Cebuano Script

The Cebuano Script (Suwat Sinugbu in Cebuano) was created by John Clement Husain and Mares Barrioquinto as an alternative way to write Cebuano (Bisaya), a Philippine language spoken mainly in the Central Visayas region of the Philippines. It is based on the Visayan script (kudlit-kabadlit / badlit).

Notable features

Type of writing system: abugida - each letter has an inherent vowel, /ʌ/, called kúyug nga tíngug (companion sound). The inherent vowel can be changed using diacritics that appear above or below the base characters. There are a total of 14 bumabágay (consonants; excluding the glottal stop, which is considered as a vowel shortener represented by the pangpakalít) and 3 matíngug (vowels). There are a total of 10 diacritics that appear before, after, above or below of a consonant base glyph.
Writing direction: left to right in horizontal lines.
There are 6 grammatical shorthands called dinàli'dáli' and a multitude of orthographical markers (pàngpa'ilá) and punctuation marks (tulutúlbuk).
There are two styles of writing: Ma'u nga Sinùwatán (Standard Writing), which is written without spaces even in punctuation; and the Kàsadpánun nga Sinùwatán (Western Writing), which is written using English punctuation. Both are written without spaces between words, except in Kàsadpánun nga Sinùwatán, which adds space according to English punctuation rules.

Cebuano Script

Twenty-One Rooms is the name of the arrangement of the characters in the Cebuano Script. It is arranged this way: the right most column is the matíngug (vowels), the first row is the sa tutúnlan (of the throat) consonants, the middle row are the sa ngípun (of the teeth) consonants, and the last row are the sa ngábil (of thelips) consonants. The four (in red) are called the pàng'usáb sa tíngug. The two on top are called the pàng'usáb sa bumágay. The two on the bottom are called the pàng'usab sa matíngug.

Download a font for Cebuano Script
Download an alphabet chart for Cebuano Script (Excel)

Sample text

Sample text in the Cebuano Script

Transliteration

Natawutanan tawu nga magawasnun ug nanagsama sa dungug ug katungod. Gigasaan sila og panabut ug tanlag ug kinahanglan magminag'igsuunay og lihuk sa isigkatagsa.

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 Cebuano | Phrases | Numbers | Tower of Babel

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