Kalis Script Kalis

Kalis was invented by Sascha Mücke and is a logical next step in the evolution of writing: While alphabets abstract from abugidas by splitting the glyphs representing syllables into single sounds (consonants and vowels), Kalis abstracts sounds into their features like place and manner of articulation, having glyphs for voiced, fricative etc. This leads to a featural type of alphabet with a very small number of glyphs whose pronunciation is highly influenced by their context.

The name Kalis is a word that uses all the gylphs of that alphabet exactly once.

Notable features

Kalis script

Kalis has four basic consonant roots, three modifiers and one extra glyph for the vowel a:

Kalis script - basic consonant roots, modifiers and the a glyph

The three modifiers affect the sound of the roots before them. Multiple modifiers can be applied to a root to signalize combined or amplified manners of articulation:

Kalis script - modifiers

(e and o represent open-mid, é and ó close-mid vowels here)

Of course there are many more ways to combine roots and modifiers, e.g. a voiced-modifier after a vowel might lengthen the vowel or a double fricative-modifier might push the place of articulation further back towards the throat. The system is highly adaptable to different phonologies.

Sample text

The following is a transcription of the first article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights using an ad hoc orthographic mode for English.

Printed version

Printed sample text in Kalis

Handwritten version

Handwritten sample text in Kalis

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)

Download a Kalis font

Constructed scripts for: Ainu | Arabic | Chinese languages | Dutch | English | Hawaiian | Hungarian | Japanese | Korean | Lingala | Malay & Indonesian | Persian | Tagalog / Filipino | Russian | Sanskrit | Spanish | Taino | Turkish | Vietnamese | Welsh | Other natural languages | Colour-based scripts | Tactile scripts | Phonetic/universal scripts | Constructed scripts for constructed languages | Adaptations of existing alphabets | Fictional alphabets | Magical alphabets | A-Z index | How to submit a constructed script

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