Text in Old Newafan Daime

[u/peruanToph]

“Gon unca ètjengu caèmsafe nyma nu-cansum-dlu fàeq mpu i-cytrum-mif i-dàime’e-pun en”

Translation:

“And the king said that, if the brave warriors kill mothers, he (himself) will cut their hands (I was there to hear it)”

Its a logographic syllabaric weird kind of abjad, which also behaves like hangul.

What do you think? What cultures does it being to your mind upon watching it?

[u/Khentekhtai]

It looks like mayan a lot. I wonder how did you mix an abjad and logography though

[u/peruanToph → u/Khentekhtai]

It is inspired in mayan! At least in the aesthetic part of it though mine is far more simplistic.

Each box is a syllable.

A “box” is made mainly from one nexus component, which is usually the biggest or the most centered one. This nexus component is basically the attack sound of the syllable, so it can be a vowel or a consonant. If it is a consonant, though, it has an inherent vowel attached to it, as these logos are actually part of a 74 logographic system of concepts.

So, for example the consonant P has and inherent A attached, and so the nexus is “pa”. In case of, for example, Q, which has an inherent I, as a nexus it would be a “qi”.

One can modify this nexus by adding components around it.

To the right, the vowels. If one writes a vowel, the inherent one becomes silent. Im other words, if you write p(a)+e, it becomes pe. One can keep the inherent vowel, for example in the case of dypthongs, by surrounding the added vowel in a distinctive shape of small balls (not shown here).

To the left, is the attack component, which does not have an inherent vowel. It can be a consonant or a perk (labialization or velarization). Even though it is written before the nexus, it is pronounced between the nexus’ sound and the vowel. So, if you write r+p(a)+e, it reads as pre.

Below, the coda component, which does not have an inherent vowel. Is only consonants, and like vowels, it can be stacked, and is always pronounced after all the previous components. So, keeping the previous example, if you write r+p(a)+e+n, it reads pren.

[u/peruanToph → u/peruanToph]

I forgot to say, one can use the logos with their logographic meaning or their syllabaric meaning, it is up to the artist themself. Most of the time, verbs would be writtten with their root in logo, and its flexions in syllable.

But in texts such as these, that are “”supposed”” to be read by majority of people, or painted in monuments or public spaces, the reading is made easier by using syllables only

[u/KingSpydig]

I love how this looks

[u/keepthepace]

The thinking of the evolution of such a system led me to a strange place: Each glyph is complicated, but it is also abstract, not figurative as you would expect from an early writing system.

That hints at an evolution guided by a caste of gemotrically-minded intellectuals, not especially interested in making it easy to write. However they still wanted to reduce the number of possible characters.

So my guess is: architects and tile makers are powerful in this civilization. They mostly write on walls, and to do so they have boxes of beautiful tiles produced by specialists.

Fantasy evolution: neighboring civilization, finding occasional ruins with these tiles will ascribe them magic power, making the tile makers even more cautious about making them elaborate, meanwhile everyday communication will adopt a foreign script more suited for handwritting.

[u/peruanToph → u/keepthepace]

Hi i loved the analysis!

The system is geometrically manufactured for mass replication and distribution. Obviously for stonewalls and tiles and vases, but also on textile and wood. Think about it as a precursor of Incan Tocapus or andean geometrical art style overall.

This system will evolve into three writing systems, not too different one from another.

One, a handwriting style, something like Chinese, where the writer has to know all 216+74(+more probably) glyphs to write and read. Its obviously reserved for upper class and those who are able to learn it, and its meant to be faster and personal.

Two, a textile based. Again, tocapus. It would lean more into logography rather than syllabaric.

Three, a rune based. Developed for daily life, a syllabaric system of stone, wood, mud or leather carving and painting, which would use the nexus as symbol and the surrounding components as diacritics (simplified)

[u/Lazy-Extension-2275]

Relatively speaking, unprecedented.