digraphic

Digraphic is an adjective used to describe writing practices that involve two distinct scripts for the same language, or a system in which two scripts coexist or are used in parallel for that language. It is distinct from digraph, which refers to a pair of letters within a single script that together represent one sound.

In linguistics and sociolinguistics, a digraphic orthography may arise from historical, political, or cultural factors that lead communities to write a language with more than one script. This can occur in official contexts where different scripts are promoted for different regions or groups, as well as in bilingual or multilingual settings where readers are accustomed to different orthographies.

Common examples include Punjabi, which is written in Gurmukhi script in India and Shahmukhi (a Perso-Arabic script) in Pakistan; Serbo-Croatian, historically written in both Latin and Cyrillic scripts; and Azerbaijani, which has seen both Cyrillic and Latin usage during different historical periods. In practice, digraphic writing may require transliteration practices, separate typographic standards, and considerations for education and digital processing.

Digraphic arrangements can pose challenges for literacy, standardization, and information retrieval, but they also reflect the linguistic and cultural diversity of communities. See also digraph, orthography, diglossia, and script reform.