Appendix:Dinlih script

The Dinlih writing system is an abugida comprised of more than 1,000 glyphs. The system is complex, but learnable: a point of pride for a once-great people. It’s used for Chakobsa proper, but could be used for Fremen as well.

This appendix explains characters written in the Dinlih script.

Dinlih script languages

Dinlih glyphs stand for syllabic sequences of a consonant (C) followed by a vowel (V), though in certain circumstances CV sequences can stand for a plain consonant. Though Chakobsa words can begin with a vowel in speech, they are written as if they begin with a consonant (more or less silent at this stage). In between vowels, that consonant is romanized as ', and is pronounced like a catch in the throat (similar to the sound between the two words that comprise “uh-oh”), called a glottal stop.

Vowel Examples

To give you a sense of what the vowels look like, here they are following a glottal stop consonant:

Orthagraphic Form	Romanized Form(s)	Phonetic Form(s)
a	A, a, -	[a]
aa	Aa, aa	[aː]
ai	Ai, ai	[ai]
e	E, e	[e]
au	Au, au	[au]
o	O, o	[o]
i	I, i	[i]
ii	Ii, ii	[iː]
ia	Ya, ya	[ja]
iu	Yu, yu	[ju]
u	u, u	[u]
uu	uu, uu	[uː]
ua	Wa, wa	[wa]
ui	Wi, wi	[wi]
‌	'	[ʔ]

Full list

Here is a full list of all the forms that occur in Dinlih. The first fourteen forms are vowel forms. The very first form can be read as a consonant if it comes before another consonant and is unstressed. The final form is used when a word ends with a consonant. Many of the forms shown are predictable; some are not.

"-#" stands for when a consonant appears at the end of a word. Also note that f and p are the same.

C/V	a	aa	ai	e	au	o	i	ii	ia	ia	u	uu	ua	ui	-#
'	‌a	‌aa	‌ai	‌e	‌au	‌o	‌i	‌ii	‌ia	‌ia	‌u	‌uu	‌ua	‌ui	‌
b	ba	baa	bai	be	bau	bo	bi	bii	bia	bia	bu	buu	bua	bui	b
ch	cha	chaa	chai	che	chau	cho	chi	chii	chia	chia	chu	chuu	chua	chui	ch
d	da	daa	dai	de	dau	do	di	dii	dia	dia	du	duu	dua	dui	d
dh	dha	dhaa	dhai	dhe	dhau	dho	dhi	dhii	dhia	dhia	dhu	dhuu	dhua	dhui	dh
f	fa	faa	fai	fe	fau	fo	fi	fii	fia	fia	fu	fuu	fua	fui	f
g	ga	gaa	gai	ge	gau	go	gi	gii	gia	gia	gu	guu	gua	gui	g
h	ha	haa	hai	he	hau	ho	hi	hii	hia	hia	hu	huu	hua	hui	h
j	ja	jaa	jai	je	jau	jo	ji	jii	jia	jia	ju	juu	jua	jui	j
k	ka	kaa	kai	ke	kau	ko	ki	kii	kia	kia	ku	kuu	kua	kui	k
l	la	laa	lai	le	lau	lo	li	lii	lia	lia	lu	luu	lua	lui	l
m	ma	maa	mai	me	mau	mo	mi	mii	mia	mia	mu	muu	mua	mui	m
n	na	naa	nai	ne	nau	no	ni	nii	nia	nia	nu	nuu	nua	nui	n
q	qa	qaa	qai	qe	qau	qo	qi	qii	qia	qia	qu	quu	qua	qui	q
r	ra	raa	rai	re	rau	ro	ri	rii	ria	ria	ru	ruu	rua	rui	r
s	sa	saa	sai	se	sau	so	si	sii	sia	sia	su	suu	sua	sui	s
sh	sha	shaa	shai	she	shau	sho	shi	shii	shia	shia	shu	shuu	shua	shui	sh
t	ta	taa	tai	te	tau	to	ti	tii	tia	tia	tu	tuu	tua	tui	t
th	tha	thaa	thai	the	thau	tho	thi	thii	thia	thia	thu	thuu	thua	thui	th
v	va	vaa	vai	ve	vau	vo	vi	vii	via	via	vu	vuu	vua	vui	v
y	ya	yaa	yai	ye	yau	yo	yi	yii	yia	yia	yu	yuu	yua	yui	y
z	za	zaa	zai	ze	zau	zo	zi	zii	zia	zia	zu	zuu	zua	zui	z

Conjunct characters

Perhaps the most difficult aspect of the Dinlih system is the many, many conjunct characters that occur. These conjuncts are used when two non-like consonants occur next to one another. Not all consonants combine; only some of them do.

Double Consonants

There is one last wrinkle to the system that involves doubled consonants. Just as Chakobsa distinguishes between long and short vowels, so does Dinlih distinguish between long and short consonants. If b  is ba (with a single ba), then bba  is bba (a doubled 'b' followed by a).

Numerals

Like many languages, Chakobsa uses a base-10 number system. Here's a summary of the numerals in Dinlih:

Orthagraphic Form	English Numeral(s)
0	0
1	1
2	2
3	3
4	4
5	5
6	6
7	7
8	8
9	9
10	10
20	20
100	100
1000	1000
1344563	1,344,563

To indicate a number, there’s a special number symbol used before numerals. The monetary symbol for local currency is derived from this symbol. They both are shown below:

Orthagraphic Form	English Numeral(s)
23  || 23
$23	$23

Punctuation

Orthagraphic Form	English Name(s)	English Mark(s)
.	period	.
?	question mark	?
!	exclamation point	!
,	comma	,
|| long comma || ; or or —
"	quotation mark	"
..	final period	no equivalent

The quotation mark has broader usage than simple quotation. It can be used to set off any text (e.g. for emphasis or as a parenthetical comment).