Bam! Alphabet
Feb. 19th, 2012 11:53 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
aldersprig posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
noviceconlangersWell, proto-alphabet
And me playing with the words - this is how the P got changed (and the b)
The words on the left are http://reiassan.wikispaces.com/Language the "beyond use" gendered words.
The ones on the right are a small nuisance animal and a goat.
Edited to add: I don't have numbers yet. My thoughts on numbers were:
They originated in a valley surrounded by 7 mountain peaks. Thus, their original counting was 1-7. But when they discovered base 10 math from another tribe (As they stole most things)... they needed to add 8 and 9 (and 0).
Trick is to make numbers that fit and aren't dupes of letter-shapes.
And me playing with the words - this is how the P got changed (and the b)
The words on the left are http://reiassan.wikispaces.com/Language the "beyond use" gendered words.
The ones on the right are a small nuisance animal and a goat.
Edited to add: I don't have numbers yet. My thoughts on numbers were:
They originated in a valley surrounded by 7 mountain peaks. Thus, their original counting was 1-7. But when they discovered base 10 math from another tribe (As they stole most things)... they needed to add 8 and 9 (and 0).
Trick is to make numbers that fit and aren't dupes of letter-shapes.
no subject
Date: 2012-02-20 04:52 pm (UTC)have-no-justification-for-it-beyond-they-had-7-mountains
so-probably-base-10.
no subject
Date: 2012-02-20 05:21 pm (UTC)You know what I think would be neat is if you did a dual-base system like who was it, the Sumerians, with the 10-6-10-6 thing? So you start with unique characters for 1 through 9, then you move to the 10th place, but then instead of 100th place you have 70th place!
Anyway. Base 10. There are a couple approaches you could take. One, unique symbols for each, or two, a combination of that and counting marks. (Here is a random but related page I just found by accident.)
A couple examples of the latter, which is basically what you look to have been going towards are the Mayans (see above link!) and the Romans. And even the Chinese (also link!) have simple counting for 1 through 3.
But, let's use base 7 for the moment, for fun. I'd modify your idea something like this:
/
//
///
^
/^ or ^/
//^ or ^//
and then a unique character for 7 like X or V
Another interesting thing to look at for marking ideas is the typical tally system. Maybe instead of ^// you could do /X (an upside down V with a third line drawn over the right leg), and add another / to the leg for 6, and then O for 7 or something
no subject
Date: 2012-02-20 05:24 pm (UTC)Was pondering what they'd do when they came up with 0 and was thinking of x for 0...
no subject
Date: 2012-02-20 05:31 pm (UTC):D
no subject
Date: 2012-02-20 05:33 pm (UTC)-- (long line at the top of the text) is e, I think. (eh, not eee)
Short line at the bottom? _
no subject
Date: 2012-02-20 06:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-02-20 06:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-02-20 07:15 pm (UTC)I have notes in my margin, I shall write on something bigger and scan.