We often hear about endangered languages, the final whispers of a culture on the brink of silence. But there’s another, quieter extinction happening in parallel: the disappearance of writing systems. Long before a language dies, the unique alphabet, syllabary, or abjad used to write it can be replaced by a more dominant script, severing a visual link to centuries of history, art, and identity. A script is more than a tool for transcription; it’s the vessel of a people’s soul.
The forces threatening these scripts are familiar: colonization, globalization, political pressure, and the digital divide. Yet, in corners of the world, passionate communities are fighting back. They are digitizing fonts, teaching classes, creating art, and reminding a new generation that their ancestral ink is worth preserving. As we look to 2025, here are ten endangered scripts to watch, each with a remarkable story of survival.
1. Traditional Mongolian Script
Where: Mongolia, Inner Mongolia (China)
What it is: A stunning vertical alphabet, written from top to bottom in columns that flow from left to right. Often called Hudum Mongol bichig, it has a spine-like central line from which letters elegantly cascade. This script is a true alphabet, with distinct characters for consonants and vowels.
The Struggle: In the 20th century, under Soviet influence, Mongolia adopted the Cyrillic alphabet. While this boosted literacy, it sidelined the traditional script. In China’s Inner Mongolia, the script has faced increasing pressure from policies promoting Mandarin Chinese.
The Hope: There is a powerful cultural revival underway. The Mongolian government has announced a plan to fully re-adopt the traditional script for official documents alongside Cyrillic by 2025. This makes it one of the most exciting revival stories to watch, a potent symbol of national identity reclaiming its place.
2. Baybayin
Where: Philippines
What it is: An elegant pre-colonial syllabary (or more accurately, an abugida) from the Philippines. In Baybayin, each character represents a consonant with an inherent /a/ vowel. A small mark, called a kudlit, is added above or below to change the vowel sound.
The Struggle: The Spanish colonization of the Philippines led to the widespread adoption of the Latin alphabet, and Baybayin fell into disuse, surviving only in isolated communities.
The Hope: A vibrant grassroots movement has brought Baybayin roaring back into the cultural consciousness. It’s seen in street art, on currency, in government logos, and as a popular choice for tattoos among Filipino youth seeking to connect with their pre-colonial heritage. Bills in the Philippine Congress have even proposed mandating its instruction in schools.
3. Tifinagh
Where: North Africa (used by Berber/Amazigh people)
What it is: An ancient abjad (consonant-only alphabet) with a distinctly geometric and linear appearance. It has ancient roots, with some inscriptions dating back over two millennia. The modern, standardized version used for education is called Neo-Tifinagh.
The Struggle: For centuries, Berber languages were either unwritten or written using Arabic or Latin scripts, marginalizing Tifinagh and the unique identity it represents.
The Hope: The Amazigh cultural revival has placed Tifinagh at its heart. It is now an official script in Morocco, taught in schools and visible on public buildings alongside Arabic and French. Its adoption is a powerful political and cultural statement by the Amazigh people, the “free people” of North Africa.
4. Mandaic
Where: Iraq and Iran
What it is: The script of the Mandaeans, a Gnostic religious community who revere John the Baptist. Mandaic is a cursive abjad derived from Aramaic, closely related to the ancestor of scripts like Arabic and Hebrew.
The Struggle: The Mandaean community itself is critically endangered due to persecution and displacement, especially following the war in Iraq. With the community scattered, the transmission of both their language and their sacred script is at high risk.
The Hope: Preservation efforts are focused on the diaspora. Mandaean communities abroad are working to teach the script to younger generations, while scholars and digital humanists are working to document it and create fonts to ensure its survival, at least in liturgical and scholarly contexts.
5. Manchu
Where: Northeast China
What it is: A vertical script adapted from the Mongolian alphabet. As the official script of the Qing Dynasty, which ruled China from 1644 to 1912, Manchu was once the script of an imperial power, used for millions of official documents.
The Struggle: The fall of the Qing Dynasty and the assimilation of the Manchu people into Han Chinese culture led to a catastrophic decline. Today, there are fewer than 100 native speakers of Manchu, and even fewer who can read and write the script proficiently.
The Hope: A small but dedicated group of academics and cultural enthusiasts in China are working to revive Manchu. They see it not just as a language, but as the key to understanding the vast archives of the Qing Dynasty. Its survival is tied to its historical importance.
6. Syriac
Where: The Middle East and diaspora communities
What it is: A beautiful and historic abjad used to write the Syriac language, a dialect of Aramaic. It is the liturgical script for several denominations of Eastern Christianity. It has three major forms: the classical Estrangela, the Western Serto, and the Eastern Madnhāyā.
The Struggle: The dominance of the Arabic script and language in the Middle East, combined with the persecution and emigration of Christian communities, has relegated Syriac to a primarily religious function. The number of fluent users is dwindling.
The Hope: Syriac is a cornerstone of identity for Assyrian, Chaldean, and Syriac Christians worldwide. Churches and cultural organizations in the diaspora are the primary drivers of its preservation, running language schools and digitizing ancient manuscripts.
7. Javanese Script (Aksara Jawa)
Where: Indonesia (Java island)
What it is: An intricate and visually complex abugida. Each of its 20 base letters has a consonant+vowel form, which is modified by a rich system of diacritics. It also features special subscript consonant forms called pasangan, which cancel the vowel of the previous letter, allowing for complex consonant clusters.
The Struggle: During the 20th century, the Latin alphabet was promoted for its simplicity and became the standard for writing the Javanese language, pushing Aksara Jawa into the realm of ceremony, spirituality, and decoration.
The Hope: There is strong regional pride in Aksara Jawa. It’s a mandatory subject in schools in some Javanese provinces, and the digital community has embraced it, with Unicode support and font development making it usable on computers and smartphones.
8. N’Ko
Where: West Africa
What it is: A modern alphabet created in 1949 by Guinean writer Solomana Kante. N’Ko (meaning “I say” in Manding languages) was designed to give the diverse Manding speakers a native writing system that accurately reflects their phonology, something Latin and Arabic failed to do.
The Struggle: As a modern invention, N’Ko competes with the long-established Latin and Arabic scripts. Its adoption is a grassroots effort and lacks the full state-level backing that would ensure its widespread use.
The Hope: N’Ko is a remarkable success story of linguistic self-determination. It has fostered a vibrant literacy movement across several West African countries, with a growing body of literature, educational materials, and a strong online presence.
9. Coptic
Where: Egypt
What it is: The final stage of the ancient Egyptian language, written using an alphabet derived primarily from Greek, with a few extra letters from Demotic (a cursive form of hieroglyphs) for sounds not found in Greek.
The Struggle: Following the Arab conquest of Egypt in the 7th century, Coptic was gradually replaced by Arabic in daily life. For centuries, it has survived almost exclusively as the liturgical language of the Coptic Orthodox Church.
The Hope: The Coptic script is a direct link to the language of the pharaohs. While a full-scale revival for daily use is unlikely, its central role in the Coptic Church ensures its survival. There is also a growing interest among Egyptians of all backgrounds in Coptic as a key part of their country’s unique, multi-layered history.
10. Nüshu
Where: Jiangyong County, Hunan Province, China
What it is: A delicate, slanted syllabic script that was created and used exclusively by women. In a society where women were denied formal education, Nüshu (“women’s script”) was their tool for private communication, allowing them to record personal thoughts, stories, and poems in secret.
The Struggle: The script is functionally extinct. The last proficient native user, Yang Huanyi, passed away in 2004. Its use faded with the social changes of the 20th century, including increased access to education for women.
The Hope: Though no longer a living tradition, Nüshu has been saved from total oblivion. Academics have documented it, and it is preserved in a local museum. It stands today as a powerful and poignant testament to female solidarity and the universal human need for expression.
A Future Written by Hand
The fate of these ten scripts—and countless others—hangs in the balance. Their struggle is a microcosm of a larger battle against cultural homogenization. But the rise of digital tools, combined with a renewed sense of pride and identity, offers a powerful glimmer of hope. By paying attention to these beautiful forms of writing, we support the communities fighting to keep their unique voices, and their unique scripts, alive for generations to come.