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| − | '''The First Ones' writing system''' is a decorative phonetic alphabet for writing English, written from right to left. There are 23 consonants and 14 vowels (including /j/), which totals up to 37 letters. It is somewhat featural, since voiced consonants are dotted versions of their voiceless counterparts. The consonants are usually polygons, while the vowels are either lines or circles. |
+ | '''The First Ones' writing system''' is a decorative phonetic alphabet for writing English, written from right to left. There are 23 consonants and 14 vowels (including /j/), which totals up to 37 letters. It is somewhat featural, since voiced consonants are dotted versions of their voiceless counterparts. The consonants are usually polygons, while the vowels are usually either lines or circles. |
== Phonetics == |
== Phonetics == |
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Revision as of 10:39, 24 July 2021
The First Ones' writing system is a decorative phonetic alphabet for writing English, written from right to left. There are 23 consonants and 14 vowels (including /j/), which totals up to 37 letters. It is somewhat featural, since voiced consonants are dotted versions of their voiceless counterparts. The consonants are usually polygons, while the vowels are usually either lines or circles.
Phonetics
The system exhibits both the father–bother merger and the cot–caught merger, which means it does not distinguish /ɑ/, /ɒ/, and /ɔ/. The alphabet does not have a distinct symbol for /ə/ or "schwa", so the sound must either be written with the letter representing /ʌ/ or the sound it would make if it was stressed, e.g., Entrapta being written as if it were pronounced as /ɛnˈtræptɑ/. Syllabic consonants are usually left alone, without a replacement for /ə/ preceding it, as shown in Glimmer's sigil.
Punctuation
The letters of each word are overlined under a "word branch" terminating in two dots. Word branches are usually straight positive slopes. Each branch has two decorative lines that stem from its top. A decorative line can be stylized in any way, but must also terminate in a dot. Word branches in a sentence must be connected with a solid line. Letters hang from the word branches, and are read from top to bottom then right to left. Each of these letters are connected with a line. Certain vowels can also serve as connectors, such as the letter representing /æ/.
Usage
This writing system is no longer in everyday use, as only Adora was shown to read it fully accurately in the series.
Gallery
