Changes

'''Writing''' is a way of putting down language in a symbolic form in some medium, usually with an alphabet but also possible with hieroglyphs or other characters.  Unlike unrecorded [[speech]], it is a form of [[communication]] that has a continuing nature in that it still exists or can be seen after it is completed.

'''Written Language''' is the symbolic representation of language in some physical medium, often with an alphabet but also possible with hieroglyphs or other pictographic characters.  Unlike unrecorded [[speech]], it is a form of [[communication]] that has a lasting nature, in that it still exists or can be seen after it is completed. This makes it much easier to share knowledge with other people, since many people can read the same book and there is no danger of the author's original intention being misunderstood through transfer of knowledge by word of mouth.

==History==

==History==

:''For more information, see [[History of Writing]].''

:''For more information, see [[History of Written Language]].''

The forerunners to writing were carved sticks or knotted cords that conveyed information.  Prehistoric writing took the form of cave art such as found in [[France]].  The cultures that developed in [[Egypt]] and [[Sumeria]] both started with pictorial forms which led to Egyptian [[hieroglyphics]] and Sumerian [[cuneiform]].  The [[Hittites]], Egyptians and Mesopotamians all devised symbols for specific sounds known as phonetic writing.  During the 2nd millennium B.C., Semitic [[alphabet]]s emerged allowing writing as know it.  The [[Greeks]] and the [[Roman]]s both copied these earlier alphabets.

The forerunners to writing were carved sticks or knotted cords that conveyed information.  Prehistoric writing took the form of cave art such as found in [[France]].  The cultures that developed in [[Egypt]] and [[Sumeria]] both started with pictorial forms which led to Egyptian [[hieroglyphics]] and Sumerian [[cuneiform]].  The [[Hittites]], Egyptians and Mesopotamians all devised symbols for specific sounds known as phonetic writing.  During the 2nd millennium B.C., Semitic [[alphabet]]s emerged allowing writing as know it.  The [[Greeks]] and the [[Roman]]s both copied these earlier alphabets.

==Kinds of Writing==

==Kinds of Writing==

There are two primary kinds of writing: '''alphabetic''' and '''logographic'''.  Alphabetic systems use a single symbol to express a single sound, and thus by writing these symbols next to each other, a string of sounds is described which create a word in the language being written.  In a logographic system, a single symbol can be used to refer to an idea or a syllable, depending on the context, and frequently the syllables or other sound symbols will provide the intangible framework (ie, thinking, when?, etc.) for the concrete ideas (tree, house, etc.) which are expressed by single symbols.

There are two primary kinds of writing: '''alphabetic''' and '''logographic'''.  Alphabetic systems use a single symbol to express a single sound, and thus by writing these symbols next to each other, a string of sounds is described which create a word in the language being written.  In a logographic system, a single symbol can be used to refer to an idea or a syllable, depending on the context, and frequently the syllables or other sound symbols will provide the intangible framework (i.e., thinking, when?, etc.) for the concrete ideas (tree, house, etc.) which are expressed by single symbols.

'''Alphabetic Writing Systems:'''

'''Alphabetic Writing Systems:'''