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Difference between revisions of "Women's script"

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The '''women's script''' is a writing system used in [[Vorin]] nations, such as [[Alethkar]], [[Jah Keved]], and [[Kharbranth]], on [[Roshar]]. The script is a phonetic alphabet, meaning each symbol denotes a particular sound or "phoneme". The meaning of each letter is determined by both shape and size.
'''Women's script''', sometimes called Alethi script, is a writing system used in [[Vorin]] nations, such as [[Alethkar]], [[Jah Keved]], and [[Kharbranth]], on [[Roshar]]. The script is a phonetic alphabet. Each letter is determined by both shape and size. As is indicated by the name, it is a system only used by women, as writing is considered a feminine pursuit. Women's script is distinctly different from [[glyphs]], which are a combination of pictograms and phonetics, and are what men read.


== Design ==
<gallery heights=350px widths=175px>
Brandon Sanderson's main stipulation for the design of women's script was that it look like sound waves.{{qa ref|987|29|Can you read Alethi script?|date=Nov 6th, 2012}}
Women's script E.svg| e
Women's script A.svg| a
Women's script O.svg| o
Women's script U.svg| u
Women's script I.svg| i
Women's script T.svg| t
Women's script D.svg| d
Women's script R.svg| r
Women's script TH.svg| th
Women's script L.svg| l
Women's script S.svg| s
Women's script Z.svg| z
Women's script N.svg| n
Women's script SH.svg| sh
Women's script H-letter.svg| h
Women's script P.svg| p
Women's script B.svg| b
Women's script M.svg| m
Women's script F.svg| f
Women's script V.svg| v
Women's script K.svg| k
Women's script G.svg| g
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>


== Trivia ==
=== Translation ===
* The only samples of Alethi script currently available are three excerpts from [[Navani's notebook]] and on a sketch depicting a lait in [[Shallan's sketchbook]]
It should be noted that all current examples of women's script exist in illustrations in the books, as pages from [[Navani's notebook]] or [[Shallan's sketchbook]]. A few dedicated fans translated them into a close approximation of English. {{http://twg.17thshard.com/forum/index.php?topic=7882.0 ref}}

* It was designed by [[Isaac Stewart]], to look like waveforms.
Since there are only twenty-five letters in women's script, not every letter in English has a counterpart. The letter C is written as either K or S, depending on the sound it makes. X is made with a K and S, W is made with a U and sometimes another vowel, and Q is written with a K and U.
* Neither [[Brandon]] nor Isaac can read Alethi without reference.{{qa ref|987|29|Can you read Alethi script?|date=Nov 6th, 2012}}

== Organization ==
=== Phenomes ===
There are twenty-five letters, organized in five phenomes: E, T, S, P, and K. Each phenome has a distinctive shape, with five letters that follow a specific pattern.

The E phenome is a straight line, the T is triangle pointing left, the S is a triangle pointing right, the P is a diamond, and the K looks like a triangle whose sides are curved inwards.

=== Characters ===
The first letter in a phenome is full height, the second is of medium height, and the third is the smallest. The fourth is full height again, but with two lines of the smallest height, and the fifth is small with one line after it.

The E phenome contains all the vowels: E, A, O, U, and I, the T phenome consists of T, D, R, Th, and L, the S phenome is made up of S, Z, N, SH, and H, the P phenome has P, B, M, F, and V, and the K phenome has K, G, Y, CH, and J.

=== Punctuation ===
Women's script has only one character for punctuation. It is a line of full height, much like the character E, but it has a small, horizontal line at the top and bottom. It is written at the beginning of each sentence to denote maximum character height. It is assumed that the language that the script would be used to write in does not use or need other punctuation.

<gallery>
Below is a picture I'm not sure how to put in.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&ved=0CAcQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.17thshard.com%2Fforum%2Fgallery%2Fimage%2F348-alethi-bookmark-02-02-02%2F&ei=K-x1VcjwBYTvtQXW_4KoBA&bvm=bv.95039771,d.aWw&psig=AFQjCNEDxeiKBhRHWzKJkFAoNfxC1AzWRg&ust=1433876453419413

Women's script ruler.svg| Symbol used to denote maximum character height
</gallery>


== Notes ==
== Notes ==

Revision as of 20:15, 8 June 2015

Women's script
Related to Vorinism
World of Origin Roshar

Women's script, sometimes called Alethi script, is a writing system used in Vorin nations, such as Alethkar, Jah Keved, and Kharbranth, on Roshar. The script is a phonetic alphabet. Each letter is determined by both shape and size. As is indicated by the name, it is a system only used by women, as writing is considered a feminine pursuit. Women's script is distinctly different from glyphs, which are a combination of pictograms and phonetics, and are what men read.

Design

Brandon Sanderson's main stipulation for the design of women's script was that it look like sound waves.[1]

Translation

It should be noted that all current examples of women's script exist in illustrations in the books, as pages from Navani's notebook or Shallan's sketchbook. A few dedicated fans translated them into a close approximation of English. Template:Http://twg.17thshard.com/forum/index.php?topic=7882.0 ref

Since there are only twenty-five letters in women's script, not every letter in English has a counterpart. The letter C is written as either K or S, depending on the sound it makes. X is made with a K and S, W is made with a U and sometimes another vowel, and Q is written with a K and U.

Organization

Phenomes

There are twenty-five letters, organized in five phenomes: E, T, S, P, and K. Each phenome has a distinctive shape, with five letters that follow a specific pattern.

The E phenome is a straight line, the T is triangle pointing left, the S is a triangle pointing right, the P is a diamond, and the K looks like a triangle whose sides are curved inwards.

Characters

The first letter in a phenome is full height, the second is of medium height, and the third is the smallest. The fourth is full height again, but with two lines of the smallest height, and the fifth is small with one line after it.

The E phenome contains all the vowels: E, A, O, U, and I, the T phenome consists of T, D, R, Th, and L, the S phenome is made up of S, Z, N, SH, and H, the P phenome has P, B, M, F, and V, and the K phenome has K, G, Y, CH, and J.

Punctuation

Women's script has only one character for punctuation. It is a line of full height, much like the character E, but it has a small, horizontal line at the top and bottom. It is written at the beginning of each sentence to denote maximum character height. It is assumed that the language that the script would be used to write in does not use or need other punctuation.

Notes

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