# What is the coolest-looking written language? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 23, 2014, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-coolest-looking-written-language/684358 "2014-03-23T14:22:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2014, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-coolest-looking-written-language/684358/41 "2014-03-24T14:25:59Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > [More Javanese beauty.](http://www.omniglot.com/writing/javanese.htm) Are you sure that isn’t Elvish? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2014, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-coolest-looking-written-language/684358/42 "2014-03-24T16:12:18Z")
No love for [Khmer](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khmer_script)? ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2014, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-coolest-looking-written-language/684358/43 "2014-03-24T16:59:16Z")
I’m kind of partial to the chisled Latin that you see on the old Roman buildings. It just looks so majestic. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-coolest-looking-written-language/684358/44 "2014-03-25T05:31:18Z")
My nominee for the weirdest-looking script is [Sinhalese](http://www.omniglot.com/writing/sinhala.htm). [Oriya](http://www.omniglot.com/writing/oriya.htm) looks like a parade of bald heads. [Telugu](http://www.omniglot.com/writing/telugu.htm) reminds me of scrambled eggs. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-coolest-looking-written-language/684358/45 "2014-03-25T06:24:07Z")
> [@boblibdem](#): > > i’m kind of partial to the chisled latin that you see on the old roman buildings. It just looks so majestic. THEPROBLEMWITHLATINASITWASUSEDBYTHEANCIENTROMANSWASTHATTHEYWROTEEVERYTHINGLIKETHISWHICHMADEITDIFFICULTFORAMODERNVIEWERTOREAD Another difficulty they would have faced was being unable to post on message boards which don’t allow posts containing nothing but capitals. ---
**Author:** ![Svejk\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-coolest-looking-written-language/684358/46 "2014-03-25T13:03:25Z")
FYI, recent historiography cites failure to develop message board technology as a key catalyst for the decline of the Roman Empire. ---
**Author:** ![Grey\_area](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Grey\_area](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey_area)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-coolest-looking-written-language/684358/47 "2014-03-25T22:30:24Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > Dongba is pretty awesome. Every book’s a picture book in Dongba! > [@Johanna](#): > > My nominee for the weirdest-looking script is [Sinhalese](http://www.omniglot.com/writing/sinhala.htm). Butts. Butts everywhere. Is this the script of heaven? ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-coolest-looking-written-language/684358/48 "2014-03-25T22:37:16Z")
I always liked [this manuscript.](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/79/Voynich_manuscript_excerpt.svg/220px-Voynich_manuscript_excerpt.svg.png) Does it matter that no one can read it? ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-coolest-looking-written-language/684358/49 "2014-03-25T22:52:42Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > THEPROBLEMWITHLATINASITWASUSEDBYTHEANCIENTROMANSWASTHATTHEYWROTEEVERYTHINGLIKETHISWHICHMADEITDIFFICULTFORAMODERNVIEWERTOREAD Many Asian languages still do this. In Japanese, you can sometimes tell when it switches between Kanji/Hiragana/Katakana. But a switch doesn’t necessarily mark a word change. Also, YOVFORGOTTOVSEONLYXXIIILETTERS 😃 (Presume this is post-ī Graeca) > [@](#): > > Another difficulty they would have faced was being unable to post on message boards which don’t allow posts containing nothing but capitals. Then you’re on the wrong message boards. And by wrong, I mean right. I’m sure that MODERNWARFAREFAN666’s message board lets you do caps. ---
**Author:** ![Trancephalic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trancephalic/32/380_2.png) [@Trancephalic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trancephalic)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-coolest-looking-written-language/684358/50 "2014-03-25T23:09:55Z")
> [@drewtwo99](#): > > I think I’m the only one who loves the way English looks when written. Of my favorite spoken languages, English is way way down there, but I really do love the way English appears on the printed page. Very beautiful to me while remaining extremely functional. I have to agree (though, I’d lump English in other European languages, as they use the Roman alphabet). Its simplicity also makes it versatile for a litany of pretty fonts, my favorites are the ones designed by the French artist [A. M. Cassandre](https://www.google.com/search?q=am+cassandre+fonts&client=firefox-a&hs=46b&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=_gsyU4voJoithQfuz4GIAw&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ&biw=1280&bih=893#q=a.+m.+cassandre+fonts&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&tbm=isch) ---
**Author:** ![Hershele\_Ostropoler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e47c2d/32.png) [@Hershele\_Ostropoler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hershele_Ostropoler)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2014, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-coolest-looking-written-language/684358/51 "2014-03-26T07:06:57Z")
[Thaana](http://mafs-online.org/mafs_wp/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Thaana-script.jpg), used in the Maldives. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2014, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-coolest-looking-written-language/684358/52 "2014-03-26T12:59:43Z")
> [@Hershele\_Ostropoler](#): > > [Thaana](http://mafs-online.org/mafs_wp/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Thaana-script.jpg), used in the Maldives. Looks almost exactly like shorthand. ---
**Author:** ![Athabasca](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Athabasca](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athabasca)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2014, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-coolest-looking-written-language/684358/53 "2014-03-26T14:50:34Z")
Klingon! It’s awesome, so guttural by the look and sound of it! Well, I do love Spanish too. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2014, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-coolest-looking-written-language/684358/54 "2014-03-26T22:53:35Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > I’m kind of partial to the chisled Latin that you see on the old Roman buildings. It just looks so majestic. I like it, too, along with the modern font Garamond derived from it. Especially the italics; there’s something charming about the way the italic capitals skew off in different directions. And there’s a sans-serif font also derived from the Roman script, whose name I don’t remember offhand. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2014, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-coolest-looking-written-language/684358/55 "2014-03-28T02:14:30Z")
[Your handy guide to Asian languages](http://perezkelly.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/itchyfeet.png). ---
**Author:** ![Scubaqueen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c0e974/32.png) [@Scubaqueen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scubaqueen)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2014, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-coolest-looking-written-language/684358/56 "2014-03-28T02:19:38Z")
Gallifreyan. i win.🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2014, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-coolest-looking-written-language/684358/57 "2014-03-28T20:11:59Z")
The simple, evocative script of the Wingding people has always moved me. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2014, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-coolest-looking-written-language/684358/58 "2014-03-28T20:58:10Z")
That’s a cute comic. Of course Japanese also has flying attacks, and then in Taiwan they have _extra complicated_ flying attacks. Korean too, but way less common. NB: in Mongolia, they use a Cyrillic script, so “sort of like Russian but not.” The script is used in Inner Mongolia (PRC), and among some other groups for their own language. I also like the Mr. Saturn font: [Japanese](http://local-static4.forum-files.fobby.net/forum_attachments/0008/7139/saturnboing.png) (chart), [English](http://earthboundcentral.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/saturnboing.png). Wingdings is a trap. The Wingdingians are conducting a Neil Stephenson-esque secret war against other languages when you type something and it “[coincidentally](http://www.snopes.com/rumors/wingdings.asp)” seems meaningful. Thus toppling society by creating internet conspiracies about 9-11. Everybody knows that Snopes is a liberal-fascist-conservative-anarcho-syndicalist-papist-communist-Scientologist-dominionist conspiracy. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2014, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-coolest-looking-written-language/684358/59 "2014-03-29T01:51:22Z")
I think just regular Thai writing looks cool. I don’t think plain old Arabic is that interesting but there is a rich history in Islam of ornate Arabic calligraphy that can be quite beautiful, inspired by a proscription against creating images of religious figures like Mohammed. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2014, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-coolest-looking-written-language/684358/60 "2014-03-29T02:28:54Z")
While I wouldn’t say it’s elegant, Ethiopian [Ge’ez](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6b/Ethiopic_genesis.jpg) script looks cool. [Cherokee](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/Sequoyah_Arranged_Syllabary_.png) is pretty neat too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-coolest-looking-written-language/684358.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-coolest-looking-written-language/684358.md?page=4)