Nawa

The Nawa alphabet was created by Arturo Jiménez Zavala as an alternative way to write Spanish and Nahuatl. It is a writing system for Nahuatl based on Aztec designs, and a simplified way to write Spanish that eliminates homographs, such as c, q and k for [k], digraphs (ch, ll and rr) and the silent h.

Notable features

Type of writing system: alphasyllabary
Direction of writing: left to right in horizontal lines
Used to write: Spanish and Nahuatl
The letter represent the sounds of Latin American Spanish. The letter z was added for Iberian Spanish.
Stressed syllables are indicated by a dot under the vowels in Spanish. The same dot is used for long vowels in Nahuatl.

Nawa script

Note

The letter y/ll is pronounced [ʤ] in Spanish and [j] in Nahuatl.

Download a font for Nawa
Download an alphabet chart for Nawa (Excel)

Sample text in Spanish

Sample text in the Nawa script in Spanish

Transliteration

Todos los seres humanos nacen libres e iguales en dignidad y derechos y, dotados como están de razón y conciencia, deben comportarse fraternalmente los unos con los otros.

Sample text in Nahuatl

Sample text in the Nawa script in Nahuatl

Transliteration

Nochi tlacameh ihuan cihuameh quipiah manoh cualli tlacaticeh, nochi zan ze totlatechpohuiltiliz ihuan titlatepanitalohqueh, yeca monequi cualli ma timohuicacah, ma timoicnelicah, ma timotlazohtlacah ihuan ma timotlepanitacah.

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)

Information about Nahuatl | Phrases | Numbers | Tower of Babel | Learning material

Constructed scripts by Arturo Jiménez Zavala

Abechedário, Evhmelish, Nawa

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