Al Eshta   

"Al Eshta" is the alphabetic representation of the Ilya language. Carl Buck invented Al Eshta and Ilya for use in a fictional nation that is under development.

Notable features

• The Eshta alphabet is written from left to right in horizontal lines.
• It is named for the first two characters in the alphabet, esh and ta.
• Each letter has an Ilya name usually corresponding to a word or idea that it represents.
• The Arabic, Hebrew, and Latin writing systems inspired Eshta.
• The Eshta alphabet contains 20 letters.
• In theory the script could be adapted to write English, as well as many other languages.

Eshta alphabet

Notes

• The ua is pronounced [w] and the yad as [j] when they begin a word or precede another vowel.
• The four diacritics in Eshta are called al nuqta and are explained in the above image.
• Eshta contains 20 letters (including ligatures), and 4 diacritics.
• There are there three types of letters in Eshta; standing, sitting and falling, referred to as etra, jala and kadra respectively in the Ilya Tamek language.
• The etra letters include; ta, alha, dal, lam, ba, and alem.
• The jala letters include; esh, nun, ra, samek, ha, mem, yad, and ka.
• The kadra letters include; gemla, ua, jim, qub, shin, and za.
• There are many ways to write Eshta so that it is easily understood, many of the letters may be joined as in a cursive style. The possibilities and exclusions are too numerous to name or chart.

Sample text in Eshta

Transliteration

Kulu arenat udahum alebra ma egal mit igen ma dokenat. Sarum ba diyohum mit raju ma orodum ma sha shomak a arum mit el zenra do ishidu.

Listen to a recording of this text

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)

Link

Scriptorium - a forum about writing systems, orthography and graphemes
http://scriptorium.17.forumer.com/

If you have any questions about Eshta, you can contact Carl at: cfbuckjr[at]gmail[dot]com

Also by Carl Buck

Ajan, Moj, Ngala

Other constructed scripts for constructed languages

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