Writing System Practice
When a writing system is formed or created there is a secondary development of its implementation or its use, which I will refer to as its practice. This may consist of a gradual process from using the script for words, short phrases, sentences, then texts. For instance, Regulski (2016) notes that the “earliest evidence of phonetic writing in Egypt dates to about 3250 bce; the earliest known complete sentence in the Egyptian language is dated to about 2690.” But this practice may also include individual variation of sign shapes, sign order, and choice of signs, such as the versatile use of Arabic script to write Swahili (de Voogt 2023). A distinction between the development of writing systems and the development of their use or practice allows for a reevaluation of repurposed or adapted writing systems. For instance, writing systems that ‘borrowed’ their signs from another script are in some cases better understood as the same script but with a different practice, or a different script resulting from a specific practice in another script. Also, pseudo-writing may be understood as a writing system practice rather than a writing practice. The distinction between writing system, writing practice, and writing system practice is further explored using examples from Swahili-Arabic, Meroitic, and the Caroline Islands scripts.
