← How the World Writes · Lesson 2 of 3
Scripts built on syllables
Some scripts take the syllable as their unit. Japanese kana is a syllabary: か is ka, き is ki, く is ku, each one sign.
Hindi's Devanagari is an abugida: each consonant sign carries a built-in a, so क is ka, and a small mark changes the vowel, so कि is ki. Korean Hangul, created in the 1440s under King Sejong, builds letters into syllable blocks, and its consonant shapes were designed to show how the mouth makes them.
In Devanagari, the sign क is read "ka". What does a small vowel mark do?
A lesson is kept once you've answered the question and written at least 8 words. Nobody grades it; it stays on this device.