All I really need's a smile, smile, smile!

by Lightening_Zing

Intermission: It was under E! aka Changeling writing system

Currently I'm stuck up in next chapter but for now I want to show some small idea about Changelings. Their alphabet.

For now it looks pretty simple. Different letters, but that's all. Well, it's not quite true. There are Symbols. And they are often used to replace the words written with letters. Why? Symbols are using less space, sometimes faster to write, and some are fast to recognize. Few examples (there are more, much more of them).

You could ask: What Symbols and letters have in common? Letters of said word are written in Symbol. Okay, so again few examples. For start "zebra".

It looks easy, doesn't it? And all letters are in symbol as said. But it is weird why it's written from right to left. Does Changelings read from right to left? No. Symbols can be created from any side to any side. Let's look at sun.

Sooo, symbols can be written from left to right, up to down, right to left, down to up... And they can be rotated by 90 degrees clockwise too. And even worse, some lines, letters can be omitted during creation of symbol. It's making quite a feat deciphering them.

It's all for the moment, maybe I'll extend topic later, if you all will be interested. I'm not sure it'll be used in story later, just part of world building.

Comments

[Lightening_Zing]

945827

It finally will happen, I have some sketches for that scene

946579

Few days more

[Perteks]

Why on hiatus D:?

[Lightening_Zing]

1044934

Because real life got me, took my free time and ideas for writing.

[Lateinshowing]

1049799
Has life calmed down?

[Lightening_Zing]

1232990

Yup. Halfway through next chapter, but I have now a little writeblock and feelings that my writting skills are kind of bad. But I'm trying!

[FinalFan]

This alphabet and writing system is an interesting idea, but as you already acknowledge it would be terribly hard to guess what the word was if you didn't already know, and I imagine there would be some words whose letter combinations would produce the same symbol even when spelled and pronounced differently. But still, fun concept!

[Dream Seeker]

Yesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyes!!! I love languages, especially fictional ones!

[Horizon Shine]

So, do changelings just speak English, or equestrian or something, or do they also have a language of their own. Also, do the letters just represent the letters of the Latin alphabet or do they mean the sounds of the letters. It wouldn't really make sense for changelings who speak, use and write in English to decide to randomly change the letters.

[GIR_336]

Would you mind if I made reference to this language in my own story?

[Doctor_Den]

very sorry the image is no longer available.
I would really like to have a look at the writing of changelings.

[Light Ascend]

10423685
It's still available via the Wayback Machine.
https://web.archive.org/web/20190629135317/https://www.fimfiction.net/story/36982/9/all-i-really-needs-a-smile-smile-smile/intermission-it-was-under-e-aka-changeling-writing-system