Difference between revisions of "Women's script"
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− | 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 |
+ | 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. |
+ | |||
+ | == History == |
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+ | 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}} |
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== Structure == |
== Structure == |
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=== Punctuation === |
=== Punctuation === |
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− | 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 |
+ | 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 Characters=== |
=== Women's Script Characters=== |
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+ | {| class="infobox" width=100% |
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− | <gallery mode="nolines" heights=350px widths=175px> |
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+ | |- |
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− | Women's script E.svg| '''E''' |
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+ | ! Set !! Starting Punctuation !! First !! Second !! Third !! Fourth !! Fifth |
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− | Women's script A.svg| '''A''' |
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+ | |- |
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− | Women's script O.svg| '''O''' |
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+ | | 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]] |
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− | Women's script U.svg| '''U''' |
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+ | |- style="text-align:center;" |
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− | Women's script I.svg| '''I''' |
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+ | | Height Marker || '''E''' || '''A''' || '''O''' || '''U or W''' || '''I''' |
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− | Women's script T.svg| '''T''' |
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+ | |- |
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− | Women's script D.svg| '''D''' |
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+ | | 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]] |
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− | Women's script R.svg| '''R''' |
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+ | |- style="text-align:center;" |
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− | Women's script TH.svg| '''TH''' |
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+ | | Height Marker || '''T''' || '''D''' || '''R''' || '''Th''' || '''L''' |
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− | Women's script L.svg| '''L''' |
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+ | |- |
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− | Women's script S.svg| '''S''' |
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+ | | 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]] |
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− | Women's script Z.svg| '''Z''' |
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+ | |- style="text-align:center;" |
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− | Women's script N.svg| '''N''' |
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+ | | Height Marker || '''S''' || '''Z''' || '''N''' || '''Sh''' || '''H''' |
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− | Women's script SH.svg| '''SH''' |
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+ | |- |
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− | Women's script H-letter.svg| '''H''' |
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+ | | 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]] |
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− | Women's script P.svg| '''P''' |
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+ | |- style="text-align:center;" |
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− | Women's script B.svg| '''B''' |
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+ | | Height Marker || '''P''' || '''B''' || '''M''' || '''Ph''' || '''V''' |
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− | Women's script M.svg| '''M''' |
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+ | |- |
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− | Women's script F.svg| '''F''' |
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+ | | 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]] |
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− | Women's script V.svg| '''V''' |
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+ | |- style="text-align:center;" |
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− | Women's script K.svg| '''K''' |
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+ | | Height Marker || '''K''' || '''G''' || '''Y''' || '''Ch''' || '''J''' |
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− | Women's script G.svg| '''G''' |
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+ | |} |
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− | Women's script Y.svg| '''Y''' |
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− | Women's script CH.svg| '''CH''' |
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− | Women's script J.svg| '''J''' |
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− | Women's script ruler.svg| symbol used to denote maximum character height |
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− | </gallery> |
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== Examples of women's script == |
== Examples of women's script == |
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Ship Designs.jpg | [[Navani's notebook]] - airship designs |
Ship Designs.jpg | [[Navani's notebook]] - airship designs |
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Vambrace.jpg | [[Navani's notebook]] - [[Stormclock]] and [[fabrial]] watch vambrace |
Vambrace.jpg | [[Navani's notebook]] - [[Stormclock]] and [[fabrial]] watch vambrace |
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+ | Navani's Notebook - The Fourth Bridge.jpg | [[Navani's notebook]] - The ''[[Fourth Bridge]]'' |
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+ | Navani's Notebook - The Arnist Method.jpg | [[Navani's notebook]] - The Arnist Method for capturing [[spren]] |
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+ | Navani's Notebook - The Crystal Pillar Room.jpg | [[Navani's notebook]] - The [[Sibling]]'s heart |
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+ | Navani's Notebook - Experiments.jpg | ''[[Rhythm of War (in-world)|Rhythm of War]]'' - Experiments on [[Lights]] |
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+ | Navani's Notebook - Dagger.jpg | ''[[Rhythm of War (in-world)|Rhythm of War]]'' - The [[Herald]]-killing dagger |
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+ | Lait.jpeg | [[Shallan's sketchbook]] - [[lait]] |
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OB Endnote.jpg | [[Jasnah]]'s [[ketek]], written for [[Shallan]]'s wedding |
OB Endnote.jpg | [[Jasnah]]'s [[ketek]], written for [[Shallan]]'s wedding |
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</gallery> |
</gallery> |
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== Trivia == |
== Trivia == |
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− | * The only samples of the women's script currently available are |
+ | * 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. |
− | * It was designed by [[Isaac Stewart]], to look like waveforms. |
+ | * It was designed by [[Isaac Stewart]], to look like waveforms.{{wob ref|9902}} |
* 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}} |
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− | * 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. |
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* 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}} |
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Latest revision as of 23:47, 10 April 2024
Women's script | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Related to | Vorinism |
World of Origin | Roshar |
Universe | Cosmere |
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.[1] 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.
History[edit]
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.[2] This script took shape before various sound changes, and thus preserved historical place of articulation.[3]
Structure[edit]
Characters[edit]
The twenty-five known letters in the women's script can be arranged into five sets of five letters each. Each set is defined by the basic shape of the characters within it: the "vowel set" is a vertical line, the "T set" is a curved triangle pointing to the left, the "S set" is a curved triangle pointing to the right, the "P set" is a curved diamond, and the "K set" is a jagged triangle pointing to the left.
Within each set the characters are defined by height and the addition of shorter lines. The first character is the maximum height, the second is two-thirds the height of the first, and the third is one-third the height of the first. The fourth is the same height as the second with the addition of two short lines to the right, and the fifth is the same height as the third with the addition of one short line to the right.
Punctuation[edit]
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,[4] 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 Characters[edit]
Set | Starting Punctuation | First | Second | Third | Fourth | Fifth |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Vowel set | ||||||
Height Marker | E | A | O | U or W | I | |
T set | ||||||
Height Marker | T | D | R | Th | L | |
S set | ||||||
Height Marker | S | Z | N | Sh | H | |
P set | ||||||
Height Marker | P | B | M | Ph | V | |
K set | ||||||
Height Marker | K | G | Y | Ch | J |
Examples of women's script[edit]
Navani's notebook - pain knife
Navani's notebook - mood bracelet
Navani's notebook - elevator
Navani's notebook - airship designs
Navani's notebook - Stormclock and fabrial watch vambrace
Navani's notebook - The Arnist Method for capturing spren
Navani's notebook - The Sibling's heart
Rhythm of War - Experiments on Lights
Rhythm of War - The Herald-killing dagger
Trivia[edit]
- The only samples of the women's script currently available are eight excerpts from Navani's notebook, two excerpts from Rhythm of War, some faded text on a sketch depicting a lait in Shallan's sketchbook, and a ketek by Jasnah.
- It was designed by Isaac Stewart, to look like waveforms.[5]
- Neither Brandon nor Isaac can read the women's script without reference.[5]
- The mapping between the women's script and the Latin script was first discovered by Harakeke on the Timewasters Guide forum.[6]
Notes[edit]
- ↑ The Way of Kings chapter 28#
- ↑ Words of Radiance chapter 77#
- ↑ Miscellaneous 2017
— Arcanum - 2017-10-12# - ↑ Words of Radiance chapter 47#
- ↑ a b Salt Lake City signing 2012
— Arcanum - 2012-11-06# - ↑ Navani's Notebook Translation
— Timewasters Guide forum - Sep 20th, 2010#