...An abugida (, from Ge‘ez አቡጊዳ ’äbugida), also called an alphasyllabary, is a segmental writing system which is based on consonants, and in which vowel notation is obligatory but secondary. This contrasts with an alphabet proper, in which vowels have status equal to consonants, and with an abjad, in which vowel marking is absent or optional. (In less formal treatments, all three are commonly called alphabets.) About half the writing systems in the world are abugidas, including the extensive Brahmic family of scripts used in South and Southeast Asia. Read full entry

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