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ZachValkyrie — Masada Calligraphy by-nc-nd
#alphabet #arabic #conlang #devanagari #masada #abugida #thegatesofdawn #calligraphy
Published: 2016-11-20 04:40:31 +0000 UTC; Views: 2968; Favourites: 10; Downloads: 0
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Description
I've been getting into Conlanging recently. I've already created two languages for my novel The Gates of Dawn ; and for this second one, I've decided to create a system of calligraphy to go along with it. I've taken influences from Arabic script, and the Ge'ez and Devanagari abugidas for a nice multicultural flavor that really encapsulates the spirit of the Masada (Of which, Batu is a member!).Some important things to note about the Masada Language:
- The language employs click consonants: Dental (!C), Lateral (!X), and Alveolar (!Q) clicks, including aspirated and nasalized variations. The "!" diacritic mark indicates a dental click, and by combining it with either an "L" or an "N" can indicate a lateral click or an alveolar click respectively.
- The language makes an important morphological distinction between long and short vowels. In nouns, this performs the function of the article (A vs The). In verbs, it indicates activity or passivity (whether the subject acts or is acted upon). And in pronouns and tense suffixes, it indicates representativity (whether an action is performed for that person alone or on behalf of someone else).
- The language is absolutely gendered. Each morpheme must take either a male of female gender (including verbs). As seen in the phrase at the top of the page, the long horizontal line indicates the gender of each syllable; when it dips below the consonants, it indicates the masculine gender, and when it is above the consonants, it indicates the feminine gender. From there, an upward or downward line indicates the vowel sound. "A" and "O" are masculine vowels and "E" and "U" are feminine vowels. A break in the line indicates a glottal stop.
(It's also important to note that actual Masada would be more likely to use octopus ink on papyrus, and not green and purple highlighter pens on some cardboard that I filched from the local supermarket! But beggars can't be choosers, now can we?)
EDIT (22-Nov-16): I've redone the image on a larger surface. I have also included the strokes for S, Z, and the Bare Vowel Mark.
Anyways, the first person to correctly transcribe the sentences at the top and bottom of the page gets a cookie!
