<p>Is there any explanation/ theory/ research how humans have set the direction (left or right) of their writing scripts?</p>
<p>Is there any meaningful (e.g. evolutionary) factor for sticking to either direction, or was it due to some utilitarian reason (e.g. what has been writing surface and stylus at the time, made writing easier in either direction), or was it pure randomness?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-08-07T18:27:10.647Z
Note that writing is probably too recent (with literacy rates extremely low for most of its history) for evolution to have taken place. Also note that some writing is vertical.
Arnon Weinberg
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-08-07T20:07:56.017Z
Yup, vertical writing also has its variations - top to bottom and bottom to top, but as far as evolution is concerned, I am asking about some "side effects" from general evolutionary features, reflected in writing direction, rather than the writing direction with an evolutionary function on its own.
drabsv
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-08-07T20:32:04.837Z
Handedness (biased towards right) + ink makes it more convenient to write left to right (don't smear ink with hand), but it's not as if cultures that write right to left are predominantly left-handed.
Bryan Krause
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-08-08T15:07:38.093Z
Re @BryanKrause's suggestion - I saw [this video](https://youtu.be/0yiWGhg1ovE?si=z1lRfaPcQYDyLlxc) a while ago, though I wish it also compared American languages.
Arnon Weinberg
<cognitive-psychology><motor><evolutionary-psychology>
Why some scripts are right-to-left and others are left-to-right?
drabsv
# Why some scripts are right-to-left and others are left-to-right?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2024-08-06)

Is there any explanation/ theory/ research how humans have set the direction (left or right) of their writing scripts?

Is there any meaningful (e.g. evolutionary) factor for sticking to either direction, or was it due to some utilitarian reason (e.g. what has been writing surface and stylus at the time, made writing easier in either direction), or was it pure randomness?

**Tags:** cognitive-psychology, motor, evolutionary-psychology

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Note that writing is probably too recent (with literacy rates extremely low for most of its history) for evolution to have taken place. Also note that some writing is vertical.  
> **username_0**: Yup, vertical writing also has its variations - top to bottom and bottom to top, but as far as evolution is concerned, I am asking about some "side effects" from general evolutionary features, reflected in writing direction, rather than the writing direction with an evolutionary function on its own.  
> **username_2**: Handedness (biased towards right) + ink makes it more convenient to write left to right (don't smear ink with hand), but it's not as if cultures that write right to left are predominantly left-handed.  
> **username_1**: Re @BryanKrause's suggestion - I saw [this video](https://youtu.be/0yiWGhg1ovE?si=z1lRfaPcQYDyLlxc) a while ago, though I wish it also compared American languages.  

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## 0 answers

