·𐑤𐑧𐑒𐑕𐑦𐑤𐑴𐑜𐑴𐑕-𐑕𐑑𐑲𐑤 ·𐑖𐑱𐑝𐑾𐑯 𐑒𐑰𐑚𐑹𐑛

The keyboard

Type this or click each button to input the corresponding letter!

Note: + breaks up all digraphs, not just the ones with buttons here!

The system

This mnemonic system is called ShARPAbet, my modified version of DECTalk’s variant of 2-letter ARPAbet (henceforce referred to as just “ARPAbet”), with some differences.

• Two Shavian-specific symbols have been remapped to the unused single letters (for ease of use): namer dot to q, and acroring to c.

• Since this typing tool is interactive, there is less of a need for codes to be self-synchronizing like ARPAbet. Therefore, digraphs are broken up by the + symbol.

• Because of this simplification, the “short” vowels are written with a single keystroke: 𐑨 ae, 𐑧 eh, 𐑦 ih/ix, 𐑪 aa, 𐑳 ah, 𐑩 ax are remapped to just 𐑨 a, 𐑧 e, 𐑦 i, 𐑪 o, 𐑳 u, 𐑩 x.

• ARPAbet does not distinguish between 𐑭 aa, 𐑪 aa, and 𐑷 ao. They have been remapped to 𐑭 aa as in “baa”, 𐑪 o as in “hot”, and 𐑷 au as in “taught”.

• Just as in ARPAbet, vowels ending in y and w are diphthongs, and those ending in r are rhotic. With the exceptions of 𐑻 and 𐑼 mentioned below, these mappings have not changed from their r/JuropijanSpeling-like sound-based mapping: ay as in “aye” and not as in “way”, and ey as in “whey” and not as in “key”.

• Because 𐑩 ax is very common, it has been remapped to just x. For consistency, 𐑼 has been remappend from rr to xr.

• ARPAbet does not distinguish between 𐑼 rr and 𐑻 rr, but has a single code for 𐑫𐑼 ur, which is spelled as 2 letters in Shavian. As such, ur has been reassigned to 𐑻 as in “urban”.

• The compound letter 𐑾 has no ARPAbet code, so ia has been assigned for it.

• ARPAbet has many consonants ending with a delimiting x: 𐑘 yx, 𐑣 hx, 𐑮 rx, 𐑤 lx, and 𐑙 nx. 𐑙 has been remapped to the more intuitive ng, and the x has been removed from the rest of them.

• You may expect 𐑫 u as in “push” and 𐑳 uh as in “huh?”, but they are assigned the other way around. The weird inversion is a result of ARPAbet’s weird assignments: 𐑫 uh and 𐑳 ah, and my decision to assign a shorter code u to 𐑳, it being by far the more common sound of the two.