Two different systems
A language is a structured system used in speech or signing; a script is a convention for representing language visually. The Rosetta Stone carries Egyptian in hieroglyphic and Demotic scripts and Greek in Greek script: two languages, three scripts. Linear B and the Greek alphabet record forms of Greek in very different ways. A script’s name therefore cannot be treated as a language name.
Writing principles
An alphabet generally writes consonants and vowels as separate letters. An abjad such as Phoenician primarily writes consonants. An abugida such as Devanagari combines consonant signs with inherent or modified vowels. A syllabary such as Linear B uses signs for syllabic values. Maya writing combines word signs and syllabic signs. These terms describe major principles; real traditions may combine them and change over time.
The missing sound
Every script is selective. A consonant-centred spelling may omit many vowels; a syllabary may adapt awkwardly to consonant clusters. Never infer the full spoken form by mechanically pronouncing the transliteration. Record what is written and what the reading supplies.
Modern-language examples on this page clarify a linguistic pattern. They do not establish unattested sounds or forms for an ancient language. Follow the cited sources below and keep editorial readings separate from the surviving trace.