The Kain

The Kain are a phonetic alphabet/abjad used to represent the constructed language Kyetta. The script and conlang were invented by outofgloom.

Notable features

Direction of writing: left to right in horizontal lines.
The word kain is a plural form of kai, which means "letter, symbol" in the conlang for which this script was created.
The kain are made up of 15 consonant glyphs and 5 vowel glyphs.
The primary form of the kain (which is represented here) is called the Monumental Style. It is angular and would have been used in stone and wood inscriptions. There also exists a cursive style (of which the details have not yet been fully worked out).

Consonants

Kain consonants

Vowels

Kain vowels

Notes

-As can be seen, there is no explicit distinction of voice amongst consonants in the script. This is because the original language from which Kyetta descended (and for which the primitive form of the kain were created) did not distinguish between voiced and voiceless phonemes (at least in most stops and fricatives).

-Regarding the nasal glyphs in the bottom row, the two separate /m/ and /n/ glyphs were originally ligatures. However, their usage was always infrequent, since the basic nasal glyph (third from the left) could be used to represent either phoneme. The labial glyph was nevertheless used in a more frequent degree than the dental, but was many times supplanted by a modified form of the basic nasal (shown beneath the /m/ glyph).

-Vowel glyphs are frequently absorbed into the consonants which precede them. Thus /s/ would take the vowel /a/ as , etc.

Examples

Kain T and F

-Certain aspects of the consonant glyphs are variable depending on the placement of the glyphs in a word. For example, the extending horizontal line in some glyphs could be altered so that it extended below the line of writing. Thus, the glyphs for /l/ and /r/ had alternate forms and , respectively, when they were in a medial position, while the glyph for /h/ could also be written . This was primarily a space-saving convention.

-As of now, there is no system of punctuation. Word boundaries are frequently apparent from the form of the vowel used (ex: whether or not a vowel is absorbed into the preceding consonant could indicate if it is a part of the preceding word).

Tips for using this script to write English

-The palatal series can be used to represent the palatal affricates, if necessary. Otherwise a horizontal line can be used above or below the dental series of glyphs (see sample English text below).

-Aesthetically, writing English in a more phonetic style is more preferable to simply imitating English orthography and spelling conventions, since the script was not necessarily invented with English in mind.

Sample text in English

Sample text in the Kain in English

Transliteration

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)

Sample Kyetta text

Sample text in the Kain in Kyetta

If you have any questions about this alphabet, you can contact outofgloom at: outofgloom@gmail.com

Download a font for The Kain (created by Bryson Schnaitmann)

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