r/conorthography

а → a

б → b

в → v

г → h

ґ → g

д → d

е → e

є → je

ж → ž

з → z

и → y

і → i

ї → ï

й → j

к → k

л → l

м → m

н → n

о → o

п → p

р → r

с → s

т → t

у → u

ф → f

х → ch

ц → c

ч → č

ш → š

щ → šč

ь → '

ю → ju

я → ja

’ → "

а → a

б → b

в → v

г → h

д → d

е → je

ё → jo

ж → ž

з → z

і → i

й → j

к → k

л → l

м → m

н → n

о → o

п → p

р → r

с → s

т → t

у → u

ў → ŭ (for historical v), ł (for historical l)

ф → f

х → ch

ц → c

ч → č

ш → š

ы → y

ь → '

э → e

ю → ju

я → ja

’ → "

Uppercase	Lowercase	IPA
A	a	[ a ~ ɑ ]
Ä	ä	[ æ ]
B	b	[ b ]
C	c	[ t͡s ]
Č	č	[ t͡ʃ ]
D	d	[ d ]
DZ	dz	[ d͡z ]
DŽ	dž	[ d͡ʒ ]
Ð	ð	[ ð ]
E	e	[ e ~ ɛ ]
F	f	[ f ]
G	g	[ ɡ ~ ɢ ]
GW	gw	[ ɡʷ ~ ɢʷ ]
H	h	[ ɦ ]
I	i	[ i ]
J	j	[ j ]
K	k	[ k ]
KP	kp	[ k͡p ]
KW	kw	[ kʷ ]
L	l	[ l ]
LL	ll	[ ɫ ]
M	m	[ m ]
N	n	[ n ]
Ñ	ñ	[ ɲ ]
Ň	ň	[ ŋ ~ ɴ ]
ŇM	ňm	[ ŋ͡m ]
ŇW	ňw	[ ŋʷ ~ ɴʷ ]
O	o	[ o ~ ɔ ]
Ö	ö	[ ø ~ œ ]
P	p	[ p ]
Q	q	[ q ]
QW	qw	[ qʷ ]
R	r	[ ɹ ~ ɾ ]
Ř	ř	[ r ]
S	s	[ s ]
Š	š	[ ʃ ]
T	t	[ t ]
U	u	[ u ]
Ü	ü	[ y ]
V	v	[ v ]
W	w	[ w ]
X	x	[ x ~ χ ]
XW	xw	[ xʷ ~ χʷ ]
Y	y	[ ɨ ~ ɯ ]
Z	z	[ z ]
Ž	ž	[ ʒ ]
Þ	þ	[ θ ]

©2026 Naþañiel Villega (pronounced: [nɑθɑɲiɛl viɫɛɡɑ])

Works much better with oracle bone or bronze seal style

NOTE for Reddit Preview: This post contains a table, but Reddit preview screws that up!

Subject to Change

Grapheme	Hypothetical Phonemes	Name	Meaning	Inspired from Shibata (2025)
牛 (𐤀)	ʔ	*aŋ	bovine, buffalo, carabao	(ʔ)
宀 (𐤁)	b	balay	house	b
矛 (𐤂)	ɡ / ʝ	gayaŋ	spear	ɡ / ʝ
水	d / ð	danum	water	d
肉	ħ / h	ḥuḡaṭ	flesh, muscle, blood, vein	ħ
丩 (𐤅)	w	waqit	hook, barb, spike	w
魚	(x) /(ħ) / (ʂ)	ḵikan	fish	(x) ⟨S⟩
人	ʈ	ṭaw	human being	ʈ
自	j ⟨y⟩	yiŋuŋ	nose	j
手 (𐤊)	k	kamay	palm, hand	k
首	l	liqaḡ	neck, head	l
鳥	m	manuq	bird, chicken	m
虫 (𐤍)	n	nipay	snake	n
天	ɭ / ɲ / r / ʝ	laŋiṭ	sky	ɭ
齒	ŋ / (ʕ)	ŋipin	tooth	ŋ
禾	p	paʝay / paɖay	paddy	p
屮 (𐤑)	ʂ	ṣupiq	plant shoot, flower sheath, grass	ʂ
舌	ɖ / n / l / ɬ / ʎ	ḍilat	tongue	ɖ / l / ʝ / ʎ
舟	q	qabaŋ	boat, canoe	q
云	r / ɣ	ḡabun	cloud	r
日 (𐤔)	s	siḍar	sun	s
卜 (𐤕)	t	turiq	mark, sign	t

Sample text

Aku ambik masa lama-lama untuk hasilkan benda ni

اکو امبيق ماس لام‮٢‬ اونتوق حصلکن بندا ني

牛手丩 　 牛鳥宀自舟 　 鳥牛日 　 首牛鳥 　 牛丩虫人丩舟 　 魚牛屮首手虫 　 宀虫水牛 　 虫自

> NOTE: This is more closely based on Jawi Malay spelling than either Proto-Austronesian origin or modern Latin Malay spelling.

Hello!

I’ve been experimenting with a hypothetical modern Cyrillic orthography for Karelian and Veps languages.

Historically, Karelian briefly used Cyrillic in the USSR in the late 1930s, but that orthography was inconsistent and disappeared quickly. Today both languages use Latin script.

I wanted to create an alternative version that:
- preserves Karelian/Veps phonology
- avoids excessive Russification
- remains readable for Cyrillic users
- works for all major Karelian varieties (Proper Karelian, Livvi, Ludic) + Veps

the cyrillic alphabet

А а
Б б
В в
Г г
Д д
Е е
Ж ж
З з
И и
Ј ј
К к
Л л
М м
Н н
О о
П п
Р р
С с
Т т
У у
Ф ф
Х х
Ц ц
Ч ч
Ш ш
Ь ь

Additional vowels:

Ӓ ӓ
Ӧ ӧ
Ӱ ӱ

Additional Russian letters (loanwords only):

Ё ё
Ы ы
Э э
Ю ю
Я я
Щ щ
Ъ ъ

diphtongs:

ai → ај
oi → ој
ei → еј
ui → уј
äi → ӓј
öi → ӧј
yi → ӱј
ie → ие
uo → уо
yö → ӱӧ

Example:
Petrozavodsk is the capital of the Republic of Karelia
Петрозаводск - столица Республики Карелия

→

Petroskoi on Karjalan tazavallan piälinnu
Петроској он Карјалан тазаваллан пиӓлинну

https://preview.redd.it/0q7rxdv61x0h1.jpg?width=2550&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=aeb3afef60d024195764dad7b74be38a0676aa92

https://preview.redd.it/83y0mdv61x0h1.jpg?width=2550&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9228eb18e1844317117e700c345528f8286f2759

https://preview.redd.it/5b27ndv61x0h1.jpg?width=2550&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1f490e2e4d2ee5568889df7c1344af7a99535363

https://preview.redd.it/hzyp5fv61x0h1.jpg?width=2550&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3e6e141d0618ca44a6aca5f23a7bc0fd73183a03

https://preview.redd.it/mvei6nv61x0h1.jpg?width=2550&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3d66f1fbcdd4dfaea8082daec5e0498778ccf7b6

https://preview.redd.it/uwir0fv61x0h1.jpg?width=2550&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=34b96242c05ab14a2450a61b9f396ed05bb6ea6e

https://preview.redd.it/gp5mtev61x0h1.jpg?width=2550&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e9126f837edd42f52428cd29a3ec1d21937be499

Full Alphabet:

Letter	Transliteration	IPA
ا	a	[ ɑ ]
أ	ẽ (æ)	[ æ ]
ب	b	[ b ]
پ	p	[ p ]
ت	t	[ t ]
ث	s̱	[ s ]
ج	ǰ	[ d͡ʒ ]
چ	č	[ t͡ʃ ]
ح	ḥ	[ ɦ ]
خ	x (ȟ)	[ x ] ~ [ χ ]
څ	c	[ t͡s ]
ځ	j	[ d͡z ]
د	d	[ d ]
ذ	ẕ	[ z ]
ر	r	[ ɹ ] ~ [ ɾ ]
ڕ	ř (ŕ)	[ r ]
ز	z	[ z ]
ژ	ž	[ ʒ ]
س	s	[ s ]
ش	š	[ ʃ ]
ص	ṣ	[ s ]
ض	ż	[ z ]
ط	ṭ	[ t ]
ظ	ẓ	[ z ]
ع	ʻ	[ ʔ ]
غ	ġ (ğ)	[ ɣ ] ~ [ ʁ ]
ڠ	ň (ŋ)	[ ŋ ] ~ [ ɴ ]
ف	f	[ f ]
ق	q	[ q ]
ڨ	q̌	[ ɢ ]
ک	k	[ k ]
ݢ	g	[ ɡ ]
ل	l	[ l ]
ڵ	ľ	[ ʎ ]
م	m	[ m ] ~ [ ɱ ]
ن	n	[ n ]
ݩ	ñ (ń)	[ ɲ ]
و	v / u	[ v ] / [ u ]
ؤ	o	[ ɔ ] / [ o ]
ه	h / ə	[ ɦ ] / [ ə ]
ى	y / i	[ j ] / [ i ]
ئ	e	[ ɛ ] / [ e ]

Number System:

Digit	Western Numerals	Roman Numerals
٠	0	(None)
١	1	I
٢	2	II
٣	3	III
۴	4	IV
٥	5	V
۶	6	VI
٧	7	VII
٨	8	VIII
٩	9	IX

Many people have a negative gut response to the use of Ə in English spelling reforms. It's a crazy reaction, really, considering that Ə is the most common vowel in spoken English.

My strident contention is that any spelling reform worth its salt has to account for Ə. The current iteration of my Regùler İŋglish system relies on a three-part solution: U, Er and 'dropped Ə.'

• For single-syllable words, U denotes ʌ (?) - up, brunt, tuf - unless the Ə is followed by R, in which case it is denoted by Er - erth, fern, berd, bern. (For clarity, ɛr is denoted by Err - errer, berrie.)
• For multi-syllable words, U denotes Ə - upreeshiaet, suspishn, recugnyz - unless it is followed by a double consonant, in which case, U reverts to ʌ - utter, luvviŋ, unnkynd.
• Where the U(Ə) can be eliminated without causing confusion, it is 'dropped' - cnect (not cunect), tripl (not tripul), peesz (not peesuz).
• (Note that Ue, Ù and Ü each represent other phonemes, bluez, ùnuform and püsh, respectively, and that a terminal U denotes Ue.)

So, İ wil prudùs dh rekwyerd sampl in order tu demunstraet hao dh U=Ə sistm wercs in practus. Hapulie, it ternz aot, ucaezhnz weir their iz a need for dubbl consununts ar les dhan Ù myt thiŋc. Sum werdz, such az 'unnùzhùul,' taek a bit ov getiŋ ùsd tu, no daot, but it's umaeziŋ hao ëzulie it beginz tu flo, wuns Ù spend a bit ov tym reediŋ and rytiŋ widh dhis sistm.

Hot tips? Sjeschunz?

This is my attempt at a Russian romanisation, in which I tried to have a unique latin letter for every unique cyrillic letter. In theory, one can then simply perform the substitutions and have a latin system that works precisely the same as the cyrillic system. I'm taking this approach because I don't know enough about Russian to atttempt spelling reform.

https://preview.redd.it/v7jl8vi2mo0h1.png?width=838&format=png&auto=webp&s=bcb14896d3611a56037954b2fef06c3a08bdc63a

Sample text:

Все люди рождаются свободными и равными в своём достоинстве и правах. Они наделены разумом и совестью и должны поступать в отношении друг друга в духе братства.
Vse lúdi roždaútsá svobodnìmi i ravnìmi v svoóm dostoinstve i prabax. Oni nadelinì razumom i sovestjú i dolžnì postupatj v otnošenii drug druga v duxe bratstva.

Съешь же ещё этих мягких французских булок да выпей чаю.
Swešj že eşó ètix mágkix francuzskix bulok da bìpey çaú.

Notes:

The vowels are organised into four categories: hard unmarked (a o u), hard marked (è ì), soft unmarked (e i), and soft marked (á ó ú).

The fricatives and affricates are organised into three categories: alveolar, retroflex, and palatal. The alveolars are the base forms, the retroflexes are formed by addition of a caron, and the palatals are formed by addition of a cedilla.

RULES
Consonants are doubled after stressed vowels to indicate that they are short. If a diacritic needs to be placed on a doubled consonant, it only needs to be placed on the first consonant.

Stressed vowels without a diacritic before a consonant cluster are assumed short.

UNSTRESSED DEFAULT VOWELS

<A a> [ə] as in abôv

<E e> [ə] as in dĩet

<I i> [i] as in prėti

<O o> [ow] word finally as in cargo or before final <s z> as in tangoz. [ə] otherwise as in attom.

<U u> [ə] as in circumstanç

STRESSED DEFAULT VOWELS

<A a> [æ] when short as in catt, [ej] when long as in mat.

<E e> [ɛ] when short as in pett, [i] when long as in çen.

<I i> [ɪ] when short as in pitt, [aj] when long as in bit.

<O o> [ɒ] when short as in pott, [ow] when long as in ton.

<U u> [ʌ] when short as in cutt, [ju] when long as in mut.

STRESSED RHOTIC DEFAULT VOWELS

<Ar ar> [ɛɚ] as in far.

<Arr arr> [ɑɹ] as in arr.

<Er er> [ɪɚ] as in mer.

*<*Err err> [ɚ] as in herr.

<Ir ir> [ajɚ] as in fir.

<Irr irr> [ɚ] as in ẇirr.

<Or or> [ɔɹ] as in mor.

<Ur ur> [juɚ] as in the British pronunciation of ur.

<Urr urr> [ɚ] as in urrbãn.

THE TILDE

<Ã ã> [ej] as in xampãn.

<Ãr ãr> [ɛɚ] as in vãriaxon.

<Ẽ ẽ> [i] as in bẽ.

<Ĩ ĩ> [aj] as in mĩ.

<Ĩr ĩr> [ajɚ] as in vampĩr.

<Õ õ> [ow] as in sõ.

<Ũ ũ> [ju] as in ũ.

THE LINE

<A̍ a̍> [æ*] as *in** y**e̍a̍.

*<*E̍ e̍> *[*ɛ] as in ye̍a̍.

<I̍ i̍> [ɪ] a*s in** ***wi̍þót

<O̍ o̍> *[ɒ] as*** ****in cão̍s

<U̍ u̍> [ʌ*] *as in** u̍ndo̊

THE MACRON

<Ā ā> [ɑ] as in fāðer.

<Ē ē> [ej] as in cafē.

<Ēr ēr> [ɛɚ] as in wēr.

<Ī ī> [i] as in maxīn.

<Īr īr> [ɪɚ] as in menhīr.

<Ō ō> [ɔ] as in bōt.

<Ū ū> [u] as in sūper.

<Ūr ūr> [ʊɚ] as in gūrū.

THE GRAVE

<À à> [aj] as in pàēa.

<È è> [aj] as in è.

<Ò ò> [wɑ] as in patò.

<Ù ù> [jə] as in falùr.

THE ACUTE

<Á á> [aw] as in tá.

<É é> [oj] as in Frédian.

<Ó ó> [aw] as in nó.

<Ú ú> [jʊ] as in úranium.

THE CIRCUMFLEX

<Â â> [ʌ] as in Mâgrebb.

<Êr êr> [ɑɹ] as in sêrgent.

<Î î> [æ] as in merîṅ.

<Ô ô> [ʌ] as in sôm.

THE DIAERESIS

<Ä ä> [ɛ] as in äni.

<Ï ï> [ə] as in evïl.

<Ö ö> [ə] as in Möbius.

<Ü ü> [ɛ] as in büri.

THE DOT

The dot makes any vowel pronounced [ɪ]:

<Ȧ ȧ> as in orȧnģ.

<Ė ė> as in Ėṅlix.

<Ȯ ȯ> as in wȯmen.

<U̇ u̇> a*s *in bu̇zi.

THE RING

<Å å> [ɔ] as in ål.

<E̊ e̊> [ow] a*s *in se̊.

<O̊ o̊> [u] a*s *in to̊.

<Ů ů> [ow] as in mův.

THE CARON

<Ǎ ǎ> [ɔ] as in wǎć.

<Ě ě> [ɔ] as in ěnvelõp.

<Ǐ ǐ> [ɔ] as in the American pronunciation of lǐngerē.

<Ǒ ǒ> [ʊ] as in wǒman.

<Ǔ ǔ> [ʊ] as in pǔt.

CONSONANTS

<B b> [b] as in boy.

<C c> [s] before <e i y> as in cent, [k] otherwise as in carr.

*<*Ç ç> [s] as in farrç.

<Ć ć> [t͡ʃ] as in* sändwi*ć.

<D d> [d] as in dogg.

<F f> [f] as in fo̊d.

<G g> [d͡ʒ] before <e i y> as in** ginn, [g] othe*rwise** *as in* gas*s.

<Ģ ģ> [d͡ʒ] as in* briģg*.

<Ġ ġ> [g] as in ġirl.

<H h> [h] as in hatt.

<Ḣ ḣ> [x] as in lōḣ.

<J j> [ʒ] as in vijjon.

<K k> [k] as in kappa.

<L l> [ʟ] as in lott.

*<*M m> [m] as in *Memmf***i̍s.

<N n> [ŋ] before hard <c g> and <k q> as in link, [n] otherwise in națral.

<Ṅ ṅ> [ŋ] as in siṅn

<P p> [p] as in plaç.

<Q q> [k] as in Qurān.

<R r> [ɹ] as in redd.

<S s> [s] as in stopp.

<T t> [t] as in topp.

*<*Ț ț> [t͡ʃ] as in* qwesțo*n

*<*Þ þ> [θ] as in þink.

<V v> [v] as in vett.

<W w> [w] as in wip.

<Ẇ ẇ> [ʍ] as in ẇićc.

<X x> [ʃ] as in prexxur.

<Y y> [j] as in yess.

<Z z> [z] as in zilofõn.

<Ż ż> [t͡s] as in* pīża*.

SAMPLE TEXT
Consonants arr dôbld after stressd vóelz to̊ indicãt ðatt ðē arr xort. Iff a dĩacriti̍c nẽdz to̊ bẽ plãçt on a dôbld consonant, itt õnli nẽdz to̊ bẽ plãçt on ðe first consonant.

Stressd vowelz wi̍þót a dĩacriti̍c bẽfor a consonant cluster arr asumd xort.

with alphabet, ipa transcriptions and sample text