Scripts

The term 'script' is used with four meanings:

1. A general segmental writing system, as opposed to the alphabets based on it:
   • Latin script (or Roman script; cf. Latin alphabet, roman type)
   • Cyrillic script (cross-linguistic; cf. Russian alphabet)
   • Arabic script (cross-linguistic; cf. Arabic alphabet)
   • Georgian scripts
2. In the plural for a family or geographic group of such scripts. 'Writing systems' conveys the same idea:
   • Brahmic scripts
   • Mesoamerican writing systems
3. A calligraphic style. In many cases 'hand' may be used instead, and may this avoid confusion with other uses of the term 'script':
   • Nastaliq script or Nastaliq hand
   • Insular script
   • Seal script
   • Italic script (or Italic hand: cf. italic type)
   • Chancery hand
4. 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 adaptations 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 (as distinct from Cyrillic script)
• Bengali alphabet (for Bengali/Bangla)
• Assamese alphabet
• Thai alphabet (for Thai)

The terms abjad and abugida, though often used in the text, are considered jargon and inappropriate for a title.

Syllabaries

For true syllabaries:

• Cherokee syllabary
• Vai syllabary

Unspecified

Where an unambiguous conventional name exists, 'script', 'alphabet', or 'syllabary' may not be necessary:

• Hangul
• Hiragana
• Fraktur
• Devanagari
• Cuneiform
• Rongorongo
• Egyptian hieroglyphs

Note: "hieroglyphics" is deprecated.

• Canadian Aboriginal syllabics

Exceptions may also occur where a different technical term is widely used:

• Chinese characters
• Carolingian minuscule
• Pitman shorthand

Modifiers

Modifiers may be used for subtypes or other cases of disambiguation:

• Classical Mongolian alphabet
• Romanian Cyrillic alphabet
• Taiwanese kana
• Cree syllabics

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)

See also

• Wikipedia: Naming conventions (languages)