Unicode Demystified

Historical Scripts

We've now rounded out the set of 36 modern scripts encoded in Unicode. With the characters in these blocks, all of the modern written languages in common business or official use can be represented. Certainly, other modern scripts are in use and could be encoded (and most eventually will be). Nevertheless, the current Unicode set is sufficient to write at least one language written by practically every literate person on Earth.

Many more writing systems have fallen into disuse but still appear in scholarly literature. In many cases, communities of hobbyists also use these scripts. Unicode 3.1 includes encodings for five such scripts, and we'll take a brief look at each of them next.

Runic

The Runic script was used in various ...