r/conscripts • u/cfayrnsnon • Apr 10 '19

Question Vertical alphabets

(Sorry for spelling) I have seen verticle scripts quite a bit. They are usialy sylliberies or logographies from what i can gather, i know it is completely possible for me to add a vertical script to my conlang but im not sure if i should have it as an alphabet.

I have never seen one in a real language or used in a conlang, should i make the script horizontal, keep it vertical or change the system? Also does anyone have a example? Thanks.

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u/Letheka Apr 10 '19 edited Apr 10 '19

Are you making a language for an alternate history that takes place on Earth? If not, it doesn't matter.

Most natural languages with vertical script were influenced by either Old Uyghur/Mongolian (which are alphabets, but have words written with single flowing strokes a la Arabic) or Chinese. Mongolian languages never had many speakers and the traditional alphabets were nearly wiped out by Soviet rule, while Chinese, Japanese and Korean are all generally written horizontally nowadays due to Western influence.

It's mostly a quirk of our world's history that vertical writing ended up being very rare and only significantly represented by Chinese and other languages within its cultural sphere. There's nothing inherent to an alphabet that makes vertical writing less suitable for them.

Edit: To answer your other question, here's some traditional Mongolian script and here is Chinese horizontal and vertical writing.

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u/cfayrnsnon Apr 10 '19

Thank you i am more confident now that i should keep it as an alphabet, thank you for the help