Erwendine
Erwendine is yet another phonetic script suitable for writing the English language. Simple, attractive, and vertically compact, Erwendine is easy to read and write.
One interesting feature to note is that the graphemes come in related groups. For example, a long vowel starts with a base grapheme, such as "ah" as in "father": A. The short version of that vowel has a slash through it: a ("a" as in "at"). A diphthong with i is represented by a slash with a hook: Y ("ai" as in "aisle"), and a diphthong with u is represented by a slash with a loop: W ("au" as in "sound").
| Vowels | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Long | Short | Diphthong-ɪ | Diphthong-ʊ | |||||||||
| Latin | Erw | IPA | Example | Erw | IPA | Example | Erw | IPA | Example | Erw | IPA | Example |
| a | A | ɑ, ɔ | father, all | a | æ | at, can | Y | aɪ | aisle, eye, try | W | aʊ | out, now |
| e | E | e, eɪ | eight, ale | e | ɛ | end, bet | ||||||
| i | I | i | eat, pizza | i | ɪ | if, sit | ||||||
| o | O | o, oʊ | open, note | o | ə, ʌ | oven, up | P | ɔɪ | oil, joy | |||
| u | U | u | flute, spoon | u | ʊ | put, hook, should | ||||||
Likewise, for consonants that come in voiced and unvoiced pairs, the voiced consonant is represented by a dot.
| Consonants with Voiced/Unvoiced Pairs | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unvoiced | Voiced | ||||||||||
| Latin | Erw | IPA | Example | Latin | Erw | IPA | Example | ||||
| p | p | p | pen | b | b | b | ball | ||||
| t | t | t | to | d | d | d | dog | ||||
| k | k | k | kite | g | g | g | get | ||||
| ch | c | tʃ | chip | j | j | dʒ | just | ||||
| f | f | f | fox | v | v | v | very | ||||
| th | T | θ | think | th | H | ð | this | ||||
| s | s | s | sew | z | z | z | zoo | ||||
| sh | S | ʃ | she | zh | Z | ʒ | azure, vision | ||||
| Other Consonants | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Latin | Erw | IPA | Example | ||||||||
| h | h | h | hill | ||||||||
| m | m | m | man | ||||||||
| n | n | n | no | ||||||||
| ng | N | ŋ | song | ||||||||
| l | l | l | last | ||||||||
| r | r | r | run | ||||||||
| y | y | j | yes | ||||||||
| w | w | w | will | ||||||||
| Vowel Combinations with R | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Erw | IPA | Example | |||||||||
| Ar | ɑr | are, star | |||||||||
| Ir | ɪər | ear, iridescent | |||||||||
| Or | ɔr | or, soar | |||||||||
| Ur | ʊr | poor, tour | |||||||||
| ar | ær | arrow, marriage | |||||||||
| er | ɛr | air, errand, spare | |||||||||
| ir | ɜr | fir, earn, urgent | |||||||||
| Numbers | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 6 | 6 |
| 2 | 2 | 7 | 7 |
| 3 | 3 | 8 | 8 |
| 4 | 4 | 9 | 9 |
| 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
Sample Text
The following example illustrates a passage of text transcribed into Erwendine.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. Do not be wise in your own opinion. Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil. Then you will have healing for your body and strength for your bones. Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the best part of everything you produce. Then he will fill your barns with grain, and your vats will overflow with good wine.Proverbs 3:5-10
trost in Ho lOrd wiH Al yir hArt, and dU nat depend An yir On ondirstandiN. sIk hiz wil in Al yU dU, and hI wil SO yU wic paT tU tEk. dU nat bI wYz in yir On opinyon. insted, fIr Ho lOrd and tirn owE from Ivol. Hen yU wil hav hIliN fOr yir bAdI and streNT fOr yir bOnz. Anir Ho lOrd wiH yir welT and wiH Ho best pArt ov evrITiN yU prOdUs. Hen hI wil fil yir bArnz wiH grEn, and yir vats wil OvirflO wiH gud wYn.prAvirbz 3:5-10
Font
You may download a copy of the font used on this page here.
Hamlet, Act I, Scene 2