Kaya script
Kaya script | |
|---|---|
| Type | Abugida
|
| Languages | Kayasimi |
Time period | 1500s − present |
Parent systems | Tz'ib'najal
|
Sister systems | Mutunese glyph writing |
The Kaya script (Kayasimi: Kaya siq'i llumpa) is an abugida (alphasyllabary), based on the ancient Tz'ib'najal script, used in Kayahallpa. It originated from Glyphic Mutli-Kaya writing, a method of transcribing Kaya Simi with Mutli logographic characters. Its development from Tz'ib'najal began around the 16th century CE, and it had developed into Old Kaya by the 18th century CE, which featured a semi-syllabary structure with a limited number of logograms. By the early 20th century, with the introduction of the 1912 Kayahallpan Writing Reform, it abandoned all logogrammatic and syllabic characteristics to become a fully phonogrammatic alphasyllabary. As such, in modern publications, every letter corresponds to a sound in the spoken standard language.
For the last three-hundred years, it has also been used for writing the many other autochtonous languages of Kayahallpa, with additional characters added to represent unique sounds where necessary.
Origin and history
The Kaya script combines several influences into one: a limited set of Mutunese glyphs for the basic characters and Southern Ochranese scripts for the script's functionality. Prior to the 1912 writing reform, there were numerous systems in use to phonetically transcribe the sounds of Kayasimi. After the reform, only one set of characters was declared permissible to use, and the use of non-standard characters is now restricted to certain artistic movements. Logographic glyphs, while widespread in the Mutul, are rare in the Kaya script.
Characters and pronunciation
In addition to the basic set of characters, they can be modified via diacritics to show aspiration, the presence of ejective consonants, the presence of two of Kayasimi's three vowels (u and i), as well as the lack of a vowel after a consonant. The vowel a is an inherent vowel, so the base glyph p, as shown in the table, is actually read out as pa.
Numerals
Numbers in Kaya script are represented in the same vigesimal (base-20) positional numeral system as that used in the Mutul. Numbers 0-10 are spoken with their Kaya Simi names, while numbers 11-20 may be in either the native word for that number or a Mutli loanword; this mixed counting system is at least 800 years old. Widespread official and cultural opposition to the base-10 Western numerals, viewed as a foreign influence, has prevented a shift away from Mutunese numerals.