Gabriella F. Scelta wrote:

>
> hi all,
>
> does anyone have a count (and a reference for it if possible) for
>
> 1. how many scripts are in use today (living languages) in the world?
> 2. how many are known (living and dead) in the world/throughout history?
> 3. how many are used in africa (either way)?
>
> I know i've seen this info somewhere, but cant seem to find it. It
> occurred to me to go through 'the worlds writing systems' and count,
> but that seemed a little overwhelming.

Just the other day I had occasion to draw up a list of (1), and the
total is ca. 32 (depending where you draw the line).

As for (2), how many different languages are there? When you've
discovered a way to answer that question, it might be possible to answer
this one. Remember that Holle 1872 has 198 columns.

As for (3), define "use." The simplest answer is 3 (Roman, Arabic,
Ethiopic), but the indigenous creations of the last two centuries have
not become completely obsolete.
--
Peter T. Daniels grammatim@...