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Glite Dictionary
syllabary

syllabary

1 9.9
A set of written symbols where each symbol shows a syllable like ka or mi
  • noun
  • /ˈsɪləˌbɛri/
  • Specialized
translation icon : silabario
  • The written word had long preceded Christianity to the African Horn, and the Ethiopic syllabary still utilized today is based upon forms derived from South Arabian models.
  • Cherokee syllabary
  • developed a syllabary

Examples

  • First, a Cherokee syllabary was a threat to white domination.

    Academic text (2001)

  • The Cherokee linguist Sequoyah developed the Cherokee syllabary in the early 1820s, making it possible to write in the Cherokee language.

    Academic text (2011)

  • The story that has descended to us about the origin of that syllabary is at least partly familiar to most U.S. citizens.

    Academic text (2001)

  • But of course, a lot was known about these Mycenaeans well before the the syllabary was deciphered.

  • As the authors note, the Cree made their syllabary an "essential" and "vibrant" element in their daily lives.

    Academic text (1998)

  • King Njoya continued to revise the script, and by 1903 he had reduced it to a phonetic syllabary of about eighty signs.

    Academic text (2007)

  • Yet that elite also ultimately rejected it, in part because of the ease with which the majority of Cherokee were attaining literacy in the syllabary, which was incapable of being matched by the foreign device, and in part because they recognized the syllabary as a nation-building defensive tool.

    Academic text (2001)

  • In the history of writing, many cultures relied on a syllabary to represent their spoken language.

  • The children's book introduced readers to the syllabary used in the Japanese writing system.

  • Sequoyah's creation of the Cherokee syllabary was a significant achievement in promoting literacy among his people.

Synonyms

syllabic script
vssyllabary
  • Specialized
8.0

A writing system where each symbol stands for a syllable like "ka" or "mo"

focuses on the actual set of written symbols that form the system

How Pictorial

picture writing
  • Specialized
7.0
logographic
  • Specialized
9.9
syllabary
  • Specialized
1 9.9
alphabetic writing
  • Specialized
3.8

Surface Forms

syllabary singular
syllabaries plural

Morphology

syllabary = syllable (semi-transparent) = syllab + ary

The connection to 'syllable' is clear, but the specific meaning of a writing system is not a standard grammatical derivation.

Etymology

The word syllabary comes from syllable 'a unit of sound' and the ending -ary which shows a 'collection'. So a syllabary is a set of written signs that each stand for a syllable.