Powhatan/Syllabic
Punctuation The only punctuation in most is cases is spacing between words and ᕁ for a full stop. Punctuation from the Latin alphabet, other than the period (.), may also be used.
Consonants
Syllables (full-sized)
The full-sized characters, whether standing for consonant-vowel combinations or vowels alone, are usually called "syllables". They may be phonemic rather than morphophonemic syllables. That is, when one morpheme (word element) ends in a consonant and the next begins with a vowel, the intermediate consonant is written as a syllable with the following vowel. In other cases, a "syllable" may in fact represent only a consonant, again due to the underlying structure of the language. Syllabication is important to determining stress in Algonquian languages, and vice-versa, so this ambiguity in syllabics is relatively important in Algonquian languages.
Series
The word "series" is used for either a set of syllables with the same vowel, or a set with the same initial consonant. Thus the n-series is the set of syllables that begin with n, and the o-series is the set of syllables that have o as their vowel regardless of their initial consonant.
Finals (reduced letters)
A series of small raised letters are called "finals". They are placed after a syllable to indicate a final consonant, as the ᕽ -hk in ᔨᕽ yihk above. The ᕽ would be the consonant usually in “A” form.
Vowels
Vowels are divided into two groups, symmetrical & asymmetrical. Symmetrical vowels (e.g. p-, t-, sp-) are rotated 90 degrees (a quarter turn) counter- clockwise, while those which are asymmetrical top-to-bottom, c-, k-, m-, n-, s-, y-, are rotated 180 degrees (a half turn). They rotate like this to represent the four sacred winds (directions). So once you learn 25% of the "alphabet" you basically will know the whole thing which increases literacy.
Diacritics & Diphthongs Diphthongs are represented by diacritics on the vowel. Much like the reduced consonants.
Symmetrical (x7)
| Script | Roman | Script | Roman |
|---|---|---|---|
| ᐃ | I | ᙁ | ZI |
| ᐊ ᐅ | A O | ᙅ ᙂ | ZA ZO |
| ᐁ | E | ᙀ | ZE |
| ᑎ | TI | ᙜ | TSI |
| ᑕ ᑐ | TA TO | ᙬ ᙝ | TSA TSO |
| ᑌ | TE | ᙛ | TSE |
| ᐱ | PI | ᕬ | BI |
| ᐸ ᐳ | PA PO | ᕮ ᕭ | BA BO |
| ᐯ | PE | ᕫ | BE |
| ᗑ | SPI | ||
| ᗕ ᗒ | SPA SPO | ||
| ᗐ | SPE |
Exceptions (x6)
| Script | Roman | Script | Roman |
|---|---|---|---|
| ᔑ | SHI | ᘛ | ZHI |
| ᔕ ᔓ | SHA SHO | ᘔ ᘕ | ZHA ZHO |
| ᔐ | SHE | ᘚ | ZHE |
| ᘏ | RI | ᘩ | DI |
| ᘓ ᘐ | RA RO | ᘭ ᘪ | DA DO |
| ᘎ | RE | ᘨ | DE |
| ᕕ | FI | ᘡ | NGI |
| ᕙ ᕗ | FA FO | ᘜ ᘝ | NGA NGO |
| ᕓ | FE | ᘞ | NGE |
Asymmetrical (x7)
| Script | Roman | Script | Roman |
|---|---|---|---|
| ᑭ ᑫ | KI KE | ᖾ ᖽ | GI GE |
| ᑲ ᑯ | KA KO | ᖼ ᖿ | GA GO |
| ᓂ ᓀ | NI NE | ᒥ ᒣ | MI ME |
| ᓇ ᓄ | NA NO | ᒪ ᒧ | MA MO |
| ᓯ ᓭ | SI SE | ᔨ ᔦ | YI YE |
| ᓴ ᓱ | SA SO | ᔭ ᔪ | YA YO |
| ᖘ ᖗ | SKI SKE | ᖺ ᖹ | SHKI SHKE |
| ᖚ ᖙ | SKA SKO | ᖸ ᖻ | SHKA SHKO |
| ᕋ ᕈ | LI LE | ᕠ ᕡ | THI THE |
| ᕍ ᕊ | LA LO | ᕞ ᕟ | THA THO |
| ᕵ ᕴ | HI HE | ᒋ ᒉ | CHI CHE |
| ᕹ ᕷ | HA HO | ᒐ ᒍ | CHA CHO |
| ᖋ ᖊ | VI VE | ||
| ᖍ ᖌ | VA VO |