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ZachValkyrie — The True Script by-nc-nd


The True Script
#2d #calligraphy #conlang #dimensional #prestige #script #two
Published: 2017-07-05 14:48:39 +0000 UTC; Views: 3374; Favourites: 9; Downloads: 1
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Description This is something I've wanted to do for a long time; a two-dimensional script.

Another ConScript for my novel The Gates of Dawn . This is an ornamental script used to write Isafari. It is a prestige script used only by the Sultan's court, and a few high nobles and artisans. The variety of Isasfari is also very much a prestige dialect, as it uses significantly more inflections as well as three additional nasal vowels: ã, õ, and ẽ.

On the far left, there are the eighteen consonants. Immediately to the right, the vowel marks are arranged, including the implicit vowel a and the hush mark. Below the vowels are a few conjunctions (including some which are derived from archaic letters).

On the right, is Article I of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, written in the True Script...

qhežanafa þamole manle-ta tahan-ega pepata pa zuhig-ẽgã pepatã
ubata manafa domle-kef šẽkẽm-ãtš pa ɗẽp-ãtš
sangi domle ɗaqõza ðoqle-ta dapole moke-leša

qʰɛʒanaɸa θamolɛ manlɛta tahanɛɡa pa zuhiɡə̃:ɡã bepatã:
ubata manaɸa domlɛkɛɸ ʃə̃kə̃:mãtʃ pa ɖə̃:bãtʃ
saŋi domlɛ ɖaqɔ̃:za ðoqlɛta dapolɛ mokɛlɛʃa



The placement of the words indicates additional meaning. The basic sentence structure revolves around a central diamond. Pointing up indicates a noun (subject), pointing down indicates a noun (object), pointing right indicates a verb, and pointing left indicates an adjective describing the subject. Nouns can also be placed to the left of another noun (instrumental for subject, dative for object) or to the right (locative or genitive, depending on case suffix). The conjunctions also indicate relations between sentence blocks, so that each T-unit forms a single picture.

The great thing about a 2D script, is that it frees up the word order. OSV is considered the most proper form, VSO is also acceptable to place emphasis on an object, and if you absolutely must, you may use SVO, though it is considered terribly pedestrian. It also allows tremendous flexibility in the relationship between the sentences, allowing the components of the T-unit to form a single greater "thought map" as opposed to a linear progression from clause to cause.

There are three sentences in the picture: One in the top left corner ("and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood"), another on the right ("They are endowed with reason and conscience"), and and one more on the bottom ("All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights"). The sentences on the bottom and the right side are linked using a conjunction that indicates AND with equal emphasis, suggesting that the two sentences are inextricable one from the other. The other conjunction which joins the top left sentence to the other two indicates THEREFORE, as though this sentence is the logical conclusion of the other two. However, this conjunction can just as easily indicate BECAUSE, which would turn the entire sentence on its head: "All human beings should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood, BECAUSE they are all born free and equal in dignity and rights and are endowed with reason and conscience."



If you want more, you can check out y translation of the Bene Gesserit Litany Against Fear from Dune: fav.me/dbfxv1n
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