Note, this page is in the Latin alphabet only.

Guide to Shavian Spelling

Kingsley Read, the designer of the Shavian alphabet, wrote in his 1963 Guide to Shavian Spelling that:

The phonetic Shavian Alphabet tempts us to delight in spelling precisely as we happen to speak. This involves spelling the same word in different ways according to local pronunciation, personal habit, formality or informality, context of words preceding and following, or degree of emphasis. To be able to render all these oddities and subleties as we write is very fascinating, and at first hardly to be discouraged.

But we read far more than we write; and we try each other’s patience if reading is not made easy. Fast reading cannot wait to analyse the sound of every letter: we should lose grasp of the sentence and of its sense. The “look” of each word must instantly suffice, and it will do so only when varied spellings are avoided. So Shavian readers of three months’ standing are more than ready as writers to adopt agreed spellings. That the spellings are arbitrary matters little so long as they are instantly recognized.

This Guide is an update to Kingsley Read’s Guide to Shavian Spelling, from which much of its content is drawn. In his guide, Read sought to elaborate on the Shavian spelling conventions embodied in Peter MacCarthy’s 1962 transliteration of Androcles and the Lion, and in one or two cases, adjust those conventions.

The spellings in Androcles and the Lion are the closest thing that exists to an international standard for Shavian orthography. It represents an elegant compromise between the primarily non-rhotic (R-dropping) British, Australian, New Zealand and other Commonwealth Englishes on the one hand, and the rhotic (R-pronouncing) North American Englishes on the other. The hypothetical rhotic-Received Pronunciation “accent” that results is intended to be easy for most native speakers to understand, regardless of their own accent.  

While many will prefer to spell as they speak, this Guide exists to assist those who are seeking guidance on how to use the Androcles standard in their own writing. The Guide below is as faithful to the standard established in Androcles and further developed by Read as I can make it, with the following exceptions:

  • Read recommends dispensing with apostrophes for contractions, e.g. “don’t|𐑛𐑎𐑯𐑑”, “didn’t|𐑛𐑊𐑛𐑩𐑯𐑑”, but retaining the possessive appostrophe, e.g. “Joan’s|·𐑡𐑎𐑯’𐑟”, “Jones’s|·𐑡𐑎𐑯𐑟’𐑩𐑟”. No reason was given for retaining the possessive apostrophe and I can only assume it was for the sake of familiarity. Bernard Shaw himself was not a fan, calling apostrophes “uncouth bacilli”. My own experience to date has shown no loss of clarity in dispensing with them in Shavian—indeed, traditional English orthography managed perfectly well without them until the 18th Century—and it avoids the unfortunate ugliness of spellings with ’𐑩𐑟.

  • I have updated a very small number of other spellings as well, in line with current dictionaries, e.g. July has been changed from 𐑡𐑫𐑀𐑲 to 𐑡𐑩𐑀𐑲, and November from 𐑯𐑩𐑝𐑧𐑥𐑚𐑌 to 𐑯𐑎𐑝𐑧𐑥𐑚𐑌.

  • Read recommended spelling words with the to- prefix or suffix as 𐑑𐑫, e.g. "today|𐑑𐑫𐑛𐑱", "together|𐑑𐑫𐑜𐑧𐑞𐑌" and even "into|𐑊𐑯𐑑𐑫". These pronunciations are becoming archaic, with the Oxford Advanced Learners' Dictionary suggesting "today|𐑑𐑩𐑛𐑱", “together|𐑑𐑩𐑜𐑧𐑞𐑌" and “into|𐑊𐑯𐑑𐑵" as more contemporary spellings in both Britain and North America.

If you prefer to follow Read’s advice exactly on these points, please refer to his 1963 Guide to Shavian Spelling.

This Guide is intended as an assistance to those who have experimented with the Shavian alphabet themselves and are looking to begin writing for speedier comprehension by readers all over the world. But it is only a Guide, and if you prefer to modify or ignore its guidance, please feel free to do so. It is good that you are using the Shavian alphabet, however you choose to spell in it.

Guiding Principles

1. Spelling follows sound

When learning Shavian spelling, the old (Orthodox) spelling must be disregarded: Shavian spelling is about sounds.

The following examples serve to illustrate some common errors among those new to Shavian:

  • Retaining silent letters. For example, notice there is no W-sound in “writers|𐑮𐑲𐑑𐑌𐑟”. The W is silent and therefore not represented in Shavian spelling.

  • Using -𐑕 for a plural pronounced with a Z-sound.  The plural “writers|𐑮𐑲𐑑𐑌𐑟" has a Z-sound and is therefore spelt with -𐑟 at the end not the less frequent S-sound, 𐑕, which appears in plurals such as “cats|𐑒𐑚𐑑𐑕, caps|𐑒𐑚𐑐𐑕, cakes|𐑒𐑱𐑒𐑕”.

  • Using “𐑯𐑜” for the NG-sound, 𐑙, or “𐑯𐑒” for the NGK-sound, 𐑙𐑒. There is also no true N-sound, 𐑯, in “think|𐑔𐑊𐑙𐑒”, instead there is an NG-sound, 𐑙.

  • Not differentiating vowels correctly. English has approximately 12 vowels (depending on accent) but only five Latin letters to represent them: a, e, i, o, u. Shavian has letters for each English vowel, meaning that care needs to be taken when beginning to not fall back on old habits. In the phrase “catch a cat|𐑒𐑚𐑗 𐑩 𐑒𐑚𐑑”: notice that the second “a” differs in sound from the first and third: these vowels are 𐑚, 𐑩, 𐑚; and the word “a” is always spelt with 𐑩. There is a similar difference between the A-sounds in “alphabet|𐑚𐑀𐑓𐑩𐑚𐑧𐑑”.

  • Using 𐑛 for past tense verbs ending with a T-sound. As plurals vary in sound, so do past tenses. Though many past tense verbs end in a D-sound, -𐑛 or -𐑩𐑛, there are many other past tense verbs ending with a T-sound, -𐑑; e.g. “mixed|𐑥𐑊𐑒𐑕𐑑, laughed|𐑀𐑭𐑓𐑑, tipped|𐑑𐑊𐑐𐑑”. Also, although we say “used” with a final -𐑛, we say and spell "used-to” as “𐑿𐑕𐑑 𐑑”.

  • Doubling letters unnecessarily. Shavian letters are never doubled unless the sound is doubled: compare “announce|𐑩𐑯𐑬𐑯𐑕, annoy|𐑩𐑯𐑶” (having no doubled N-sound) with “unnamed|𐑳𐑯𐑯𐑱𐑥𐑛, unknown|𐑳𐑯𐑯𐑎𐑯”: compare “missive|𐑥𐑊𐑕𐑊𐑝” (single S-sound) with “misspelt|𐑥𐑊𐑕𐑕𐑐𐑧𐑀𐑑”.

Rules for some very common words

2. Four common words always spelt with one letter

“The”, “of”, “and”, “to” are conventionally spelt without any vowel, 𐑞, 𐑝, 𐑯, 𐑑. “For” is also commonly spelt “𐑓”, a practice recognised by Kingsley Read.

As noted below, “a” and “an” are always spelt “𐑩” and “𐑩𐑯”.

3. Spell “to” as 𐑑, but “too” and “two” as 𐑑𐑵

“To” is always spelt 𐑑; the context suffices to show when it is stressed. “Too” and “two” are spelt 𐑑𐑵. “Together, today” etc., are spelt with 𐑑𐑩-. Note, this last recommendation differs from Kingsley Read’s recommendation of 𐑑𐑫-, a pronunciation that must be presumed close to extinct today as it doesn’t even appear in the Shorter Oxford Dictionary.

4. Spell “your” as 𐑘𐑹 or 𐑘𐑫𐑌, and “our” as 𐑬𐑌

Kingsley Read recommended that “your” no longer be spelt as in Androcles and the Lion (i.e. “𐑿𐑌”). The spelling 𐑘𐑹 seems to reflect contemporary pronunciation and is edging out the acceptable alternative 𐑘𐑫𐑌. This site maintains the spelling 𐑘𐑫𐑌 for the contraction “you’re”, reflecting the compound nature of the word.

For consistency, “our” should be 𐑬𐑌; not 𐑬𐑮 or 𐑞.

Stress and Shavian vowels

5. Words of one syllable are spelt stressed, with two exceptions “a” and “an”

In many words of one syllable, the vowel sound differs according to the degree of emphasis or stress in a particular context. To avoid different spellings of the same one-syllable words, they will be spelt always as though stressed, e.g. “but” is always 𐑚𐑳𐑑, “that” is always 𐑞𐑚𐑑, “be” is 𐑚𐑰, “me, he, she, we” are always spelt with vowel 𐑰. “Sir, per” are 𐑕𐑻, 𐑐𐑻.

There are two exceptions to this rule: “a, an” are always spelt with their unstressed vowel sound, 𐑩, 𐑩𐑯.

6. The vowel 𐑩 is always stressless

In words of two or more syllables, pronunciation often changes when stressing changes, though the words have a similar root meaning: compare the vowels in “éssence|𐑧𐑕𐑩𐑯𐑕” and “esséntial|𐑊𐑕𐑧𐑯𐑖𐑩𐑀”: in “áppro|𐑚𐑐𐑮𐑎”, and “appróving|𐑩𐑐𐑮𐑵𐑝𐑊𐑙”: in “prónoun|𐑐𐑮𐑎𐑯𐑬𐑯”, and “pronóunce|𐑐𐑮𐑩𐑯𐑬𐑯𐑕". By careful rendering of the vowel sounds (and without accentuation marks) Shavian spelling will generally suggest how such words are stressed in speaking. It is important to notice that the so-called “neutral” or schwa sound of 𐑩 is unique in that it never occurs where stress occurs. Carefully compare the stressed vowel 𐑳 (up) with the unstressed vowel 𐑩 (ado) in: "Múch adó abóut Nóthing"—·𐑥𐑳𐑗 𐑩𐑛𐑵 𐑩𐑚𐑬𐑑 𐑯𐑳𐑔𐑊𐑙. Both are “short” vowels, always distinguishable by stressing, if not always and everywhere by pronunciation.

7. Use stressless 𐑩 to mark syllabic consonants, including in negative contractions

To indicate the effect of a second syllable, insert a vowel 𐑩 beforethe final consonant in such words as “little, ladle, prism, chasm, risen, laden”. This diminished vowel sound is perceptible in “prism” though absent in “prismatic”.

Write such negative verbs as: “Didn’t, doesn’t, haven’t, hasn’t, wasn’t, wouldn’t, couldn’t, shouldn’t” with 𐑩 in their ending -𐑩𐑯𐑑, omitting the apostrophe. Note, single syllable negative verbs need no such second vowel: e.g., "Don’t, won’t, can’t, shan’t, weren’t”, end in -𐑯𐑑.

8. The letter 𐑌 is always stressless

5. As 𐑩 is always stressless so too is its compound with R, 𐑌: it is stressless in the first part of its keyword, “arráy, 𐑌𐑱”. We write the same first letter in “aróse, 𐑌𐑎𐑟”, which must be distinguished from the first stressed sound in “árrows, 𐑚𐑮𐑎𐑟”. “Arríve, arréars” begin with 𐑌; “arránger” begins and ends alike with 𐑌. This letter spells the very common word-ending “-er”, which varies in Orthodox spelling of “mortar, worker, elixir, author, martyr, neighbour”—all having the same sound unstressed, all correctly spelt with 𐑌: but far too often misspelt with 𐑻,—which suggests a non-existent stress on the final syllable.

9. The compound letter 𐑻 is stressed and prolonged

This letter 𐑻 is not only capable of carrying stress; it differs from 𐑌 in being more prolonged, even when the R-part of the compound is silenced as it commonly is in Britain. “Bird, heard, herb, hurt, girl, urge, stir, cur, her,” are words correctly spelt with 𐑻; and its keyword “err”, is to be pronounced with that same prolonged vowel sound. If you pronounce it with the same vowel sound as in “errand”, or in “air”, the keyword, “err”, will mislead you.

10. The vowel 𐑳 is stressed and short

We next come to a stressed vowel which is not as prolonged as 𐑻 should be. Compare “bird” with the shorter vowel “burrow”: write “burrow” with 𐑳, Compare “heard” with “huddle”: “hurt” with “hut”: “girl” with “gull”: “herb” with “hub”. The first word of each pair is spelt with the longer stressed 𐑻. The second of each pair requires this shorter stressed letter 𐑳.

When we agree in our use of these 4 letters, 𐑩, 𐑌, 𐑻, 𐑳 we have overcome the chief difficulties of an internationally agreed spelling.

11. Final unstressed “-y”, “-ie” etc. is spelt 𐑊; final stressed “-ee” is 𐑰

According to locality or to context, every shade of pronunciation between 𐑊 and 𐑰 may be heard as the final sound in “many, city, sunny, money, lassie, simile, coffee, committee”. The constant feature is that it is in every case an unstressed vowel. It should therefore be spelt consistently with 𐑊: leaving the longer sound of 𐑰 to indicate a fully stressed ending in “trustee, legatee, employee, mortgagee.” Pronouncing dictionaries (when intelligible!) make this distinction. Here again, stress or its absence determines spelling.

12. The compound letter 𐑟 should be used whether stressed or unstressed

Write 𐑟 in “idea, Ian, Korean, real”: and write the same letter in “India, area, various, tutorial, Shavian,” despite a minor difference in the diphthong and its rhythm. Use 𐑰𐑩 where it results from prefix or suffix being added, e.g. “re-appear, agree-able”, "𐑮𐑰𐑩𐑐𐑜, 𐑩𐑜𐑮𐑰𐑩𐑚𐑩𐑀". Where R follows, write the compound letter 𐑜, in “dear, near, here, pier, arrears, sincerely”, but note the contraction “we’re, 𐑢𐑰𐑌”.

13. The spelling of prefixes follows stress

There is a great variation in the stress with which prefixes are uttered: we must be consistent in spelling them.

The prefix “un-” (equivalent to “not”) has the fuller stressing of a separate or hyphenated word, e.g. “únnátural, únobsérved, únkínd”. Spell this with 𐑳𐑯-. Note as exceptions, written with stressless 𐑩𐑯-: “unléss, untíl”, 𐑩𐑯𐑀𐑧𐑕, 𐑩𐑯𐑑𐑊𐑀.

The nouns “cónduct, cónscript, cómpound”, have a marked stress on the prefix 𐑒𐑪[𐑯]-, while the corresponding verbs “condúct, conscrípt, compóund”, will be distinguished by their neutralized stressless prefix 𐑒𐑩[𐑯]-. Prefixes listed on page 5 provide further examples of changes in stress and in spelling.

Distinguish between stressed and unstressed initial E. If stressed, it must be pronounced and spelt as 𐑧 in “énsign, émblem, élevate”. But when unstressed, initial E tends to become an I-sound in many accents; and the better unstressed spelling is with 𐑊 in “entíre, embárk, eléven”. Compare also “désperate” (𐑛𐑧-); with "despáir" (𐑛𐑊-): "Désert" (𐑛𐑧-) with "dessért" with (𐑛𐑊-). Compare "récóunt" (𐑮𐑰-), to count again, with recóunt (𐑮𐑊-), to narrate: The noun "récord" (𐑮𐑧-) with the verb "recórd" (𐑮𐑊-). Other prefixes require similar attention to the influence of stress on their spelling. This is perhaps the most challenging aspect of the Androcles standard for speakers of Australian and New Zealand English, many of whom have a “weak vowel merger” meaning that unstressed initial E tends to become 𐑩 rather than 𐑊.

Other vowels and diphthongs

14. Distinguish the vowels in Mary-merry-marry, cot-caught, and father-bother

Maintain, at least in writing if not in your own speech, the distinction between “Mary|·𐑥𐑺𐑊”, “merry|𐑥𐑧𐑮𐑊” and “marry|𐑥𐑚𐑮𐑊". This means spelling "very" as 𐑝𐑧𐑮𐑊 and “vary” as 𐑝𐑺𐑊. “America” would be ·𐑩𐑥𐑧𐑮𐑊𐑒𐑩.

Similarly, maintain the cot-caught (𐑒𐑪𐑑-𐑒𐑷𐑑) and father-bother (𐑓𐑭𐑞𐑌-𐑚𐑪𐑞𐑌) distinctions, meaning “gone, long, dog, not, what, want, was” are spelt with 𐑪.

It must be recognized that this is perhaps the most challenging compromise for North Americans to make towards an international standard for Shavian spelling. A dictionary (e.g. the Oxford Advanced Learners’ Dictionary) that indicates British, Australian or New Zealand pronunciations will help in the early stages.

15. Spell the vowel in “bath etc.” as 𐑭 or 𐑚 and “new etc.” as 𐑯𐑿 or 𐑯𐑵 according to your preference

Received Pronunciation and many other accents say “last|𐑀𐑭𐑕𐑑"; “fast|𐑓𐑭𐑕𐑑". Others have 𐑀𐑚𐑕𐑑, 𐑓𐑚𐑕𐑑, etc. Here we must admit alternative spellings until one or the other prevails in general usage. We must evidently write “new”, 𐑯𐑿, “due”, 𐑛𐑿 with alternative American spellings 𐑯𐑵, 𐑛𐑵.

16. Use 𐑫𐑌 for the diphthong and 𐑵𐑌 where the suffix 𐑌 is added

Write 𐑫𐑌 for “poor, sure, tourist, jury”; but 𐑵𐑌 in cases where -𐑌 is a separate syllable added to a root-word ending in 𐑵, such as “brew-er, blu-er”. Similarly, write -𐑘𐑫𐑌 in “cure, endure, mature”; but -𐑿𐑌 in “view-er, few-er”.

17. Spell people’s own names according to their preference

Obviously our own names should be spelt as we wish them spoken. Though any British “John” would spell his name ·𐑡𐑪𐑯, there is no reason why an American “John” should not be ·𐑡𐑭𐑯 if he wishes; it must depend on his own signature.

The optional aspirated WH

18. WH, if distinguished from W, is always “𐑣𐑢” not “𐑢𐑣”

The aspiration of WH-words, e.g., “why, when, where, whether” varies according to their context and the speaker’s accent, from an emphatic HW-sound to a plain W-sound with no aspiration at all. Writers were previously sharply divided: some followed the spelling of Androcles and consistently spelt without suggesting aspiration; others wished to indicate it. Today, the aspirated WH is edging close to extinction in many accents. Those who choose to continue to represent aspiration must take care to restore the correct and original Anglo-Saxon order of sounds (which is HW-) by writing: 𐑣𐑢𐑲, 𐑣𐑢𐑧𐑯, 𐑣𐑢𐑺, 𐑣𐑢𐑧𐑞𐑌. “Who, whole, whoop, whore” always need initial 𐑣, without 𐑢.

Common word endings

Suffix Examples Suffix Examples
-𐑕 locks bets boots puts -𐑥𐑩𐑯𐑑 payment government
-𐑟 logs beds shoes sees -𐑩𐑑 separate (adj.); cf. -𐑱𐑑 separate (v.)
-𐑩𐑟 boxes houses ceases -𐑩𐑀 fatal little devi
-𐑊𐑟 chimneys ladies coffees -𐑩𐑀𐑊 fatally
-[’]𐑟 John’s today’s she’s -𐑓𐑩𐑀𐑊  carefully; cf. fully 𐑓𐑫𐑀𐑊
-[’]𐑩𐑟 Jones's boss’s fox’s -𐑓𐑩𐑀 careful; cf. cúpfúl -𐑓𐑫𐑀
-𐑑 placed rushed matched -𐑩𐑚𐑩𐑀 payable possible
-𐑛 paddled forged measured -𐑥𐑩𐑯 foreman seaman Englishman
-𐑩𐑛 padded rotted needed -𐑥𐑧𐑯 seamen workmen Irishmen
-𐑩𐑕 actress laundress priestess -𐑛𐑱  Monday Tuesday holiday
-𐑩𐑕𐑑  brightest dirtiest -𐑢𐑌𐑛 backward westward 
-𐑯𐑩𐑕 darkness fulness -𐑀𐑩𐑯𐑛 headland England
-𐑀𐑩𐑕 hopeless useless -𐑕𐑩𐑥 handsome awesome
-𐑊𐑙 taking looking -𐑊  city money lassie coffee
-𐑌 brighter worker author -𐑰 employée legatée
-𐑩𐑯 blacken common woman -𐑀𐑊 surely really
-𐑩𐑯𐑕 penance occurence -𐑊𐑀𐑊 happily
-𐑩𐑯𐑑𐑕 pennants currents -𐑊𐑑𐑊 absurdity
-𐑖𐑩𐑯 action mission ocean -𐑊𐑝 captive relative
-𐑠𐑩𐑯  vision decision occasion -𐑊𐑡 carriage storage manage 

Common prefixes

Prefix Examples Prefix Examples
𐑩- ablaze afoot agree 𐑊𐑯- involve enquire engaged: cf. énvoy 𐑧𐑯-
𐑌- around arrange arose: cf. arrows 𐑚𐑮- 𐑊𐑥- improve employ: cf. émpress 𐑧𐑥-
𐑩𐑯- announce annoy: cf. annual 𐑚𐑯- 𐑊- evolve emit elude: cf. evil 𐑰-
𐑩𐑚- obtain object: cf. óbject 𐑪𐑚- 𐑊𐑒𐑕- excite expect: cf. expectation 𐑧𐑒𐑕-
𐑩𐑛- advise advance: cf. ádvocate 𐑚𐑛- 𐑚𐑊- before believe become: cf. being 𐑚𐑰𐑊𐑙
𐑩𐑓- affect; cf. áffectátlon 𐑚𐑓- 𐑮𐑊- refer repeat receive: cf. reaffirm 𐑮𐑰-, reference 𐑮𐑧-
-𐑊𐑓 effect; cf. éffort 𐑧𐑓- 𐑛𐑊- defend devise deter: cf. detail 𐑛𐑰-, detrimental 𐑛𐑧-
    𐑑𐑩- today together

Acronyms and initialisms

Abbreviations fall into two main catagories which it is convenient to name differently. Those used solely for speed may be called Contractions. Those in general use, and in many cases preferred to full spellings, may be called Conventions. The conventions, Mr, Ms, Dr, Prof, are so generally used that many publishers outside North America now omit any abbreviation-dot (full stop/period): these have become normal spellings. Having little to do with word-sounds, they are only symbols of what is meant. Corresponding Shavian symbols should be chosen with aptness and convenience. Though several correspondents have given careful consideration to the subject, the conclusion is that aptness in practice does not seem to follow any useful rules.

It is neither possible nor necessary to give an extended list of conventions, but the following are suggested for general correspondence:

Addresses

  • Road, Rd. 𐑮𐑛

  • Street, St. 𐑕𐑑

  • Avenue, Ave. 𐑚𐑝𐑯

  • North 𐑯.

  • South 𐑕.

  • East 𐑰.

  • West 𐑢.

  • Telephone No. 𐑑𐑓𐑯

Dates

  • 1st 1𐑕𐑑

  • 2nd 2𐑯𐑛

  • 3rd 3𐑛

  • 4th 4𐑔

Months

  • Jan 𐑡𐑚𐑯

  • Feb 𐑓𐑧𐑚

  • (Mar) 𐑥𐑞𐑗

  • Apr 𐑱𐑐𐑮

  • (May) 𐑥𐑱

  • (Jun) 𐑡𐑵𐑯

  • Jul 𐑡𐑵𐑀

  • Aug 𐑷𐑜

  • Sep 𐑕𐑧𐑐

  • Oct 𐑪𐑒𐑑

  • Nov 𐑯𐑎𐑝

  • Dec 𐑛𐑊𐑕

Days

  • Mon 𐑥𐑳𐑯

  • Tues 𐑑𐑿𐑟

  • Wed 𐑢𐑧𐑯𐑟

  • Thur 𐑔𐑻𐑟

  • Fri 𐑓𐑮𐑲

  • Sat 𐑕𐑚𐑑

  • Sun 𐑕𐑳𐑯

  • (-day, if written: -𐑛𐑱)

Titles

  • Mr 𐑥𐑮

  • (Ms) 𐑥𐑟

  • Mrs 𐑥𐑕𐑟

  • (Miss) 𐑥𐑊𐑕

  • Mx 𐑥-

  • Messrs 𐑥𐑧𐑕𐑟

  • & Co Ltd 𐑯 𐑒𐑥 𐑀𐑛

  • Esq 𐑊𐑕𐑒

  • Dr 𐑛𐑌

  • Rev 𐑮𐑝𐑛

  • Prof 𐑐𐑮𐑓

  • Pte 𐑐𐑝𐑑

  • Cpl 𐑒𐑐𐑀

  • Sgt 𐑕𐑡𐑑

  • Lieut 𐑀𐑑𐑑

  • Capt 𐑒𐑐𐑑

  • Maj 𐑥𐑡𐑌

  • Col 𐑒𐑯𐑀

  • Genl 𐑡𐑯𐑀

  • Rt Hon 𐑮𐑑 𐑪𐑯𐑮

A single namer-dot, preceding title, covers the whole name. The namer-dot is not a substitute for every capital letter in Orthodox writing. It is aconvenient warning to readers where a proper name or names follow. Among general matter it is helpful to the reader, but warning is obviously unnecessary when heading or signing a letter.

Note that Read had Mrs|𐑥𐑟 and Messrs|𐑥𐑕𐑟, and no Ms due to this title only becoming popular later. Now that Ms is the default title for a woman, and given the relative rarity of Messrs today, I have proposed the above scheme. Mx developed after 1963 and 𐑥- is proposed here for a gender-neutral title.

Sundry

  • Ref-(erence) 𐑮𐑧𐑓

  • MS (manuscript) 𐑥-𐑕

  • PS (postscript) 𐑐-𐑕

  • etc. 𐑯𐑯𐑯 (&&&)

  • i.e. 𐑞𐑑 𐑟, (that is,)

  • e.g. 𐑊𐑜𐑟, (example(s))

  • cf. 𐑒𐑥𐑐 (compare)

  • N.B. 𐑯𐑎𐑑! (Note!)

  • P.T.O. 𐑎𐑝𐑌 (over)

Other abbreviations

Other conventions will come into use and acceptance gradually as occasion arises. We should take the opportunity of basing conventions on English rather than on alien words. Initial sound, with the most telling consonant(s) added, will best suggest the word abbreviated. If the initial sound is a short vowel it will hardly be understood without adding its next consonant.

Much used conventions are recognized as such without adding an abbreviation- dot. If the dot is added, care must be taken that it cannot be misconstrued as ending a sentence. In writing ·𐑥𐑮 𐑯 𐑥𐑕𐑟 𐑥. 𐑮. 𐑕𐑥𐑊𐑔, for example, it is better to dot only the initials of first-names.

Though fresh conventions appear constantly, there is also a marked tendency for them to become pronounceable words which can be written with certainty in Shavian. Though still printed in capital letters, UNESCO and NATO are spoken as words in their own right, and their vowels O and A-O can no longer be transcribed as having their initial sound in “Organization” and “Atlantic”. They are ·𐑿𐑯𐑧𐑕𐑒𐑎 and ·𐑯𐑱𐑑𐑎.

Shavian writers may even hasten this tendency by writing, say, ·𐑚𐑰𐑚𐑰𐑕𐑰 𐑑𐑰𐑝𐑰. IQ can become a simple word, 𐑲𐑒𐑿. Such experiments may find favour. The only need is to be surely understood.

Word list

Note that the wordlist below is just a small sample of common words. A full 100,000+ term spelling dictionary is freely available, the Kingsley Read Lexicon

An average-analysis of written English, by Dr Godfrey Dewey of Harvard, shows that repetitions of 170 different words cover 60% of all we read and write. These with some 55 others are listed here. Learn to recognize and write them automatically.

a 𐑩
about 𐑩𐑚𐑬𐑑
after 𐑭𐑓𐑑𐑌, 𐑚𐑓𐑑𐑌
again 𐑩𐑜𐑱𐑯, 𐑩𐑜𐑧𐑯
against 𐑩𐑜𐑱𐑯𐑕𐑑, 𐑩𐑜𐑧𐑯𐑕𐑑
all 𐑷𐑀
already 𐑷𐑀𐑮𐑧𐑛𐑊
although 𐑷𐑀𐑞𐑎
also 𐑷𐑀𐑕𐑎
always 𐑷𐑀𐑢𐑱𐑟
am 𐑚𐑥
an 𐑩𐑯
and 𐑯
any 𐑧𐑯𐑊
are 𐑞
as 𐑚𐑟
at 𐑚𐑑
away 𐑩𐑢𐑱
be 𐑚𐑰
because 𐑚𐑊𐑒𐑪𐑟, 𐑚𐑊𐑒𐑷𐑟
been 𐑚𐑰𐑯
before 𐑚𐑊𐑓𐑹
between 𐑚𐑊𐑑𐑢𐑰𐑯
business 𐑚𐑊𐑟𐑯𐑩𐑕
but 𐑚𐑳𐑑
by 𐑚𐑲
came 𐑒𐑱𐑥
can 𐑒𐑚𐑯
cannot 𐑒𐑚𐑯𐑪𐑑
can't 𐑒𐑭𐑯𐑑
come 𐑒𐑳𐑥
cordially 𐑒𐑹𐑛𐑟𐑀𐑊
could 𐑒𐑫𐑛
day 𐑛𐑱
dear 𐑛𐑜
did 𐑛𐑊𐑛
didn’t 𐑛𐑊𐑛𐑩𐑯𐑑
do 𐑛𐑵
does 𐑛𐑳𐑟
done 𐑛𐑳𐑯
don’t 𐑛𐑎𐑯𐑑
down 𐑛𐑬𐑯
during 𐑛𐑘𐑫𐑌𐑊𐑙
each 𐑰𐑗
either 𐑲𐑞𐑌, 𐑰𐑞𐑌
enough 𐑊𐑯𐑳𐑓
ever 𐑧𐑝𐑌
every 𐑧𐑝𐑮𐑊
faithfully 𐑓𐑱𐑔𐑓𐑩𐑀𐑊
far 𐑓𐑞
few 𐑓𐑿
first 𐑓𐑻𐑕𐑑
for 𐑓𐑹 [𐑓]
from 𐑓𐑮𐑪𐑥
give 𐑜𐑊𐑝
go 𐑜𐑎
good 𐑜𐑫𐑛
got 𐑜𐑪𐑑
great 𐑜𐑮𐑱𐑑
had 𐑣𐑚𐑛
has 𐑣𐑚𐑟
have 𐑣𐑚𐑝
he 𐑣𐑰
her 𐑣𐑻
here 𐑣𐑜
him 𐑣𐑊𐑥
his 𐑣𐑊𐑟
how 𐑣𐑬
I 𐑲
if 𐑊𐑓
in 𐑊𐑯
into 𐑊𐑯𐑑𐑵
is 𐑊𐑟
it 𐑊𐑑
just 𐑡𐑳𐑕𐑑
knew 𐑯𐑿
know 𐑯𐑎
large 𐑀𐑞𐑡
last 𐑀𐑭𐑕𐑑, 𐑀𐑚𐑕𐑑
like 𐑀𐑲𐑒
little 𐑀𐑊𐑑𐑩𐑀
long 𐑀𐑪𐑙
look 𐑀𐑫𐑒
lost 𐑀𐑪𐑕𐑑
love 𐑀𐑳𐑝
made 𐑥𐑱𐑛
make 𐑥𐑱𐑒
man 𐑥𐑚𐑯
many 𐑥𐑧𐑯𐑊
may 𐑥𐑱
me 𐑥𐑰
men 𐑥𐑧𐑯
might 𐑥𐑲𐑑
money 𐑥𐑳𐑯𐑊
more 𐑥𐑹
most 𐑥𐑎𐑕𐑑
much 𐑥𐑳𐑗
must 𐑥𐑳𐑕𐑑
my 𐑥𐑲
near 𐑯𐑜
never 𐑯𐑧𐑝𐑌
new 𐑯𐑿, 𐑯𐑵
next 𐑯𐑧𐑒𐑕𐑑
no 𐑯𐑎
none 𐑯𐑳𐑯
not 𐑯𐑪𐑑
nothing 𐑯𐑳𐑔𐑊𐑙
now 𐑯𐑬
of 𐑝
off 𐑪𐑓
often 𐑪𐑓𐑩𐑯, 𐑪𐑓𐑑𐑩𐑯
old 𐑎𐑀𐑛
on 𐑪𐑯
once 𐑢𐑳𐑯𐑕
one 𐑢𐑳𐑯
only 𐑎𐑯𐑀𐑊
or 𐑹
other 𐑳𐑞𐑌
our 𐑬𐑌
over 𐑎𐑝𐑌
out 𐑬𐑑
own 𐑎𐑯
part 𐑐𐑞𐑑
pass 𐑐𐑭𐑕, 𐑐𐑚𐑕
past 𐑐𐑭𐑕𐑑, 𐑐𐑚𐑕𐑑
people 𐑐𐑰𐑐𐑩𐑀
please 𐑐𐑀𐑰𐑟
pleasure 𐑐𐑀𐑧𐑠𐑌
possible 𐑐𐑪𐑕𐑩𐑚𐑩𐑀
question 𐑒𐑢𐑧𐑕𐑗𐑩𐑯
quite 𐑒𐑢𐑲𐑑
rather 𐑮𐑭𐑞𐑌
reach 𐑮𐑰𐑗
read 𐑮𐑰𐑛, 𐑮𐑧𐑛
really 𐑮𐑟𐑀𐑊
right 𐑮𐑲𐑑
said 𐑕𐑧𐑛
same 𐑕𐑱𐑥
say 𐑕𐑱
says 𐑕𐑧𐑟
shall 𐑖𐑚𐑀
shan’t 𐑖𐑭𐑯𐑑
Shavian ·𐑖𐑱𐑝𐑟𐑯
she 𐑖𐑰
should 𐑖𐑫𐑛
sincerely 𐑕𐑊𐑯𐑕𐑜𐑀𐑊
so 𐑕𐑎
some 𐑕𐑳𐑥
something 𐑕𐑳𐑥𐑔𐑊𐑙
still 𐑕𐑑𐑊𐑀
such 𐑕𐑳𐑗
sure 𐑖𐑫𐑌
take 𐑑𐑱𐑒
talk 𐑑𐑷𐑒
than 𐑞𐑚𐑯
thank 𐑔𐑚𐑙𐑒
that 𐑞𐑚𐑑
the 𐑞
their 𐑞𐑺
them 𐑞𐑧𐑥
then 𐑞𐑧𐑯
there 𐑞𐑺
these 𐑞𐑰𐑟
they 𐑞𐑱
thing 𐑔𐑊𐑙
think 𐑔𐑊𐑙𐑒
this 𐑞𐑊𐑕
those 𐑞𐑎𐑟
thought 𐑔𐑷𐑑
three 𐑔𐑮𐑰
through 𐑔𐑮𐑵
time 𐑑𐑲𐑥
to 𐑑
today 𐑑𐑩𐑛𐑱
together 𐑑𐑩𐑜𐑧𐑞𐑌
too 𐑑𐑵
two 𐑑𐑵
truly 𐑑𐑮𐑵𐑀𐑊
under 𐑳𐑯𐑛𐑌
unless 𐑩𐑯𐑀𐑧𐑕
until 𐑩𐑯𐑑𐑊𐑀
up 𐑳𐑐
us 𐑳𐑕
use (v.) 𐑿𐑟
use (n.) 𐑿𐑕
used 𐑿𐑟𐑛
used to 𐑿𐑕𐑑 𐑑
usual 𐑿𐑠𐑫𐑩𐑀
vary 𐑝𐑺𐑊
very 𐑝𐑧𐑮𐑊
want 𐑢𐑪𐑯𐑑
war 𐑢𐑹
was 𐑢𐑪𐑟
wasn’t 𐑢𐑪𐑟𐑩𐑯𐑑
way 𐑢𐑱
we 𐑢𐑰
well 𐑢𐑧𐑀
went 𐑢𐑧𐑯𐑑
were 𐑢𐑻
what [𐑣]𐑢𐑪𐑑
where [𐑣]𐑢𐑺
which [𐑣]𐑢𐑊𐑗
while [𐑣]𐑢𐑲𐑀
who 𐑣𐑵
whole 𐑣𐑎𐑀
whose 𐑣𐑵𐑟
why [𐑣]𐑢𐑲
when [𐑣]𐑢𐑧𐑯
will 𐑢𐑊𐑀
with 𐑢𐑊𐑞
woman 𐑢𐑫𐑥𐑩𐑯
women 𐑢𐑊𐑥𐑊𐑯
word 𐑢𐑻𐑛
work 𐑢𐑻𐑒
world 𐑢𐑻𐑀𐑛
would 𐑢𐑫𐑛
write 𐑮𐑲𐑑
written 𐑮𐑊𐑑𐑩𐑯
wrong 𐑮𐑪𐑙
year 𐑘𐑜
yesterday 𐑘𐑧𐑕𐑑𐑌𐑛𐑱
yet 𐑘𐑧𐑑
you 𐑿
young 𐑘𐑳𐑙
your 𐑘𐑫𐑌, 𐑘𐑹