Hacker News with Generative AI: Writing Systems

The Japanese Writing System Explained: Hiragana, Katakana and Kanji (kanjimaster.ai)
When students begin the journey of learning Japanese, they are met with a fascinating yet complex writing system composed of three scripts: Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji.

Japanese Language, Writing Systems, Education, Hiragana, Katakana

18 points by adilmoujahid 6 days ago | 6 comments

The Mystery of the Oldest Writing System Remained Unsolved Until 1856 (smithsonianmag.com)
On a late-summer day in 1856, a letter carrier stepped from a mail coach in front of a three-story townhouse in Mayfair, in central London. Crossing the threshold, the courier handed a wax-sealed envelope to a clerk. The missive was addressed to Edwin Norris, the secretary of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, one of Europe’s leading research institutions.

History, Archaeology, Writing Systems, Ancient Civilizations

80 points by wyclif 11 days ago | 6 comments

Encoding Hangeul, Koreas writing system (brookjeynes.dev)
Hangeul (한글) is the modern writing system for the Korean language, created in 1443 by King Sejong the great, the fourth king of the Joseon dynasty1.

Korean Language, Writing Systems, History, Linguistics

5 points by todsacerdoti 29 days ago | 0 comments

A UC Santa Cruz professor unearthed the oldest alphabet yet (universityofcalifornia.edu)
In 2004, while she was still a meticulous young graduate student, Elaine Sullivan made a discovery that would deepen the history of human writing.

Archaeology, History, Language, Writing Systems

151 points by diodorus 79 days ago | 54 comments

Ancient Sumerians created the first writing system (lithub.com)
In the middle of the fourth millennium before Christ, men and women could feed themselves and their families, much of the time, but almost nobody else. They did not yet have the wheel. They could fight, but they did not have the capacity to make war. They could not read or write, for there was no writing. Without writing, there was no history. There were stories but no literature.

Ancient History, Writing Systems, Mesopotamia

164 points by HR01 127 days ago | 188 comments

History of Hangul (zkorean.com)
Koreans use their own unique alphabet called Hangul. It is considered to be one of the most efficient alphabets in the world and has garnered unanimous praise from language experts for its scientific design and excellence.

Korean Language, History, Writing Systems

103 points by teleforce 130 days ago | 55 comments

Evidence of oldest known alphabetic writing unearthed in ancient Syrian city (hub.jhu.edu)
What appears to be evidence of some of the oldest alphabetic writing in human history is etched onto finger-length, clay cylinders excavated from a tomb in Syria by a team of Johns Hopkins University researchers.

Archaeology, Ancient History, Writing Systems, Syria

359 points by Someone 130 days ago | 265 comments

If English was written like Chinese (1999) (zompist.com)

Language, Linguistics, History, Culture, Writing Systems

325 points by watercooler_guy 303 days ago | 300 comments

Show HN: Bliss – A constructed writing system for fast and beautiful writing (tcsenpai.com)