| Tall: | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ |
| /p/ | /t/ | /k/ | /f/ | /ฮธ/ | /s/ | /ส/ | /สง/ | /j/ | /ล/ | |
| peep | tot | kick | fee | thigh | so | sure | church | yea | hung | |
| Deep: | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ก | ๐ข | ๐ฃ |
| /b/ | /d/ | /ษก/ | /v/ | /รฐ/ | /z/ | /ส/ | /สค/ | /w/ | /h/ | |
| bib | dead | gag | vow | they | zoo | measure | judge | woe | ha-ha | |
| Short: | ๐ค | ๐ฎ | ๐ฅ | ๐ฏ | ๐ฆ | ๐ฐ | ๐ง | ๐ฑ | ๐จ | ๐ฒ |
| /l/ | /r/ | /m/ | /n/ | /ษช/~/i/ | /iห/ | /ษ/ | /eษช/ | /รฆ/ | /aษช/ | |
| loll | roar | mime | nun | if | eat | egg | age | ash | ice | |
| ๐ฉ | ๐ณ | ๐ช | ๐ด | ๐ซ | ๐ต | ๐ฌ | ๐ถ | ๐ญ | ๐ท | |
| /ษ/ | /ส/ | /ษ/ | /ษส/ | /ส/ | /u(ห)/ | /aส/ | /ษษช/ | /ษห/ | /ษห/ | |
| ado | up | on | oak | wool | ooze | out | oil | ah | awe | |
| Compound: | ๐ธ | ๐น | ๐บ | ๐ป | ๐ผ | ๐ฝ | ๐พ | ๐ฟ | ||
| /ษห(r)/ | /ษห(r)/ | /ษษ(r)/ | /ษห(r)/ | /ษ(r)/ | /ษชษ(r)/ | /ษชษ/ | /ju(ห)/ | |||
| are | or | air | err | array | ear | Ian | yew |
| Tall | Deep | ||||
| ๐ | /p/ | peep | ๐ | /b/ | bib |
| ๐ | /t/ | tot | ๐ | /d/ | dead |
| ๐ | /k/ | kick | ๐ | /ษก/ | gag |
| ๐ | /f/ | fee | ๐ | /v/ | vow |
| ๐ | /ฮธ/ | thigh | ๐ | /รฐ/ | they |
| ๐ | /s/ | so | ๐ | /z/ | zoo |
| ๐ | /ส/ | sure | ๐ | /ส/ | measure |
| ๐ | /สง/ | church | ๐ก | /สค/ | judge |
| ๐ | /j/ | yea | ๐ข | /w/ | woe |
| ๐ | /ล/ | hung | ๐ฃ | /h/ | ha-ha |
| Short | |||||
| ๐ค | /l/ | loll | ๐ฉ | /ษ/ | ado |
| ๐ฎ | /r/ | roar | ๐ณ | /ส/ | up |
| ๐ฅ | /m/ | mime | ๐ช | /ษ/ | on |
| ๐ฏ | /n/ | nun | ๐ด | /ษส/ | oak |
| ๐ฆ | /ษช/~/i/ | if | ๐ซ | /ส/ | wool |
| ๐ฐ | /iห/ | eat | ๐ต | /u(ห)/ | ooze |
| ๐ง | /ษ/ | egg | ๐ฌ | /aส/ | out |
| ๐ฑ | /eษช/ | age | ๐ถ | /ษษช/ | oil |
| ๐จ | /รฆ/ | ash | ๐ญ | /ษห/ | ah |
| ๐ฒ | /aษช/ | ice | ๐ท | /ษห/ | awe |
| Compound | |||||
| ๐ธ | /ษห(r)/ | are | ๐ผ | /ษ(r)/ | array |
| ๐น | /ษห(r)/ | or | ๐ฝ | /ษชษ(r)/ | ear |
| ๐บ | /ษษ(r)/ | air | ๐พ | /ษชษ/ | Ian |
| ๐ป | /ษห(r)/ | err | ๐ฟ | /ju(ห)/ | yew |
Five common words are represented by single letters: the ๐, of ๐, and ๐ฏ, to ๐, for ๐.
There are no separate capital or lowercase letters the Shavian alphabet.
A namer dot (ยท) precedes proper names, if such special indication seems to be necessary.
๐ ๐๐ฑ๐๐พ๐ฏ ๐จ๐ค๐๐ฉ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฆ๐ ๐ฉ ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ธ๐๐ฉ๐๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐ฆ๐๐ฒ๐ฏ. ๐ฆ๐ ๐ฃ๐จ๐ ๐๐ฆ๐๐ณ๐ฅ ๐๐ค๐ฝ ๐ ๐ฅ๐ฐ ๐ ๐ฅ๐น ๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฆ๐ ๐๐จ๐ ยท๐๐ฆ๐๐๐ค๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐๐ง๐๐๐ฉ๐ ๐ฉ ๐๐ฆ๐๐ฏ๐ฆ๐๐ฆ๐๐ฉ๐ฏ๐ ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ฌ๐ฏ๐ ๐ ๐๐ท๐ ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ฆ๐๐ ๐๐ฆ๐๐ฒ๐ฏ, ๐ฏ๐ด ๐๐ฌ๐ ๐๐ฑ๐๐ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐๐ฆ๐๐ฏ๐ฆ๐๐ฆ๐๐ฉ๐ฏ๐ ๐ฆ๐๐๐๐ง๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ฉ๐ฏ๐๐ฑ๐๐ฉ๐ฏ ๐ด๐๐ผ ๐ฅ๐ง๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐๐ฝ๐.
๐ข๐ฒ๐ค ๐๐ณ๐ฅ๐๐ฒ๐ฅ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐๐ป๐ ๐ ๐จ๐ โ๐๐ฉ๐ฏ๐ง๐๐ฆ๐โ ๐ฆ๐ ๐ฆ๐, ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐๐ฎ๐ต๐, ๐๐ฉ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐, ๐จ๐ ยท๐๐ท ๐ข๐ฆ๐๐. ๐ฉ ๐๐ฉ๐ฏ๐ง๐๐ฆ๐ ๐จ๐ค๐๐ฉ๐๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ซ๐ ๐ค๐ซ๐ ๐๐ข๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ฆ๐๐ฎ๐ฉ๐ฏ๐ ๐๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ฏ๐๐ฆ๐ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ ๐จ๐๐๐ง๐ฏ๐ ๐ฆ๐ ๐ฎ๐ง๐๐ฎ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ฏ๐๐ฉ๐. ๐๐ฑ๐๐พ๐ฏ, ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ ๐ณ๐๐ผ ๐ฃ๐จ๐ฏ๐, ๐๐ณ๐ ๐ฏ๐ช๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐น๐ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ง๐๐ฎ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ฏ๐ ๐ฆ๐๐๐จ๐๐๐ค๐ฆ ๐๐ฌ๐ฏ๐๐, ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ค๐ญ๐๐ฉ๐ ๐ ๐๐ฌ๐ฏ๐๐. ๐ฉ ๐๐ป๐๐ฉ๐ฏ ๐๐ฎ๐ช๐ฅ ยท๐ค๐ณ๐ฏ๐๐ฉ๐ฏ, ๐๐ฎ๐ช๐ฅ ยท๐ฏ๐ฟ ๐๐น๐ ๐ฏ ๐๐ฎ๐ช๐ฅ ยท๐๐ฆ๐๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ท๐ค ๐๐ฎ๐ฉ๐ฏ๐ฌ๐ฏ๐ ๐ โAHโ ๐๐ฌ๐ฏ๐ ๐๐ฆ๐๐ฎ๐ฉ๐ฏ๐๐ค๐ฆ, ๐๐ณ๐ ๐ฐ๐ ๐ข๐ซ๐ ๐ฎ๐ง๐๐ฉ๐๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ ๐ ๐๐ฌ๐ฏ๐ ๐ข๐ง๐ฏ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ฒ ๐ ๐ณ๐๐ผ๐. ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐๐ฑ๐๐พ๐ฏ ๐๐ฑ ๐ข๐ซ๐ ๐ท๐ค ๐ฎ๐ฒ๐ ๐ญ ๐ ๐๐ฆ๐ ๐๐ฌ๐ฏ๐.
๐ค๐ซ๐๐ฆ๐ ๐จ๐ ๐ ๐๐ฑ๐๐พ๐ฏ ๐จ๐ค๐๐ฉ๐๐ง๐ ๐ ๐ ๐๐ป๐๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฅ, ๐ฆ๐๐ ๐ฅ๐ด๐๐ ๐ช๐๐๐พ๐ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ฉ๐๐๐ผ๐ฆ๐๐๐ฆ๐ ๐ฆ๐ ๐๐จ๐ ๐ ๐๐ฑ๐ ๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ ๐ค๐ง๐๐ผ๐ ๐ฆ๐ ๐ฏ๐ช๐ ๐ค๐ง๐๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐ผ๐ค๐ฆ ๐ ๐๐ญ๐ฏ๐ ๐น ๐ ๐ข๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ ๐ ๐๐ฆ๐๐ฒ๐ฏ๐ผ:
๐๐ถ๐๐ค๐ฉ๐ ๐๐ช๐ฏ๐๐ฉ๐ฏ๐ฉ๐ฏ๐๐, ๐ค๐ฒ๐ P, T ๐ฏ K ๐ธ ๐ท๐ค โ๐๐ท๐คโ ๐ค๐ง๐๐ผ๐; ๐๐ฑ ๐๐ฆ๐ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ ๐๐ฑ๐๐ค๐ฒ๐ฏ ๐ฏ ๐ฆ๐๐๐๐ง๐ฏ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ณ๐ ๐ ๐ฃ๐ฒ๐ ๐ ๐ณ๐๐ผ ๐ค๐ง๐๐ผ๐.
๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐ ๐๐ช๐ฏ๐๐ฉ๐ฏ๐ฉ๐ฏ๐๐, ๐ค๐ฒ๐ B, D, ๐ฏ G ๐ธ โ๐๐ฐ๐โ ๐ค๐ง๐๐ผ๐, ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ ๐๐ฑ ๐ฆ๐๐๐๐ง๐ฏ๐ ๐๐ฆ๐ค๐ด ๐ ๐๐ฑ๐๐ค๐ฒ๐ฏ, ๐ฏ ๐ธ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ผ- ๐น ๐ฎ๐ด๐๐ฑ๐๐ฉ๐ ๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ก๐ฉ๐ ๐ ๐๐บ ๐๐ถ๐๐ ๐๐ฌ๐ฏ๐๐ผ๐๐ธ๐๐.
๐๐ฌ๐ฉ๐ค๐, ๐ฏ๐ฑ๐๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐ช๐ฏ๐๐ฉ๐ฏ๐ฉ๐ฏ๐๐ (N, M) ๐ฏ ๐ค๐ฆ๐๐ข๐ฆ๐๐ (L, R) ๐ธ ๐ท๐ค โ๐๐น๐โ ๐ค๐ง๐๐ผ๐, ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ ๐๐ฑ ๐๐ฆ๐ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ ๐๐ฑ๐๐ค๐ฒ๐ฏ ๐ฏ ๐๐ช๐ฏโt ๐ฆ๐๐๐๐ง๐ฏ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ณ๐ ๐ ๐ฃ๐ฒ๐ ๐ ๐ณ๐๐ผ ๐ค๐ง๐๐ผ๐. ๐ ๐ฆ๐ฅ๐๐ฎ๐ต๐ ๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ช๐ฏ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ฆ ๐ ๐ ๐จ๐ค๐๐ฉ๐๐ง๐ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ ๐๐ฑ๐ก, ๐๐ช๐ฅ๐ฉ๐ฏ ๐๐ช๐ฅ๐๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฑ๐๐ฉ๐ฏ๐ ๐ ๐๐ฌ๐ฉ๐ค๐ ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ฆ๐๐๐ค๐ฆ๐, ๐๐ ๐, ๐๐ฆ๐๐๐ช๐๐, ๐ธ ๐ฎ๐ง๐๐ฎ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ฏ๐๐ฉ๐ ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ฆ๐๐๐ฉ๐ค ๐ค๐ง๐๐ผ๐ ๐๐ต.
๐ ๐๐ท๐ค, ๐๐ฐ๐ ๐ฏ ๐๐น๐ ๐ค๐ง๐๐ผ๐ ๐๐ฆ๐ ๐ฐ๐ ๐ข๐ป๐ ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐๐ฑ๐๐พ๐ฏ ๐ฉ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ฉ๐๐๐ผ๐ฆ๐๐๐ฆ๐ ๐๐ฑ๐ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ ๐๐จ๐, ๐ด๐๐ผ ๐๐ฒ๐ฅ ๐จ๐ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ผ ๐๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ค๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ค๐ฆ๐จ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐๐ฆ, ๐ข๐ป๐๐ ๐๐จ๐ฏ ๐๐ฐ ๐ฅ๐น ๐ฐ๐๐ฆ๐ค๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ง๐๐ฉ๐๐ฏ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ข๐ฆ๐๐ฌ๐ ๐๐ฌ๐ฏ๐๐ฆ๐ ๐ฌ๐ ๐ฐ๐ ๐ค๐ง๐๐ผ.
๐ข๐ฒ๐ค ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ฑ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ต ๐ ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐๐ฆ๐๐ฉ๐ค๐, ๐ฅ๐ง๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ง๐๐ผ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ฅ๐๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐บ ๐ค๐จ๐๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐๐ฌ๐ฏ๐๐ผ๐๐ธ๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ณ๐ ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ช๐ฅ๐๐ ๐ ๐ฅ๐ง๐ฅ๐ผ๐ฆ ๐ ๐๐ฆ๐๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ (๐๐ฆ๐๐ ๐, ๐, ๐, ๐, ๐, ๐ฆ, ๐ด, ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฆ๐๐ฟ๐ค๐ผ). ๐ฃ๐ฌ๐ง๐๐ผ, ๐ฅ๐ด๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ง๐ฅ ๐ธ ๐จ๐ ๐ฏ๐ด ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ฐ๐ฆ๐ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐๐๐ฑ๐๐ฉ๐ฏ ๐ ๐ค๐จ๐๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ค๐ง๐๐ผ๐. ๐ ๐ค๐ง๐๐ผ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ฅ๐๐ฉ๐ค๐ ๐ฉ ๐ฃ๐ฒ๐๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ ๐ ๐ค๐จ๐๐ฆ๐ฏ C ๐ฏ K, ๐ข๐ฒ๐ค ๐ฆ๐๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐ ๐๐ฌ๐ฏ๐๐ผ๐๐ธ๐ ๐ ๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐ฐ ๐ฎ๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ G ๐๐ฒ ๐ฅ๐ด๐๐ ๐ข๐ฆ๐๐ฌ๐ ๐๐๐ณ๐๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ ๐๐ฑ๐๐พ๐ฏ. ๐๐ด๐ ๐๐จ๐ ๐ธ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐๐ฒ๐ผ๐ค๐ฆ ๐ฏ๐ฟ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐๐ค๐ต๐ ๐๐ณ๐ฅ ๐๐ณ๐๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐ฎ๐ช๐ฅ๐๐๐ ๐จ๐ ๐ข๐ง๐ค: ๐ ๐ค๐ง๐๐ผ ๐, ๐ข๐ฆ๐ ๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐ฐ ๐๐ฉ๐ฏ๐๐ฆ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ฉ ๐๐ช๐ฅ๐๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฑ๐๐ฉ๐ฏ ๐ T ๐ฏ SH-๐๐ฌ๐ฏ๐๐, ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐๐ค๐ต๐๐ ๐ ๐ณ๐๐๐๐ฎ๐ด๐ ๐ โ๐โ ๐ฏ ๐จ๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ ๐ โ๐โ. ๐ ๐๐ฑ๐ฅ ๐ฒ๐๐พ ๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฒ๐ ๐ โ๐กโ.
๐ ๐๐ฑ๐๐พ๐ฏ ๐จ๐ค๐๐ฉ๐๐ง๐ ๐ท๐ค๐๐ด ๐ฃ๐จ๐ ๐ฉ ๐๐ง๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ฟ๐๐๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐ฐ๐๐ผ ๐๐จ๐ ๐ฃ๐ง๐ค๐๐ ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ฎ๐ง๐ ๐ ๐ฅ๐ฑ๐ฏ ๐๐ฆ๐๐ฎ๐ฉ๐ฏ๐ ๐๐ฆ๐๐ข๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ ๐จ๐๐๐ง๐ฏ๐๐ ๐ ๐ฆ๐๐๐ค๐ฆ๐ ๐๐๐ฐ๐๐ผ๐, ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฉ๐ฏ๐ณ๐ฏ๐๐ฆ๐ฑ๐๐ฉ๐ฏ ๐ ๐ R-๐๐ฌ๐ฏ๐ ๐จ๐ ๐ ๐ง๐ฏ๐ ๐ ๐๐ฆ๐ค๐ฉ๐๐ฉ๐ค๐. ๐ฅ๐ด๐๐ ๐ ๐ โ๐๐ช๐ฅ๐๐ฌ๐ฏ๐โ ๐ค๐ง๐๐ผ๐ ๐ฎ๐ง๐๐ฎ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ฏ๐ ๐๐ฌ๐ฉ๐ค+R ๐๐ช๐ฅ๐๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฑ๐๐ฉ๐ฏ๐. ๐ฎ๐ด๐๐ฆ๐ ๐จ๐๐๐ง๐ฏ๐๐ ๐ค๐ฒ๐ ๐ก๐ง๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ง๐ฎ๐ฆ๐๐ฉ๐ฏ ๐๐ฎ๐ฉ๐ฏ๐ฌ๐ฏ๐ ๐ R ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ท๐ค ๐๐ฑ๐๐ฉ๐. ๐ฏ๐ช๐ฏ-๐ฎ๐ด๐๐ฆ๐ ๐จ๐๐๐ง๐ฏ๐๐ ๐ค๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐๐ฐ๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฉ๐ฏ๐ณ๐ฏ๐๐ฆ๐ฑ๐๐ฉ๐ฏ ๐๐ฎ๐ฉ๐ฏ๐ฌ๐ฏ๐ ๐ R ๐ด๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ ๐ข๐ง๐ฏ ๐๐ช๐ค๐ด๐ ๐๐ฒ ๐ฉ๐ฏ๐ณ๐๐ผ ๐๐ฌ๐ฉ๐ค. ๐ฃ๐จ๐๐ฆ๐ ๐๐ฐ๐ ๐๐ฌ๐ฉ๐ค+R ๐๐ช๐ฅ๐๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฑ๐๐ฉ๐ฏ๐ ๐ฎ๐ง๐๐ฎ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ฏ๐๐ฉ๐ ๐๐ฒ ๐ฉ ๐๐ฆ๐๐๐ฉ๐ค ๐ค๐ง๐๐ผ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ ๐๐จ๐ ๐ฎ๐ด๐๐ฆ๐ ๐๐๐ฐ๐๐ผ๐ ๐๐ฆ๐ฅ๐๐ค๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ ๐ ๐ค๐ง๐๐ผ ๐จ๐ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐๐ค๐ต๐๐ฆ๐ ๐ฉ๐ฏ R, ๐ข๐ฒ๐ค ๐ฏ๐ช๐ฏ-๐ฎ๐ด๐๐ฆ๐ ๐๐๐ฐ๐๐ผ๐ ๐๐จ๐ฏ ๐ฆ๐๐ฏ๐น ๐ R ๐ข๐บ ๐ฆ๐ ๐ฆ๐ ๐ฏ๐ช๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฉ๐ฏ๐ฌ๐ฏ๐๐.
๐๐ณ๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐จ๐ ๐๐ฉ๐ฅ๐๐ค๐ฑ๐ฏ๐ ๐๐จ๐ ๐ ๐ค๐ง๐๐ผ๐ ๐ฃ ๐ฏ ๐ ๐๐ซ๐ ๐ฎ๐พ๐ค๐ฆ ๐๐ฐ ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐๐ป๐๐, ๐๐ฆ๐๐ฉ๐ฏ ๐๐บ ๐๐ถ๐๐ค๐ฉ๐/๐๐ถ๐๐ ๐ฏ๐ฑ๐๐ผ ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐๐๐ง๐๐๐ฆ๐๐ค๐ฆ. ๐๐ฑ ๐ธ ๐ฏ๐ช๐, ๐ฃ๐ฌ๐ง๐๐ผ, ๐ฉ ๐๐ฎ๐ต ๐๐บ (๐ฏ, ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐๐ฐ๐, ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐๐ผ ๐ธ ๐ข ๐ฏ ๐) ๐ฏ ๐ ๐๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ฉ๐๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐๐บ ๐๐ฆ๐๐ฒ๐ฏ ๐๐ฐ๐ฅ๐ ๐ ๐๐ฐ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐๐ง๐ฏ๐๐ฉ๐ ๐ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ ๐ ๐ฅ๐ง๐ฅ๐ผ๐ฆ ๐๐ป๐๐ฉ๐ฏ ๐ ๐ค๐ป๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ ๐ณ๐ฏ๐๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ค๐ฝ ๐ค๐ง๐๐ผ๐. ยท๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ ๐ฅ๐ฑ๐ ๐๐ค๐ฝ, ๐ฃ๐ฌ๐ง๐๐ผ, ๐๐จ๐ ๐ ๐๐ฆ๐๐ฒ๐ฏ ๐ ๐ฃ/๐ ๐ข๐ช๐ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐๐ง๐ฏ๐๐ฉ๐ฏ๐ฉ๐ค ๐จ๐ ๐ฆ๐ ๐ข๐ช๐ ๐ฐ๐๐ฝ ๐ ๐ฃ๐จ๐ฏ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฒ๐ ๐ ๐๐ช๐ฅ๐ฉ๐ฏ ๐ข๐ป๐ ๐ง๐ฏ๐๐ฆ๐ -ING ๐จ๐ -๐ฆ๐ ๐๐จ๐ฏ ๐ ๐ท๐ค๐๐ป๐ฏ๐ฉ๐๐ฆ๐๐.
๐ท๐ค ๐๐ฉ๐๐ง๐๐ผ, ๐๐ฐ๐ ๐๐ฆ๐๐ฒ๐ฏ ๐๐ฐ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐๐จ๐ ๐ ๐๐ฑ๐๐พ๐ฏ ๐จ๐ค๐๐ฉ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฆ๐ ๐ฎ๐ง๐ค๐ฉ๐๐ฆ๐๐ค๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐๐ฆ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐, ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐๐ฟ๐๐ฉ๐ ๐๐ฆ๐๐ฎ๐ฉ๐ฏ๐๐ฉ๐ ๐๐ฆ๐๐ข๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐จ๐๐๐ง๐ฏ๐๐, ๐ฏ ๐ฆ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ธ๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐๐ฉ๐ฏ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฆ๐๐ฉ๐ค ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ ๐๐ฑ๐ก. ๐ข๐ง๐ฏ ๐ ๐๐ฒ-๐จ๐ค๐๐ฉ๐๐ง๐๐ฆ๐ ยท๐จ๐ฏ๐๐ฎ๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฐ๐ ๐ฏ ๐ ๐ค๐ฒ๐ฉ๐ฏ ๐ข๐ช๐ ๐๐ณ๐๐ค๐ฆ๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ฏ 1962, ๐ ๐๐ฑ๐๐พ๐ฏ ๐จ๐ค๐๐ฉ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ง๐๐๐ ๐ด๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ ๐๐ซ๐ ๐ณ๐ ๐๐ต-๐๐ป๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ฑ๐ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ ๐๐ฑ๐ก ๐ ๐ ๐ค๐จ๐๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐จ๐ค๐๐ฉ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ง๐๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐๐ฎ๐ฉ๐๐ฆ๐๐ฉ๐ฏ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐๐ง๐ค๐ฆ๐.
The Shavian alphabet is a remarkable design. It has become clear to me the more I use it that Kingsley Read invested a significant amount of thought in its design, no doubt based on significant experimentation over many years.
While sometimes referred to as โphoneticโ it is, in truth, phonemic, as Shaw wished. A phonetic alphabet would look quite different depending on the accent it represented. Shavian, on the other hand, does not purport to represent exactly sounds, but classes of sounds. A person from London, from New York and from Sydney all pronounce the AH sound differently, but each would recognise the sound when said by the others. In Shavian they would all write ๐ญ for this sound.
Looking at the Shavian alphabet for the first time, its most obvious characteristic is that the shape of its letters is not left purely to chance or the whim of the designer:
Voiceless consonants, like P, T and K are all โtallโ letters; they sit on the baseline and extend above the height of other letters.
The voiced consonants, like B, D, and G are โdeepโ letters, meaning they extend below the baseline, and are mirror- or rotated images of their voiced counterparts.
Vowels, nasal consonants (N, M) and liquids (L, R) are all โshortโ letters, meaning they sit on the baseline and donโt extend above the height of other letters. To improve the economy of the alphabet on the page, common combinations of vowels in English, i.e. diphthongs, are represented by single letters too.
The tall, deep and short letters give each word in Shavian a characteristic shape meaning that, over time as the reader develops familiarity, words can be more easily recognised without sounding out each letter.
While remaining true to the above principles, many letters resemble their Latin counterparts enough to prompt the memory of beginners (think ๐, ๐, ๐, ๐, ๐, ๐ฆ, ๐ด, in particular). However, most of them are at no risk of being mistaken for Latin letters. The letter ๐ resembles a hybrid of Latin C and K, while its voiced counterpart ๐ could be read as G by most without studying Shavian. Those that are entirely new include some subtle prompts as well: the letter ๐, which could be considered a combination of T and SH-sounds, includes the upstroke of ๐ and adds it to ๐. The same idea applies to ๐ก.
The Shavian alphabet also has a very useful feature that helps to address the main difference between the accents of English speakers, the pronunciation of the R-sound at the end of syllables. Most of the โcompoundโ letters represent vowel+R combinations. Rhotic accents like General American pronounce the R in all cases. Non-rhotic accents like Received Pronunciation pronounce the R only when followed by another vowel. Having these vowel+R combinations represented by a single letter means that rhotic speakers simply read the letter as including an R, while non-rhotic speakers can ignore the R where it is not pronounced.
Some have complained that the letters ๐ฃ and ๐ should really be reversed, given their voiceless/voiced nature respectively. They are not, however, a true pair (and, indeed, neither are ๐ข and ๐) and the symmetry in their design seems to be intended to minimise the memory burden of learning unfamiliar letters. Read made clear, however, that the design of ๐ฃ/๐ was intentional as it was easier to hand write the common word ending -ING as -๐ฆ๐ than the alternatives.
All together, these design features mean that the Shavian alphabet is relatively easy to read, reduces differences between accents, and is remarkably economical on the page. When the bi-alphabetic Androcles and the Lion was published in 1962, the Shavian alphabet text only took up two-thirds the space on the page of the Latin alphabet text in traditional spelling.