Part One
The Delasoni Writing System
1.1 Delasoni Scripts
Delason is written using two scripts: the Delasoni alphabet
and Delasoni ideograms. The former is a phonemic system in which a direct
correspondence exists between writing and speech. The latter is a set of
ideographic symbols that accessorize the written alphabet.
1.2 The Delasoni Alphabet
The Delasoni alphabet alefbeta delasoni
alefbeta delasoni has 20 consonants and five vowels. The following
table provides two styles of writing: the traditional engraved style PONTA
MARCINI ponta marcini and the modern style ponta
navoni ponta navoni.
A. Consonants
Delason |
Transliteration |
Pronunciation |
P |
p |
p |
pen |
B |
b |
b |
big |
T |
t |
t |
ten |
D |
d |
d |
door |
C |
c |
c |
show |
J |
j |
j |
measure |
F |
f |
f |
foot |
V |
v |
v |
very |
K |
k |
k |
kiss |
G |
g |
g |
gas |
S |
s |
s |
so |
Z |
z |
z |
zoo |
H |
h |
h |
hello |
X |
x |
x |
Scottish loch |
M |
m |
m |
more |
N |
n |
n |
no |
L |
l |
l |
low |
R |
r |
r |
root |
W |
w |
w |
will |
Y |
y |
y |
yes |
B. Vowels
Delason |
Transliteration |
Pronunciation |
A |
a |
a |
father |
idea |
I |
i |
i |
feet |
fit |
E |
e |
e |
fate |
bet |
U |
u |
u |
root |
put |
O |
o |
o |
road |
look |
C. Alphabetical order
The order used to present the consonants and vowels is
intended to show the similarity between different letters. The actual order
of letters is as follows:
a b c d e f g h i j k l m
n o p r s t u v w x y z
D. Pronunciation notes
-
It is important to remember the following when using transliteration
as a guide for pronunciation:
a. The symbol c stands for sh as in shop
not s as in mercy or k as in cat.
b. The symbol x stands for ch as in the
Scottish pronunciation of loch not ch as in check
or ks as in exercise.
-
Word stress in Delason falls on the last syllable of the
word if it ends with a consonant. Otherwise, the stress falls on the next
to last syllable. If the word ends with two vowels, neither receives the
stress. Hyphenated postpositions are always unstressed and are not considered
part of the word when determining stress.
cta |
cta |
city |
only syllable |
cta-bi |
cta-bi |
in the city |
with postpositions |
|
|
|
|
ceca |
ceca |
house |
next to last syllable |
latfi |
latfi |
beautiful |
next to last syllable |
ceca-li |
ceca-li |
to the house |
with postpositions |
|
|
|
|
soton |
soton |
singer |
last syllable |
sotin |
sotin |
song |
last syllable |
soton-vi |
soton-vi |
with the singer |
with postpositions |
|
|
|
|
havua |
havua |
spirit |
ending with 2 vowels |
fransia |
fransia |
a French person |
ending with 2 vowels |
havua-bi |
havua-bi |
in the spirit |
with postpositions |
-
As for intonation, a falling pitch denotes the completeness
of the thought being uttered. Wh-questions have a falling pitch, too. A
rising pitch, on the other hand, denotes incompleteness. A rising pitch
is also used with exclamations and yes/no questions.
aruma di te kuti en.
aruma di te kuti en (falling, complete utterance).
This is a good person.
ize ta na oben, ta sa alen na-vi.
ize ta na oben (rising, incomplete), ta sa alen na-vi
(falling, complete).
If you love me, you will go with me.
et ceca-si ta aven?
et ceca-si ta aven (falling, wh-question)?
Which house is yours?
hu miru en!
hu miru en (rising, exclamation)!
She is Miru!
es ta kucu en?
es ta kucu en (rising, yes/no question)?
Are you Kushu?
E. Numbers
Numbers in Delason are represented using a decimal system
similar to Arabic numerals.
æ |
0 |
0 |
|
ë |
5 |
5 |
ç |
1 |
1 |
|
í |
6 |
6 |
è |
2 |
2 |
|
í |
7 |
7 |
é |
3 |
3 |
|
î |
8 |
8 |
ê |
4 |
4 |
|
ï |
9 |
9 |
Examples
365 |
365 |
40,000 |
40,000 |
98.7 |
98.7 |
1/2 = .5 |
1/2 = .5 |
F. Punctuation Marks
? |
Question mark ( ? ) |
! |
Exclamation mark ( ! ) |
, |
Comma ( , ) |
. |
Period ( . ) |
- |
Hyphen ( - ) |
1.3 Delasoni Ideograms
Delasoni ideograms are a small set of symbols that are
used in addition to the alphabet. These symbols are used mainly for ornamental
reasons. For example, the symbol for knowledge is displayed at the top
of diplomas, and the symbol for health is displayed on get-well cards.
One practical usage of these symbols is to mark public facilities on maps.
For example, the ideogram for money marks banks and that for knowledge
marks schools. Part Four of this book includes several greeting card captions
utilizing Delasoni ideograms.
Each ideogram is a unit that stands for a specific concept
or object. Some ideograms are constructed from the combination of two or
more ideograms. For example, the ideogram for Happiness and that for Body
are combined to create the ideogram for Health.
Ê |
+ |
 |
= |
Î |
Happiness |
|
Body |
|
Health |
The following is a list of some of the most common
ideographs in Delason.
 |
Body, Physiology |
"Face and Arm" |
Æ |
Heart, Emotion |
"Big Heart" |
Å |
Mind, Intellect |
"The Eye" |
Í |
Soul, Spirituality, Light |
"Holy Fire" |
É |
Money, Possessions |
"Money Jar" |
À |
Beginning, Birth |
"Point One" |
Ä |
End, Death |
"Point Two" |
Ê |
Happiness, Satisfaction |
"Three Lucky Feathers" |
Ø |
Universal Unity |
"Circle of Life" |
Õ |
Ambition |
"Fly High" |
à |
Stability, Peace |
"Tight Loop" |
È |
Positive Change, Success |
"Broken Loop" |
Ç |
Male, Masculinity |
"Man" |
Á |
Female, Femininity |
"Woman" |
Î |
Health, Happy Body |
Ê + Â |
Ó |
Love, Happy Heart |
Ê + Æ |
Ï |
Prosperity, Happy Money Jar |
Ê + É |
Ò |
Wisdom, Happy Mind |
Ê
+ Å |
Ñ |
Knowledge, Light of Mind |
Í
+ Å |
All images and text are ©1998 Nizar Habash. All
Rights Reserved.
Page Master: habash@cs.umd.edu
Last updated 1999.01.29 |