Friday, September 18, 2009

How many different alphabets are there in the world?


I had this question raising up in my mind since I have read the Literacy Primer. It says that there are approximately 6,000 different languages which are spoken and sometimes written in the modern world. I started to look for the answer, and , surprisingly, I have not found any. May be you have the answer? I doubt anyone could give an exact number.

I found this chart very helpful; although, it does not answer my question.

1 comment:

  1. Hi Viktoriia, I don't have the answer to your question about the number of existing writing systems. But this sounds like a GOOD TOPIC for research. And if analysis is involved, it would be a very good topic for a PhD dissertation. You might check Dissertation Abstracts in any college library for a dissertation title that suggests this topic. Also, did you know that you can telephone any reference librarian and ask her/him to look something up and report back to you by phone? YOu can contact a public library or a college library reference desk and ask this question about how many writing systems exist right now.
    Good question! --Barbara

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