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Calligraphic Systems
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Shmigan uses three distinct calligraphic systems.
This public article was written by [Deactivated User], and last updated on 19 Sep 2016, 18:29.

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Dialects

KUS, having three very distinct dialects and spoken in three very distinct societies, has three very distinct orthographic systems.

The system shown here is the most popular, used by Shmigan (locally snikan) people.

All three systems are semi-featural and use a consistent system for mapping the 5 dimensions of a syllable to a unique glyph.

Consonental Dimensions

Vertical

The vertical dimension determines what kind of syllable cluster is represented.

In general up is simple, down is simple prefixed with an s, and neutral will be the more complex sounds postfixed with an approximant.

An up vertical syllable is a simple syllable. These are: t, k, p, θ, ʃ, x, ɹ, l, and n.

A down vertical syllable is an s cluster syllable. These are: st, sk, sp, sθ, sʃ, sx, sɹ, sl, and sn.

A neutral vertical syllable is a compound syllable. These are: stɹ, skɹ, spɹ, θɹ, ʃɹ, xɹ, θl, ʃl, and xl.

Horizontal

The horizontal dimension determines what core to use with the syllable.

In general the right cores are based on t, θ, and ɹ, the left cores are based on k, ʃ, and l, and the neutral cores are based on p, x, and n.

A right horizontal syllable is a 't' syllable. These are: t, st, stɹ, θ, sθ, θɹ, ɹ, sɹ, and θl.

A left horizontal syllable is a 'k' syllable. These are: k, sk, skɹ, ʃ, sʃ, ʃɹ, l, sl, and ʃl.

A neutral horizontal syllable is a 'p' syllable. These are: p, sp, spɹ, x, sx, xɹ, n, sn, and xl.

Tail

The tail dimension determines what type of core to use with the syllable.

In general the empty tails are based on stops, the doubled tails are based on fricatives, and the slashed tails are based on approximants (and n as a nasal).

An empty tail is a stop syllable. These are: t, st, stɹ, k, sk, skɹ, p, sp, and spɹ.

A doubled (or dashed) tail is a fricative syllable. These are: θ, sθ, θɹ, ʃ, sʃ, ʃɹ, x, sx, and xɹ.

A slashed tail is an approximant/nasal syllable. These are: ɹ, sɹ, θl, l, sl, ʃl, n, sn, and xl.

Vowelar Dimensions

Vertical

The vertical dimension determines how closed the vowel is.

One dash is a closed vowel. That means the one-dash vowels are: i and u

Two dashes is a half-open (mid) vowel. That means the two-dash vowels are: e and o

No dash means a fully open vowel. The only fully open vowel is a, but no dash could also mean no vowel at all.

Horizontal

The presence of a horizontal dash indicates a back vowel. As such the presence of a dash turns i into u, e into o, and produces an a when on its own.

Shmigan Calligraphy

With the above terminology in place, we can begin to describe the orthographic systems. The most popular system (and the one presented here) is the shmigan system.

The top of the glyph (called the head) encodes the vertical dimension.
It loops up (like an n) for the up orientation, it loops down (like a u) for the down orientation, and it makes a complete loop (like an o) for the neutral orientation.

The tails come off of the left or right side of the head (or both) to encode the horizontal dimension.
Only the right hand has a tail for the right orientation, only the left for the left, and both have tails for the neutral orientation.

The tails may have a slash parallel or perpendicular to them to encode the tail dimension.
A parallel slash next to the tail encodes the doubled or dashed orientation, a perpendicular slash across the tail encodes the slashed orientation, and a lack of a slash at all indicates the neutral.

Within the head the vowel is encoded as described in the above section.

Kashmigan Calligraphy

The kashmigan system uses a series of arrows to encode the language.

The direction of the arrow encodes the vertical and horizontal dimensions. If both are neutral a circle (or square - keep reading) is used instead.

The head of the arrow encodes the tail dimension. A doubled tail results in a doubled arrowhead. A slashed tail results in a 'closed' arrowhead (forming a pair of triangles instead of just the arrow).

The tail of the arrow encodes the vowel dimensions. The vertical vowel dimension is encoded with perpendicular slashes across the arrow. The horizontal dimension is encoded by doubling the main shaft of the arrow.

The neutral/neutral case is the exception. It encodes a doubled tail by doubling itself (ends up looking like a target) and the slashed tail by becoming a square.
The vowels are encoded similarly to in shmigan, except the dashes extend all the way to the boundaries of the letter.

Ugashmigan Calligraphy

Ugashmigan calligraphy is much more fluid, resembling a cursive font.

Each glyph consists of a lead, a core, and (possibly) a dip, with possible slashing of the lead.

The lead encodes the horizontal dimension.
In terms of standard English cursive, the left orientation is encoded with a lower case l (a tall vertical loop), the right orientation is encoded with an unslashed x (a small hump), and the neutral
orientation is encoded with a lower case h (a tall vertical loop followed by a small hump).

The core encodes the vertical dimension.
In terms of standard English cursive, the up orientation is encoded with a lower case e (a short vertical loop), the down orientation is encoded with a lower case u (a pair of small vertical loops),
and the neutral orientation is encoded with a lower case a (a loop doubled back on itself).

A slashed tail is indicated by crossing the lead. Either by turning the 'l' into a 't' or the hump into an 'x' or both slashes at once on the 'h'. A doubled tail is indicated by a dot on top of the
core.

The vowel (if it exists) is encoded as a dip after the letter with double vertical slashes indicated by a 'u', single vertical slashes indicated by a single loop, and the horizontal slash indicated by
a switch of sides.

Example

I will upload a sample text for each calligraphic system soon.
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