Leírtakata

Leírtakata is a term used in linguistic and literary contexts to denote a descriptive collection about written forms within a language, script, or fictional writing system. It is not a standard term in mainstream linguistics and tends to appear in experimental discussions, conlang world-building, or speculative fiction as a tool for organizing information about scripts.

Etymology of the term is not fixed; it is often interpreted as a compound drawn from leírt, a form related to written or described in several languages, and kata, a suffix or element used in cataloging or form-based terms. In practice, leírtakata functions as a meta-description: a structured inventory that records the elements of a writing system and how they are used.

A leírtakata typically includes entries for graphemes or characters, their names, visual shapes, phonetic realizations, diacritical marks, ligatures, orthographic rules, and contextual usage. It may also document typographic variants, frequency data, historical development, and any allophonic or graphemic distinctions relevant to the script. The format is flexible and genre-dependent, ranging from formal taxonomies to narrative world-building documents.

In use, leírtakata serves as a reference for designers of writing systems, editors of conlangs, and scholars examining orthographic design and script typology. It is closely related to concepts such as grapheme inventories, orthography descriptions, and typographic documentation, but remains non-standard and largely theoretical or fictional outside specific projects.

See also: orthography, grapheme, script, typography, conlang, script description.