Demano (Dcadwy)

The Demano script (Dcadwy) was created by Daniel Fregoso Bañuelos for his conlang, the Deboca language (Mwcwy). It is a bicameral 10-letter alphabet with a rudimentary set of punctuation and a base-5 number system. The letterforms were partly inspired by Daniel's earlier conlang Choyuck, since the Deboca people reside within the greater Choyuck subcontinent. The two have coexisted for millennia despite the Choyuck being the dominant culture of the area, and subsequently the Deboca have adopted a number of Choyuck loanwords into their language, but not without extensive sound changes to fit their minimal phonology.

Daniel started the project in 2019, and is worldbuilding to give his conlang more of an identity. He got inspired to make Demano by the sound of Polynesian and Native American languages, and wanted to make a language that has a simple phonology but can make many different words through affixation or even just the simple change of a root stem.

Notable features

Type of writing system: alphabet
Direction of writing: left to right in horizontal lines
Used to write: Deboca language (Mwcwy)

Demano script

Notes

d and r have different pronunciations depending on whether they begin a word.
Vowels have stressed and unstressed variants, although the unstressed variants may differ in pronunciation depending on the dialect (short y = [ɪ~ɨ], a = [ɐ~ə], short w = [ʊ~ø̞]).
Because y and w are matres lectionis like in Hebrew or Arabic, they often are accompanied with diacritics to indicate how they are pronounced.
ÿ and ẅ originated from having two of the same letter next to each other, and because of their versatility, the pronunciation depends on their position in the word, whether they are stressed, and whether a is adjacent.
Stress is on the penultimate syllable if the word ends in y, a or w, but on the final syllable otherwise; irregular stress is indicated with a circumflex in the transliteration, but with a macron in its native counterpart. Diphthongs do not count as two syllables.
These guidelines for predicting stress only work for unchanged root words; certain affixes will stray from these guidelines considerably. Nonetheless, stress is predictable but not regular.

Download a font for Demano

Download an alphabet chart for Demano (Excel)

Sample text

Sample text in Demano

Transliteration

Dwqwr prydym w yacadym rypwna w aqwar cacad myna. Ranaqar rwdcydyw w cyncadyw pa. Manyqyr qadar dyqym ÿdyc apamaq.
(Yacad cacpanwy prydcyda qynqacwy pwrqany 1-dcy)

IPA transcription

ˈduxʊɾ ˈpɾiðɪm‿u jɐˈʃaðɪm rɪˈpunɐ w‿ɐˈxʷaɾ ʃɐˈʃað ˈminɐ | rɐˈnaxɐɾ rʊˈdʒiðɪw‿u ʃɪnˈʃaðɪw pa | mɐˈnixɪɾ xɐˈðaɾ ˈdixɪm jɪˈðiʃ‿ɐˈpamɐx ‖ jɐˈʃað ʃɐʃˈpanʊj pɾɪˈdʒiðɐ xɪnˈxaʃʊj pʊˈʁanɪ ˈxɾudʒɪ

Translation

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
(Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)

If you have any questions about the Demano script or the Deboca language, you can contact Daniel at dfregosoban@outlook.com

Scripts invented by Dan Fregoso Bañuelos

Choyuck, Demano, Grespanic, Hanguñol, Kaalbhuuxa, Shqiprillic, Thaipañol

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