Re: An alphabet of faces?!
| From: | Joe <joe@...> |
|---|
| Date: | Tuesday, July 29, 2003, 19:33 |
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----- Original Message -----
From: "Christophe Grandsire" <christophe.grandsire@...>
To: <CONLANG@...>
Sent: Tuesday, July 29, 2003 12:21 PM
Subject: An alphabet of faces?!
> Hi everyone,
>
> I know that most of you are not like me, and don't check everyday to see
if
> there's something new in Mark Rosenfelder's Metaverse, his website. So I
> thought the list needed to know about what just appeared :) .
>
> Mark just put online a description of the Elkarîl writing system (the
> elcari are one of the races of the world in which Verduria is set). You
can
language
> itself is described here:
http://www.zompist.com/elkaril.htm.
>
> I think everyone one the list just *has* to check what's one of the most
> original writing systems I ever saw. It's a featural script, a bit like
> Korean, but instead of rather abstract shapes put together to form
> syllables, the Elkarîl writing system is based on a system of human
> *faces*. The shape of the top of the head and the chin tells about the PoA
> of the stops and/or fricatives around the syllable nucleus, while the
> expression of the face tells which vowel is the syllable nucleus. For the
> exact value of the stops, add hair, or open the mouth, etc... For the
> liquids, use various headgear and neckwear. Intensifying the expression
> indicates a long vowel. Many affixes are not written fully but as small
> additions to those heads (like hands, or an ear, or a sword, etc...).
> Infixes are added by adding features to the face (like the tongue out, or
> nose ring), etc...
>
> As a result, the picture on the top of the page is the full glyph for
> "Elkarîl", which in the language is analysed as:
> elk- -a -r -îl: "of the making people"
> create nom. adj. gen.
> nom.: nominaliser
> adj.: adjectiviser
> gen.: genitive
> The shape is a full rendition of the word:
> - the top of the head (empty, with the line just above the eyebrows)
> indicates the absence of a stop at the beginning of the syllable.
> - the bottom of the head (nearly, but not completely square) indicates a
> "k" stop at the end of the syllable.
> - the slightly angry expression of the face corresponds to the "e" vowel.
> - the nose ring indicates the "l" just after the vowel.
> - the small ring under the chin indicates the -a nominaliser.
> - the kind of pectoral shield under it indicates the -r adjectiviser.
> - the kind of castellation at the end indicates the -îl genitive marker.
>
> I really like this writing system. It's perfectly fit for stone, allows
> very beautiful addition (as Mark explains at the end of the page). I think
> it's a masterpiece, which is why I wanted to make sure the list was aware
> of its existence ;))) .
I assume he based some of the idea on the Mayan syllabary, which is, of
course, the best writing system in the world
http://www.omniglot.com/writing/mayan.htm
But the Headgear and Neckpieces ideas are new, and a great idea
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