Basics

In the name of both speed and beauty, it's cursive; some elements require the writer to pick up the pen in the middle of that element, or to return after the word is mostly done to put in dots, but never to pick up the pen between two elements.

In this alphabet arbitrary curves may be inserted at the beginning of a word, at the end, or between elements without influencing the meaning of the word. Below are three shapes that do mean something: point, cross and loop



The direction that the point, cross or loop faces is also significant; the above all face up.

The chronological order of the sounds in a word should correspond roughly to a left-to-right progression within the drawing. The exact order of the sounds is indicated by the order in which they are drawn.

Below are the 18 basic elements, each followed by its name and an example of the sound it represents. The I in each diagram marks where the element connects to the previous element (or, if it is the first element of the word, where the word begins) and the X in each diagram marks where the element connects to the next element (or, if it is the last element of the word, where the word ends).






i bic











uh buck











e beck











o broke











a back









ah bach










T ten








S seem









P past










K carry








R red








L leaf









N now









M math









H heat
Note: in English this element typically only occurs immediately before a vowel. Do not use it to modify consonants such as in words like 'path'.








NG king






Note: the 'vowel modifiers' below are not strictly necessary, but they are so common and also indicate a smoothing-out of the dipthongs they replace.





Y yes
Note: this vowel modifier is used only before a vowel. Do not use it for words like 'clay'.






W west
Note: this vowel modifier is used only before a vowel. Do not use it for words like 'how'.







Other sounds are represented by putting making one of the above twice.






I bike









ou boon








E beak









oe book








A bake










au balk








TH teeth








SH shoot









F free









CH cheer




In order to make an unvoiced consonand voiced, add a dot.







D dark







Z zoo








B bean










G good








DH the











ZH vision








V vest










J joker

Mission Statement

The alphabet defined here is meant to provide a unique and aesthetically pleasing visual representation of any English word. In order to eliminate the need for extensive memorization this alphabet is simply a concise translation scheme between pronunciations and drawings. Though I've often called this alphabet a code it has no cryptographic intent.
I designed it with Midwestern United States English in mind because that's what I know.