moonrunes

Etymology

From moon + runes. Apparently coined based from moonspeak, an anime reference (of which see there), ultimately associating East Asian languages with celestial levels of foreignness.

Why this word is great

MOONRUNES — [Noun] An incomprehensible writing script, or the language associated with it, typically referring to East Asian characters perceived as alien or indecipherable. From "moon" (suggesting celestial foreignness) and "runes" (ancient or mystical script), influenced by "moonspeak," an anime reference emphasizing perceived alienness of East Asian languages. Unlike "cipher" (which implies deliberate encoding) or "glyphs" (which suggest symbolic precision), "moonrunes" conveys the blunt bewilderment of the uninitiated. It is the dense thicket of kanji on a Tokyo street sign, the elegant but inscrutable brushstrokes of a Chinese scroll, or the looping hangul of a Korean novel—all reduced to an aesthetic mystery, a visual hum that the Western eye cannot parse. A reminder that meaning is not universal, only borrowed.

noun

  1. An incomprehensible writing script, or the language associated with it, usually referring to Japanese, but may also refer to Chinese, Korean and other East Asian writing scripts.“Can anyone here read moonrunes?”