Editing Women's script

Jump to navigation Jump to search

Spoiler Policy Reminder


Under our spoiler policy, any content from books that are not fully released is not allowed on the Coppermind. This includes any information from pre-released sample chapters, readings, and other comments Brandon has made about Stormlight 5. The only exception to this rule is on meta-pages for the books themselves (e.g., Wind and Truth). If you are unsure whether the information you want to add comes from pre-release content, please do not add it and instead ask about it on our Discord.

Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.

The edit can be undone. Please check the comparison below to verify that this is what you want to do, and then save the changes below to finish undoing the edit.

Latest revision Your text
Line 6: Line 6:
 
|books=[[The Stormlight Archive]]
 
|books=[[The Stormlight Archive]]
 
}}
 
}}
The '''women's script''' is an alphabetic writing system used in [[Vorin]] nations, such as [[Alethkar]], [[Jah Keved]], and [[Kharbranth]], on [[Roshar]]. The script is a phonetic alphabet, meaning each symbol, or "grapheme", denotes a particular sound, or "phoneme", and is written left to right starting in the top left hand corner of a page.{{book ref|sa1|28}} Each letter is determined by shape and size, and can be modified by the presence of one or two small lines after it. As is indicated by the name, it is almost exclusively used by women, as writing is considered a feminine pursuit. The women's script is distinctly different from [[glyphs]], which are a more logographic writing system (albeit with a phonetic component), which men are also allowed to learn.
+
The '''women's script''' is an alphabetic writing system used in [[Vorin]] nations, such as [[Alethkar]], [[Jah Keved]], and [[Kharbranth]], on [[Roshar]]. The script is a phonetic alphabet, meaning each symbol, or "grapheme", denotes a particular sound, or "phoneme". Each letter is determined by both shape and size. As is indicated by the name, it is almost exclusively used by women, as writing is considered a feminine pursuit. The women's script is distinctly different from [[glyphs]], which are a more logographic writing system (albeit with a phonetic component), which men are also allowed to learn. It is written left to right in horizontal lines.{{cite}}
 
== History ==
 
Women's script is known to date back to at least 1800 years before the True Desolation, as the protoscript. The protoscript was an old form of Women's script which eventually took on the modern form.{{book ref|sa2|77}} This script took shape before various sound changes, and thus preserved historical place of articulation.{{wob ref|11464}}
 
   
 
== Structure ==
 
== Structure ==
Line 18: Line 15:
   
 
=== Punctuation ===
 
=== Punctuation ===
Women's script has only one known character for punctuation. It is a single vertical line with two small, horizontal lines at the top and bottom. It is written at the beginning of a sentence and it defines the maximum character height. Questions are marked by adding “ha” at the end of the last word in the sentence. There is also a question mark present in Navani's sketch in ''Oathbringer'' on page 447, but judging by the handwriting this was added later by [[Nazh]] and is not part of the women's script. There is also a diacritic mark denoting if a letter in an otherwise symmetrical word is pronounced “h,” but it is currently unknown what this looks like,{{book ref|WoR|47}} only that it is present both above and below the letter. It is unknown what other punctuation exists, if any, as no other examples have been observed.
+
Women's script has only one known character for punctuation. It is a single vertical line with two small, horizontal lines at the top and bottom. It is written at the beginning of a passage and it defines the maximum character height. It is unknown what other punctuation exists, if any, as no other examples have been observed. There is also a question mark present in Navani's sketch in ''Oathbringer'' on page 447, but judging by the handwriting this was added later by [[Nazh]] and is not part of the women's script.
   
 
=== Women's Script Characters===
 
=== Women's Script Characters===
  +
<gallery mode="nolines" heights=350px widths=175px>
{| class="infobox" width=100%
 
  +
Women's script E.svg| '''E'''
|-
 
  +
Women's script A.svg| '''A'''
! Set !! Starting Punctuation !! First !! Second !! Third !! Fourth !! Fifth
 
  +
Women's script O.svg| '''O'''
|-
 
  +
Women's script U.svg| '''U'''
| rowspan=2 | Vowel set || [[File:Women's script ruler.svg|center]] || [[File:Women's script E.svg|center]] || [[File:Women's script A.svg|center]] || [[File:Women's script O.svg|center]] || [[File:Women's script U.svg|center]] || [[File:Women's script I.svg|center]]
 
  +
Women's script I.svg| '''I'''
|- style="text-align:center;"
 
  +
Women's script T.svg| '''T'''
| Height Marker || '''E''' || '''A''' || '''O''' || '''U or W''' || '''I'''
 
  +
Women's script D.svg| '''D'''
|-
 
  +
Women's script R.svg| '''R'''
| rowspan=2 | T set || [[File:Women's script ruler.svg|center]] || [[File:Women's script T.svg|center]] || [[File:Women's script D.svg|center]] || [[File:Women's script R.svg|center]] || [[File:Women's script TH.svg|center]] || [[File:Women's script L.svg|center]]
 
  +
Women's script TH.svg| '''TH'''
|- style="text-align:center;"
 
  +
Women's script L.svg| '''L'''
| Height Marker || '''T''' || '''D''' || '''R''' || '''Th''' || '''L'''
 
  +
Women's script S.svg| '''S'''
|-
 
  +
Women's script Z.svg| '''Z'''
| rowspan=2 | S set || [[File:Women's script ruler.svg|center]] || [[File:Women's script S.svg|center]] || [[File:Women's script Z.svg|center]] || [[File:Women's script N.svg|center]] || [[File:Women's script SH.svg|center]] || [[File:Women's script H-letter.svg|center]]
 
  +
Women's script N.svg| '''N'''
|- style="text-align:center;"
 
  +
Women's script SH.svg| '''SH'''
| Height Marker || '''S''' || '''Z''' || '''N''' || '''Sh''' || '''H'''
 
  +
Women's script H-letter.svg| '''H'''
|-
 
  +
Women's script P.svg| '''P'''
| rowspan=2 | P set || [[File:Women's script ruler.svg|center]] || [[File:Women's script P.svg|center]] || [[File:Women's script B.svg|center]] || [[File:Women's script M.svg|center]] || [[File:Women's script F.svg|center]] || [[File:Women's script V.svg|center]]
 
  +
Women's script B.svg| '''B'''
|- style="text-align:center;"
 
  +
Women's script M.svg| '''M'''
| Height Marker || '''P''' || '''B''' || '''M''' || '''Ph''' || '''V'''
 
  +
Women's script F.svg| '''F'''
|-
 
  +
Women's script V.svg| '''V'''
| rowspan=2 | K set || [[File:Women's script ruler.svg|center]] || [[File:Women's script K.svg|center]] || [[File:Women's script G.svg|center]] || [[File:Women's script Y.svg|center]] || [[File:Women's script CH.svg|center]] || [[File:Women's script J.svg|center]]
 
  +
Women's script K.svg| '''K'''
|- style="text-align:center;"
 
  +
Women's script G.svg| '''G'''
| Height Marker || '''K''' || '''G''' || '''Y''' || '''Ch''' || '''J'''
 
  +
Women's script Y.svg| '''Y'''
|}
 
  +
Women's script CH.svg| '''CH'''
  +
Women's script J.svg| '''J'''
  +
Women's script ruler.svg| symbol used to denote maximum character height
  +
</gallery>
   
 
== Examples of women's script ==
 
== Examples of women's script ==
Line 53: Line 54:
 
Ship Designs.jpg | [[Navani's notebook]] - airship designs
 
Ship Designs.jpg | [[Navani's notebook]] - airship designs
 
Vambrace.jpg | [[Navani's notebook]] - [[Stormclock]] and [[fabrial]] watch vambrace
 
Vambrace.jpg | [[Navani's notebook]] - [[Stormclock]] and [[fabrial]] watch vambrace
Navani's Notebook - The Fourth Bridge.jpg | [[Navani's notebook]] - The ''[[Fourth Bridge]]''
 
Navani's Notebook - The Arnist Method.jpg | [[Navani's notebook]] - The Arnist Method for capturing [[spren]]
 
Navani's Notebook - The Crystal Pillar Room.jpg | [[Navani's notebook]] - The [[Sibling]]'s heart
 
Navani's Notebook - Experiments.jpg | ''[[Rhythm of War (in-world)|Rhythm of War]]'' - Experiments on [[Lights]]
 
Navani's Notebook - Dagger.jpg | ''[[Rhythm of War (in-world)|Rhythm of War]]'' - The [[Herald]]-killing dagger
 
Lait.jpeg | [[Shallan's sketchbook]] - [[lait]]
 
 
OB Endnote.jpg | [[Jasnah]]'s [[ketek]], written for [[Shallan]]'s wedding
 
OB Endnote.jpg | [[Jasnah]]'s [[ketek]], written for [[Shallan]]'s wedding
 
</gallery>
 
</gallery>
   
 
== Trivia ==
 
== Trivia ==
* The only samples of the women's script currently available are eight excerpts from [[Navani's notebook]], two excerpts from ''[[Rhythm of War (in-world)|Rhythm of War]]'', some faded text on a sketch depicting a lait in [[Shallan's sketchbook]], and a [[ketek]] by Jasnah.
+
* The only samples of the women's script currently available are five excerpts from [[Navani's notebook]], a sketch depicting a lait in [[Shallan's sketchbook]], and a [[ketek]] by Jasnah
* It was designed by [[Isaac Stewart]], to look like waveforms.{{wob ref|9902}}
+
* It was designed by [[Isaac Stewart]], to look like waveforms.
 
* Neither [[Brandon]] nor Isaac can read the women's script without reference.{{wob ref|9902}}
 
* Neither [[Brandon]] nor Isaac can read the women's script without reference.{{wob ref|9902}}
  +
* The women's script is often erroneously referred to as the "Alethi script" among fans. This term is never used in the books, and is demonstrably false as the script is also used in places such as Jah Keved and Kharbranth, at the very least.
 
* The mapping between the women's script and the Latin script was first discovered by Harakeke on the [[Timewasters Guide]] forum.{{twg ref|7882|0|Navani's Notebook Translation|date=Sep 20th, 2010}}
 
* The mapping between the women's script and the Latin script was first discovered by Harakeke on the [[Timewasters Guide]] forum.{{twg ref|7882|0|Navani's Notebook Translation|date=Sep 20th, 2010}}
  +
* A fanmade font has been created for the alethi [https://gofile.io/?c=5s7d3q Womans Script Font], by discord user Michael Kent.
   
 
== Notes ==
 
== Notes ==

Please note that all contributions to The Coppermind are considered to be released under the CC4 by-nc-nd (see Coppermind:Copyrights for details). If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly and redistributed at will, then do not submit it here.
You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource. Do not submit copyrighted work without permission!

To protect the wiki against automated edit spam, we kindly ask you to solve the following CAPTCHA:

Cancel Editing help (opens in new window)