Cronam

The Cronam alphabet was invented by Nathanael Hodge to write Lantyrian, a language used in a story he started but never completed. He has since gone on to develop it and the language for its own sake.

Internal History

This script derives ultimately from an earlier logographic script, symbols from which were borrowed to make an alphabet in a manner resembling the origin of our own alphabet. These symbols developed over time, eventually resulting in the script used by the Cronam empire. In around 250, this was borrowed by the inhabitants of the Island of Lantyr, who adapted it to write Lantyrian. They developed a pen written form, which over the years grew more and more ornate until by the Middle Ages it had taken the form shown here.

Notable features

Consonants have two forms, a capital and lower case form.
The first letter of every word is written in the capital form, and the rest in the lower case form.
All lower case letters except t and r are written as part of a continuous line which links each letter in a word (t and r were borrowed into the script at a late stage, and are therefore written differently. They can be traced, however, back to the same origin, and are descended from the same symbols as d and a).
Vowels have three forms. As well as the capital and lower case forms, they are also written as small symbols placed over the preceding consonant. This is the usual way of writing them. There are three cases when a different form is used:
- When the vowel begins the word, in which case the capital form is used
- When the vowel is the second letter in a word, in which case the lower case form is used, as the small symbols cannot be placed over capital forms.
- When the vowel follows a vowel, in which case the lower case form is used, as only one small symbol may be placed over a letter.

Cronam consonants

Cronam vowels

Cronam punctuation

Sample text in Cronam

Transliteration

eren rw ayr, thych dym ithw. arbyn, nawch, rw tho taych, hwyt ithell llen. rhyr rw marla, nawch, rw dde fynacha y thych, hwawch ithell.

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)

Manuscript in Cronam

This manuscript is the first page of the 'true and established history of Lantyr' or the 'new history' (to distinguish it from the 'old history, which was written earlier) It is written in the early Lantyrian style.

Manuscript in Cronam

If you have any questions about Cronam, you can contact Nathanael Hodge at khalakh_the_3rd@yahoo.co.uk

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