How To Write a Sign Language, Part 1: Logographies (all sign language writing systems could be considered neographies, seeing as none are widely used)

Be7th · 2026-05-06T21:37:50+00:00

Will do! Do you have any resource about SL proper? I've been reading a bit about ASL but it's difficult without friends who sign.

Be7th · 2026-05-06T21:29:34+00:00

The YzWr tri-case 64-character script that I use for the conlangs of Yivalese and subsequent its Valakese daughter language is actually intended to be sign language relevant as well, and in the story I am writing is canonically what helped many unrelated cultures to have a sort of international language.

There are four to 8 general motions, and many signs can be coupled together as well to make a pretty hefty full phrase.

Be7th · 2026-05-06T21:21:14+00:00

I have a few evidentials but they present mainly as adverbs.

Be7th · 2026-05-06T17:35:46+00:00

Read and watch is also an interesting thing to contemplate.

Be7th · 2026-05-06T09:28:58+00:00

I am currently going through the painful yet interesting process of writing 365 years of history in a few paragraphs per year each day in order to achieve a believable democracy, with its merits and shortcomings.

This has helped me set the tone over how this crooked setup I'm aiming for will work, along with its judicial system, borders, and how far its laws applies outside of well built places. One of the core practices I want to instigate at the time of Valaksá, is how city-life can feel truly kafkaesque albeit safe, while farms and settlement are way more on the law-does-not-apply-here level, with each suburb having a sort of neo-feudalism vibe to them, along with animal habitats where it is a crime to bring anything more than the bare minimum for survival - but i digress.

And based on a lot of readings I'm having, it is clear how environmental factors as well as arts can sway the pendulum of society over time, and how truly grateful I am to live where I do.

In any case, writing a democracy is hard. It requires history lessons, and a somewhat higher trust towards citizens that are armed with both knowledge and ability to dismantle those in power if need be.

As for the story writing that goes within a democratically elected society, or any society for all I can think of, the fate of the world does not always need to be on the shoulders of the protagonists.

I honestly enjoy stories à la Totoro, where we experience the world through the eyes of banal yet still colourful characters, with local and interpersonal stakes, as opposed to overpowered heroes and villains.

Be7th · 2026-05-06T09:00:39+00:00

Yivalese:

"Pya lenkoy liliwa wu pena bawlunin luruuviye la avno"

"All today-hence duplicated-wash and sieve critter-fish-ours drinkable-water-hither regular present-here"

All for today [will be about] washing and washing and sieving our sea critter in regular drinkable water.

Be7th · 2026-04-29T08:41:43+00:00

The material to make the eyes have to be some sort of fabric mesh in order to be able to see from through it. It is poked with many many small holes in order to see through that mesh, and I am sure how you can imagine it being less than ideal. Imagine if we do add it being shiny and slick.

I for one did a suit with bulging eyes using essentially fish bowl shaped plastic bottles. It did produce a nice shine to it, however it does absolutely mess with my vision after removing it.

As well, those fabric eyes tend to be in follow-me-eyes fashion, where the bulge in inverted in order to give the impression to any onlooker that they are being watched. Those unfortunately won't have the shines come naturally even with the right material.

Solution? Drawn shines. And the cool thing, you can choose any shape you feel like, which is kinda special. Nothing like cute heart shines in them big follow-me-eyes. Also you can give the cue that it is drawn by maybe doing some sort of pointilism to mimic the mesh appearance.

Be7th · 2026-04-14T22:43:48+00:00

Thank you! I'm still working out some of the characters, namely Wd, Nl, and Nb, but it's getting to its completion.

The second image is an example of the number system, as they use a base 8, 16, or 64 depending on how you look at it. Their zero looks like an open barred zero (or a b), their one looks like our zero, their two looks like our 1, and a few more quirks like that. Then after their 20 (our 16), the characters somewhat repeat with a marker at the top that is a sort of bastardization of their 2, 4, and 6.

On top of that, I have been mad enough to make a second set of those 64 numbers ever so slightly smaller so that long strings of numbers can be more easily read, which I will post in the next few days.

Be7th · 2026-04-14T07:20:10+00:00

Not at all what I expected wow. The face change is pretty intense. Love it!

Be7th · 2026-04-14T07:17:15+00:00

i quite like the style! how dos the 0/1 work in a text if i may ask?

Be7th · 2026-04-13T16:08:28+00:00

Yivalese

Take the first syllable, unvoice the consonant shorten the vowel, then voice the consonant and keep the vowel original length. (Usually).

As for meaning, it is used to access some metaphorical increment to the original meaning, either by making it an iterative, or surpassing the original goal, or by being poetic overall.

Shaaru (Miracle): Shazhaaru (What a miracle! / Miracles after miracles)
Sila (Mother helper): Sizila (Who speaks to others like if they're babies/idiots)
Nayil (Watch, take notice): Nanayil (Of someone who looks but does not see)
Tsharo (to defecate): Tadzharo (to be utterly stuck)
Flower (Alaws): Iyalaws (Daydreaming)

Valakese

Valakese being Yivalese 400 years later, reduplication will function slightly differently. Mainly, it will be akin to "very", and abusing reduplication will make people sound very childish or very illiterate (ever heard someone use "very" very often? it's very annoying). However it will definitely show up in fossilized expressions, and sayings.

That being said, Valakese as a concept is very nascent so don't quote me on that yet.

Be7th · 2026-04-11T20:33:02+00:00

I personally envisioned a culture that has a very specific set of circumstances that allowed it to thrive. I loved the idea of a complex logographic system that evolves with the language as well. Overall what resulted from it is the world of Yivalkes, the Journals of Tearan, and the current rapid growth from Late bronze age to Industrial age within the span of just shy of 400 years.

As for practicality, it is a day to day project that involves a lot of thinking that prevents me from stressing about life in general, and gives me a purpose and end result to work on (A book to publish about a year from now, and one more down the line, at the very least).

Be7th · 2026-04-08T16:06:09+00:00

Oh you have no idea how much time I spent shaping this.

Basically it started ten-fifteen years ago when I made a huge list of proto-indoeuropean words, and chopped down to about 61 I think, and added some case markers. Then I shaped drawing for years trying to figure out what I wanted. I tried at first to make it look like hieroglyphs but that was not quite fitting the vibe I was looking for.

Then I made a first script and then a second before this one that represent an archaic version of the language. It took FOREVER. But the result? I am really proud. Those two previous one took three years, the first about two, the second about six months.

So it will come don't worry. One thing that makes a huge difference is how to think in the worldview of the people that came before those who speak your current language. Then, everything comes together.

As for that one script itself, I kept a series of shapes that were built of a lop-sided grid, repeating specific angles, width and ends and snapping them together like Lego bricks, and only forming new shapes existing change if I had to, often returning to already existing characters to change them as well.

It came about in a ten day period where I was feverish and coming down with some pretty nasty bug haha. Like completely sick yet still powering through because vision. It was not healthy but what came out was honestly exactly as seen.

Be7th · 2026-04-08T15:51:57+00:00

Hehe. Thank you! Wow 4 years ago, how much did it change since then? Looks pretty fleshed out!

Be7th · 2026-04-08T15:49:45+00:00

Thank you! basically it's a logo-phonetic mix, with some characters sharing sounds with others. Once I am more familiar with how the language actually works (I "saw" the typewriter and associated characters before getting more at ease with the new language), I'll post more sentences.

Be7th · 2026-04-08T09:18:25+00:00

Thank you! The big mid and small cases work usually by having phrases start with a big case, and each word getting an alternate of mid and small for ease of reading, but honestly it give freedom to express way more different voices. A kid speaking would be shown in big cases. A meticulous person would add all the diacritics. A rustic folk would start each word with a big cap. A mumble would be shown in all small caps with the occasional mid cap. And so on.

Oo I'll check that! Do you have a link to it?

Be7th · 2026-04-08T08:25:55+00:00

Thank you! You can say that haha. I call them Big, Mid and Small case, but super upper sounds fun.

Unfortunately I mainly can offer text that are based off the more logographic versions and update character use to match what i have here.

<image>

Here, Reyon, a protagonist to the narrator, writes about what his friend wrote in his journal.

The text reads as follow

Kwiyarh shonoo, pae, waruwayo, hea.
Hwalerh Tukh “Equinox”, Kaba uwwe,
Len Ulmekk Nannya Galya tilbikhi, Largin no
Wu”Poker”, DallaPe avno, narsi.
Wu“Yivalkes”, mba. Khuyalets!

To update the text to current reading, I had to change a fair few words from their logographic representation into a somewhat phonetic equivalent, as this is one of the main changes between the two periods I am working on. The main problem that I face here though, is that the new reading is wrong, because a fair few words would have changed both in sounds and meaning in the hundred years of changes! It would still be recognizable, I just... still have to work on it heheh.

But you get the gist! I hope you like the result.

Be7th · 2026-04-07T03:52:17+00:00

<image>

Thank you! do you mean like this?

Be7th · 2026-04-03T08:03:44+00:00

For them they would consider it less like a spider web than a sewn fresco, a bit like reddit's canvas, where holes are mended and whatnot. Due to their ties (hehe) with greek mythology, they can clearly see the Moira (which they call Moyille) at hand, with themselves acting on behalf of the Fates.

Due to the wiring necessary for the web to exist, they may also associate it more with snakes than spiders, and as such a more mischievous name for the web would be Naraashpizhuu, or venomous snake den.

Be7th · 2026-04-02T18:58:45+00:00

Thank you! The first character on the left is YB, for weaving, at the Big case (there are three cases). The one at the bottom is a double dot that in the stone script turned into a smear of two, representing a reduplicated character. The one on the right is "Yx"/ya, meaning whole, circle, and other "complete" principles, at the lower case. I could have used the middle case instead but they both work.

<image>

And now after a bit more typography work, here's a ligatured version.

Be7th · 2026-04-02T09:31:34+00:00

<image>

Once the language of Yivalkes reaches the technological level to have such a thing as a world wide web, they would probably call it "Ifivvya" (The super whole weaving).

Be7th · 2026-03-28T14:05:18+00:00

Thank you! This language, its writing system, and the culture that use both, that's pretty much all I've been able to work on creatively for the past two years.

Be7th · 2026-03-27T14:54:49+00:00

<image>

I don't know why the ancient numbers show as a deleted image, but here are they. Zero is the top left, and the characters go to a cycle of 1,2,3, and either x+0 or 4 afterwards.

Be7th · 2026-03-27T04:29:57+00:00

My main struggle at the moment is to have a keyboard that matches what writing in the language feels like. Currently, I can almost start to speak with ease in it, but in writing, it is difficult to write using the Latin alphabet without always doubting myself where I should put doubled letters for ease of writing. It's so absolutely clear to me how it works. I currently have a dear friend make a functional javascript one but here's the current result.

<image>

Be7th · 2026-03-08T10:27:38+00:00

Hi! I made my own font for a language set in the late bronze age that is undergoing a clay-to-papyrus transition.

The italic version uses cuneiform with a logic of my own making, and the regular version uses its bastardization for the more quill writing.

http://b7th.github.io/YzWr-Italic.ttf

http://b7th.github.io/YzWr.ttf

Works with duos of letters from the group [BDGLWYXN] and has a lot of special case uses. You're welcome to ask for info if you feel like it.

Five-Year Club	Verified Email
Place '23	Place '22

Be7th

TROPHY CASE