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The Awatese script
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~2022 Hashi® Nominee!~ - Thanks to @Loglorn and @vis for helping me make this script!
This public article was written by [Deactivated User], and last updated on 4 Jun 2023, 17:59.

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This article is a work in progress! Check back later in case any changes have occurred.
Menu 1. monni~ - Consonants 2. niIAni~ - Vowels 3. Rok~ - Numerals / numerical values 4. peroxuttoto - Spelling Conventions 5. pehozo - Examples
In modern times, the  Awatese language is written using the Letso-Terminian script - that is, until a 2023 resolution reestablished Awatese as the sole official script. However, before this script was introduced into Awating, the language was written using its own native abugida. Derived from the Mañi abugida, this script is no longer in common everyday use, but it remains prevalent in art, music, national symbolism, and as a marker of cultural heritage. The script was also historically used by Awatese nationalist organizations during colonial rule (1888-1949). Additionally, Awatese students are required to learn the script as part of the national curriculum. There have been increasingly loud calls by Awatese conservatives to switch entirely to the native script as the Awatese language's official orthography, as they view the Letso-Terminian script as a remnant of Awating's colonial past.

The Awatese script is written using 12 consonant letters and 5 standalone vowel letters, as well as 4 vowel diacritics for CV sequences and a reduplication marker. Running text does not utilize spaces, except often in the place of punctuation or for emphasis. It is written from left to right, without the use of punctuation. This script was originally written on palm leaves or occasionally carved into stone, the former of which constitutes the majority of medieval Awatese texts.

[edit] [top]monni~ - Consonants


The Awatese script preserves most of the "defective" qualities of the Mañi abugida. The consonant letters can be categorized into 4 phonetic groups of 3 letters each, roughly approximating phonation types (and meta-wise inspired by Sanskrit and Brahmic sound categorization). Consonants have an inherent vowel /a/; however, there is no virama, rendering the reader responsible for inferring the correct reading.

huni~ (nasals)m /m/ ⟨m⟩n /n/ ⟨n⟩N /ŋ/ ⟨ng⟩
Urni~ (plosives)p /p~b/ ⟨p⟩t /t~d/ ⟨t⟩k /k~g/ ⟨k⟩
popokni~ (fricatives)x /s~ɬ/ ⟨x⟩z /z/ ⟨z⟩h /h/ ⟨h⟩
UOni~ (liquids)l /l/ ⟨l⟩r /ɾ/ ⟨r⟩R /r/ ⟨ř⟩


The glides /j/ and /w/ are written the same way as the vowels I /i/ and U /u/, respectively; both the Awatese and Mañi scripts have no distinct letters for these glides. For example, the sequence /ŋjo/ would be written NiO ⟨ngi-o⟩, and the sequence /ŋwo/ as NuO ⟨ngu-o⟩. However, when the glides appear word-initially or after a vowel, glide-vowel sequences are written using two vowel letters; the sequences /aja/ and /awa/ would be written AIA ⟨a-i-a⟩ and AUA ⟨a-u-a⟩, respectively.

[edit] [top]niIAni~ - Vowels


The vowels are written in two ways depending on environment: using a set of 5 standalone letters, and using diacritics. The standalone letters are used when the vowel is word-initial and also to represent semivowels/glides and their sequences as described above. The diacritics are used in CV sequences. The following examples of the vowel diacritics are written with the consonant /m/ for demonstration purposes.

PhonemeLetterDiacritic
/a/ ⟨a⟩Am
/e/ ⟨e⟩Eme
/i/ ⟨i⟩Imi
/o~ɐ/ ⟨o⟩Omo
/u/ ⟨u⟩Umu


[edit] [top]Rok~ - Numerals / numerical values


The Awatese script has no dedicated or separate digit glyphs, but instead uses consonant letters to represent digits and places. The nasals, plosives and fricatives are used to write the digits 1-3, 4-6, and 7-9, respectively, while the liquids represent powers of 10. For example, the number 2583 would be written OtrzlN (2000-5-100-8-10-3, written with the letters for n-ř-t-r-z-l-ng).

mnNptkxzhlrRO/oE/ EI/ IU/uA
123456789101001,0002,0003,0004,0005,00010,000


[edit] [top]peroxuttoto - Spelling Conventions


Most, if not all, of the following should have been mentioned elsewhere in this article. Due to the nature and organization of the script's letters, several spelling rules are followed to represent sounds that do not have dedicated letters. The first written mention of these rules were written in the 11th-century text peroxutAtoto Perąxut a Dątą ("Way of Writing"), which has since become a modern Awatese idiom for proper spelling or orthography.

The voiced stops /b d g/ are written in the same way as the voiceless stops /p t k/.
The sound /ɬ/ is written in the same way as the sound /s/.
The glides /w/ and /j/ are written and Romanized in the same way as the vowels /u/ and /i/, respectively.
If a glide is directly after a non-glide consonant, the corresponding vowel diacritic is used instead, followed by the standalone vowel letter representing the vowel in the sequence.
If a glide is directly after a vowel or first in a word, the glide and vowel are both written with their correct standalone vowel letters.
Consonants that are not followed by vowels are written without a virama, except in the environments above.

[edit] [top]pehozo - Examples


Atuhotom~IOpixoNAnxNkhiAtukuIOti~zNiOpomuNoAUmuni
atuhątąmtąmyo piłąng a nałanga kahyatukuyątiyątizangyopą mungą a umuni
“they came by my house yesterday, but they wouldn’t tell me why”

NotuzNxotuhonohoxAxnx
ngątuzang xątuhąnąhąx a xanał
“I want him to go to school”

tuIENropotAruAhonxuNAnto
tuyengarąpąt a ru ahąna łung a natą
“a woman is washing cassava in the river"

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