WritingSystemSummary

system	image/sign	explanation
pictographic	woman (image) mountain (image) (early forms of Chinese, Semitic languages, Mayan; Egyptian)	image (sign) represents object pictured
ideographic/ logographic	woman (image) + mountain (image) = slave (later forms of Chinese, Semitic languages, Mayan, Egyptian)	image (sign) represents concept or idea: a symbol represents a whole word
rebus	"eye + saw + ant + rose"	images correspond to sounds which are combined to form words or sentences
syllabary	r	consonant only
syllabary	ra, re, ri, ro, ru (Linear B, Egyptian, Phoenician, Hebrew and Arabic, Mayan)	consonant + vowel combination in one sign
alphabet	a, b, c, etc. (Greek, Latin, English, etc.)	each sign represents a separate sound or combination of sounds