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

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:

D. Pronunciation notes

1. 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.

2. 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

3. 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?

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

?	Question mark ( ? )
!	Exclamation mark ( ! )
,	Comma ( , )
.	Period ( . )
-	Hyphen ( - )

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.