writing systems are categorized into alphabets, abugidas, abjads, syllabaries, and logographies
but in theory it should be possible to devise some form of writing system that isn't any of those
what would that look like, i wonder?
@Felthry it's a bit weird, and not really human-compatible, but what if each "word" manifested as a matrix, with each element being a specific symbol that has no real lingustic meaning on its own, and part of the word's meaning being derived from the "layout" of the matrix, such as where [1][3] is in relation to [4][5], and [0][4]?
or maybe a language where things like "tempo" plays a role, like how a music composition would change if the spacing between notes was altered?
sorry if this is too long, or incorrect.
@windyorigami There are languages where the equivalent of tempo plays a role, actually! quite a few languages have what's called phonemic length, where the meaning of a word changes depending on how long a given phoneme is pronounced; in short, there are plenty of languages where e.g. /a/ and /aː/ are phonetically distinct
Your matrix idea is interesting, but I fear I can't seem to wrap my head around it just now--perhaps after lunch or something it'll be easier to focus.
@windyorigami That's not your fault, we've been having problems focusing lately!
actually, English used to have phonemic length too, that's why we still have the terms "long vowel" and "short vowel" for two different sounds--they were originally the same sound held for different lengths, then sound change happened
@Felthry i never knew that before! thanks!
sorry about the matrix thing.