The Maraxxian Alphabet

[su_liam]

One thing to think about for a new alphabet... If this isn't somehow derived from the latin alphabet c,q, and x are likely to be absent and other glyphs, some equally idiosyncratic, are likely to be added. Just as, in English, c can represent k or s sounds, q can only exist followed by u to represent the kw sound and x can represent ks or gz sound, perhaps in your alphabet you might have a dh symbol to represent the initial consonant in thing(for which you already have a th symbol, but hey, that's how natural languages swing!) or the th sound in then or this. Instead of q lets have a symbol, "ph," representing the bilabial fricative, except when following n when the pair represents the velar nasal(ng in thing). Instead of x, you could have an explicit glottal stop, except word-initial when it represents, say, the same thing as h. These are just a few vague thoughts thrown out to illustrate what I'm trying to say here. Those kind of details help to make an alphabet more of a distinct alphabet than a substitution cypher. Kind of like spelling fish ghoti.

Heh, with that in mind, I'm tempted to pronounce the name of SGs stagnated campaign setting as, "Freya Yearn."

[zacnheyman]

I agree with Su liam-- Just because we have 26 letters used in a certian way in English, doesnt mean you have to carry them over into an invented language. Besides the phonemes already mentioned (ð-- the th in there, then, that, Þ-- the th in thin, thought, and thank, ph, glottal stop) i'd say look at the phonemes English uses two letters for (ch, sh, ts, zh) and give them their own letters if they show up in the Maraxxian alphabet. That's really the place to start-- what kind of language is Maraxxian? Is it running and polysyllabic? Is it gutteral and consonant heavy? Do the vowells have a constant value? i.e. will the A always be pronounced like the A in Far and never like the A in Cat? or do they change? Is this change based on context/latent knowledge like in English, or is there a system of accents/diacritics to indicate the shift (like the french e vs. é vs. è)? If the language is more gutteral, are there punctuation marks which operate like the apostrophe to indicate where sounds blend together (like s and p in speed) and where there is a glottal break (like in the chinese city Xi'an)? Depending on how the Maraxxian language sounds and works it will require different things from its writing system.

Also, while what you have here looks really cool (i especially like i and t, and h looks almost like "shi ta"-- down or lower in Japanese) i cant imagine that its very practical to write. This may be what the alphabet looks like carved on monuments or typed on a computer/typewriter, but how do people write day to day? I would suggest taking a favorite song or poem and copying it out in your alphabet. Let some speed build up and see how the letters change when you use them quickly-- this will simulate the "evolutionary" forces of handwriting which act upon ideal written symbols.

Great start though, look forward to seeing more.