written language
Text-based communication system
Written language is language recorded in visible form—marks on surfaces that represent speech.
Unlike spoken language, which vanishes as it's uttered, written language persists across time and distance.
Writing systems vary enormously, from alphabets to characters to syllabaries, but all translate linguistic meaning into visual symbols: The development of written language enabled complex civilizations to keep records and transmit knowledge across generations.
- alphabetLanguage's letter system
- folioSingle-fold page format
- orthographyStandard writing conventions
- graphemeMinimal written symbol unit
- logogramsSymbols representing words
punctuation · paleography · transcription · spell it out · literacy · syllabary · script · ancient script · cuneiform · hieroglyphics · print · fine print · communication · correspondence · love letter · Rosetta Stone · textual analysis · codification
- language varietiesdialect, idiolect, sociolect, vernacular, accent
- languageword, words, grammar, spelling, alphabet
- English languagelinguistics, semantics, phonetics, orthography, vocabulary
- language usejargon, idiom, idioms, slang, dialect
- language educationbilingual, biliteracy, immersion, literacy skills, reading
- language historystandardization, orthography, spelling reforms, grammar rules, dictionaries
written languagespoken language
Audible verbal communication system
speech · sign language · verbal communication · orality · conversation
written languagecolloquial speech
Informal everyday language
informal speech · vernacular · casual conversation · spontaneous speech
write, writer, language, writing, tongue, written, wrote, handwriting, writes