logographic

Logographic refers to a writing system in which a significant portion of its symbols, or logograms, encode words or morphemes rather than individual sounds. A logogram represents meaning rather than a phonetic value, though many logographic systems include signs with limited phonetic information or combine with syllabic elements.

The best-known example is Chinese writing (Hanzi), where most characters denote morphemes or whole words. Reading is typically lexical rather than purely phonetic, and new words are formed by composing existing characters. Japanese uses Kanji, logographic characters borrowed from Chinese, alongside syllabaries (hiragana and katakana). Historically, many ancient scripts began as logographic systems: Egyptian hieroglyphs and Mesopotamian cuneiform originated with pictographic signs and developed logographic and later syllabic components; the Maya script likewise mixed logograms with syllabic signs. The Sumerian and other scripts influenced adjacent traditions, shaping later writing systems.

Characteristics and implications: logographic scripts can convey meaning across dialects and languages, but learners must acquire large inventories of distinct signs, and pronunciation is not directly implied. Many systems are not purely logographic; phonetic elements or mixed strategies aid reading. For example, Chinese characters often carry semantic load while some signs point to pronunciation, and Korean today relies primarily on an alphabet (Hangul) with historical use of Chinese characters (Hanja).

In contemporary use, logographic elements remain central in East Asian writing. Digital encoding under Unicode includes substantial blocks for Han characters and related scripts, reflecting their continuing scholarly, cultural, and communicative importance.