Web sample Copyright Janet Cheeseman 2008
1. The Consonants
101. The consonants in Keyscript are all written phonetically (ie, by sound). Consonants are the same as in English, except that:
c is not used for any 's' or 'k' sounds. It is used for 'ch', e.g.
cheap = cp
g is used only for hard 'g', as in 'gate'
h is used for 'th' (as well as for 'h'), e.g. thin = hn; though = h
h is omitted before 'm', 'l' or 'r' in words of one syllable, e.g.
home = m; whole = l; here = r
j is written for soft 'g', e.g. gin = jn
also for 'French j - zh', e.g. menage = mnj
j is used for 'sh', e.g. shock = jk
j is written instead of 's'
when a word begins with 'vowel + s', e.g. escape = jkp
when a word ends with the sound of 's + vowel', e.g.
regency = rjnj; rosy = rj
and when a word consists only of 's + vowel', e.g.
so, sew, saw, sigh = j
most derivatives of the word, (but not the present participle ending in 'ing' - see stage 6) use 's', e.g.
sewed, sighed = sd; sewn = sn
k is written for all sounds of 'k', however they are
spelled in
English, e.g. call = kl; back = bk
q 'kw' is not dealt with at this stage
r is always shown in a word, although it
may hardly be
pronounced by some accents, e.g. mark = mrk
s is used for both the light and heavy sounds of 's', e.g.
receives = rsvs; seize, cease = ss
see z for an exception to this rule.
w (consonant) is written as in English. However, when combined with a vowel like 'o' in the middle of a word, it becomes part of the vowel, and so is not shown in Keyscript, e.g.
well = wl; but down = dn; tower = tr
x is not written for the English sound of 'x'. 'ks' or 'gs' is
used instead,
e.g. exit
= kst; excuse = ksks; exam = gsm.
(If the 's' has a heavy 'z' sound and is followed immediately by a vowel in the accented syllable of the word, 'ex' is written as 'gs'.)
['x' is put to much greater use in Keyscript]
y is used for the sound of 'y' consonant (which occurs
usually at the beginning of
a word), e.g. use, yes = ys; unity = ynt
('y' at the end of a word is a vowel, not a consonant, e.g. happy = hp)
z is used for the heavy sound of 's' at the
beginning of a word,
e.g. zoo = z; xylophone = zlfn
Copyright Janet Cheeseman 2008