Shkanshej + script

Remember about Xkanxey? Well, it's called Shkanshej now.
I've redone the phonology, ending up in something like
this (could be tweaked a bit more):

                llb blb alv*  vel glt

stops           pvh ph  th    kh  'h
                pv  p   t     k   '
                bv  b   d     g
nasals              mh  nh    ngh
                    m   n     ng
fricatives          f   s sh
trills                  rh
                        r
approximants    wv  w   j
clicks              p!  c!

The first PoA is linguolabial, then bilabial, and then
one that covers alveolar, palatal and retroflex sounds;
then velars and glottals. As you see, there are 3 series
of stops (aspirated, unvoiced, voiced) and 2 of nasals
(aspirated and voiced).

<sh> is retroflex, <rh> is an aspirated unvoiced trill,
and <wv> is basically sticking out your tongue and saying
something. :) The clicks you know already; <c!> is either
palatal, alveolar or retroflex according to neighbouring
sounds, <p!> can be linguolabial sometimes.

Vowels are simple, i e a y o u (<y> = /u-/).

I'll tell you more about the language itself later, if you
want. In the meantime, this was more an excuse to present
the script.

In my first draft, the script was a mixed alphabet-syllabary
with signs deriving from simplified ideograms (more or less
like Japanese _kana_). I've changed my mind somehow. The idea
is that this system was used by some people, especially in
official documents (it was crafted by a scribe of the king
because he [the king] couldn't bother to learn all those
ideograms), but a new system gained acceptance later. This
system was invented by a woman, which is very rare in this
culture (think of Nushu), and soon spread to other women
who wanted to learn, and from them to their children. It
was designed to be fun and recognizable by children.

This script (no name yet) consists of syllabic characters
in the form of faces, with quickly outlined eyes, nose and
mouth. The combination of shapes of eyes and nose gives the
consonant, and the shape of the mouth gives the vowel. The
same sign with a little hyphen (a closed mouth) gives the
single consonant, and is usually simplified and smaller.
For some distinctions, the face gets some hair, a beard,
or wrinkles.

This idea came to me as I was doodling on a piece of paper.
(It seems I can't do the simplest thing without relating it
to conlanging or conculturing.) I've tried some words and
they look really cool -- I gotta try and make them more
distinct. But if someone complains, let them learn katakana
(if they can) ;).


--Pablo Flores
  http://pablodavid.conlang.org/ (any problem reaching this address?)