Fraser alphabet
Encyclopedia
The Fraser alphabet or Old Lisu Alphabet is an artificial script invented around 1915 by Sara Ba Thaw, a Karen
preacher from Myanmar
, and improved by the missionary
James O. Fraser
, to write the Lisu language
. It is a single-case (unicameral
) alphabet
.
The alphabet uses uppercase letters from the Roman alphabet, and rotated versions thereof, to write consonant
s and vowel
s. Tones and nasalization
are written with Roman punctuation
marks, identical to those found on a typewriter. Like the Indic abugida
s, the vowel [a] is not written. However, unlike those scripts, the other vowels are written with full letters.
The Chinese
government recognized the alphabet in 1992 as the official script
for writing in Lisu.
For example, is [tsɑ̄], while is [tsē].
The tones <.>, <,>, <..>, <.,> may be combined with <;> and <:> as compound tones. However, the only one still in common use is <,;>.
The apostrophe indicates nasalization
. It is combined with tone marks.
The understrike (optionally a low macron
) indicates the Lisu "A glide", a contraction of [ɑ̂] without an intervening glottal stop. The tone is not always falling, depending on the environment, but is written <_> regardless.
Standard in October, 2009 with the release of version 5.2.
The Unicode block for the Fraser alphabet, called Lisu, is U+A4D0–U+A4FF:
Karen people
The Karen or Kayin people , are a Sino-Tibetan language speaking ethnic group which resides primarily in southern and southeastern Burma . The Karen make up approximately 7 percent of the total Burmese population of approximately 50 million people...
preacher from Myanmar
Myanmar
Burma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....
, and improved by the missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
James O. Fraser
James O. Fraser
James Outram Fraser was a British Protestant Christian missionary to China with the China Inland Mission. He pioneered work among the Lisu people of Southwestern China in the early part of the 20th century.- First years in Yunnan:...
, to write the Lisu language
Lisu language
Lisu is a tonal Tibeto-Burman language spoken in Yunnan , northern Burma , and Thailand and a small part of India. It is the language of the Lisu minority. Lisu has many dialects that originate from the country in which they live. Hua Lisu, Pai Lisu, and Lu Shi Lisu dialects are spoken in China...
. It is a single-case (unicameral
Unicase
A unicase or unicameral alphabet is one that has no case for its letters. Tamil, Arabic, Old Hungarian, Hebrew, Georgian and Hangul are unicase alphabets, while Latin, Greek, Cyrillic and Armenian have two cases for each letter, e.g., B/b, Β/β, Б/б,...
) alphabet
Alphabet
An alphabet is a standard set of letters—basic written symbols or graphemes—each of which represents a phoneme in a spoken language, either as it exists now or as it was in the past. There are other systems, such as logographies, in which each character represents a word, morpheme, or semantic...
.
The alphabet uses uppercase letters from the Roman alphabet, and rotated versions thereof, to write consonant
Consonant
In articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a speech sound that is articulated with complete or partial closure of the vocal tract. Examples are , pronounced with the lips; , pronounced with the front of the tongue; , pronounced with the back of the tongue; , pronounced in the throat; and ,...
s and vowel
Vowel
In phonetics, a vowel is a sound in spoken language, such as English ah! or oh! , pronounced with an open vocal tract so that there is no build-up of air pressure at any point above the glottis. This contrasts with consonants, such as English sh! , where there is a constriction or closure at some...
s. Tones and nasalization
Nasalization
In phonetics, nasalization is the production of a sound while the velum is lowered, so that some air escapes through the nose during the production of the sound by the mouth...
are written with Roman punctuation
Punctuation
Punctuation marks are symbols that indicate the structure and organization of written language, as well as intonation and pauses to be observed when reading aloud.In written English, punctuation is vital to disambiguate the meaning of sentences...
marks, identical to those found on a typewriter. Like the Indic abugida
Abugida
An abugida , also called an alphasyllabary, is a segmental writing system in which consonant–vowel sequences are written as a unit: each unit is based on a consonant letter, and vowel notation is obligatory but secondary...
s, the vowel [a] is not written. However, unlike those scripts, the other vowels are written with full letters.
The Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
government recognized the alphabet in 1992 as the official script
Official script
An official script is a writing system that is specifically designated to be official in the constitutions or other applicable laws of countries, states, and other jurisdictions. Akin to an official language, an official script is much rarer. It is used primarily where an official language is in...
for writing in Lisu.
Consonants
Note: You may need to download a Lisu capable Unicode font if not all characters display.| Labial | Alveolar | Alveolar sibilant | Post- alveolar | Velar | Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | Tenuis | P [p] | T [t] | F [ts] | C [tʃ] | K [k] | 3 |
| Aspirate | ꓒ [pʰ] | ꓕ [tʰ] | Ⅎ [tsʰ] | Ɔ [tʃʰ] | ꓘ [kʰ] | ||
| Voiced | B [b] | D [d] | Z [dz] | J [dʒ] | G [ɡ] | ꓨ ɦ5 | |
| Fricative | Voiceless | ꓩ [f] | S [s] | X [ʃ] | H [x] | V [h̃]5 | |
| Voiced | W [v] | ꓤ [z] | R ʒ | ꓭ ɰ?, ɣ4 | |||
| Nasal | M [m] | N [n] | Λ ŋ | ||||
| Approximant | W [w], u̯] | L [l] | Y ʝ, [i̯] | ||||
- Initial glottal stop is not written. It is automatic before all initial vowels but [ɯ] and [ə].
- B1 sometimes represents a "vowel", presumably a medial [ɰ], and sometimes a consonant [ɣ]. W and Y are likewise ambiguous.
- ꓨ only occurs in an imperativeImperative moodThe imperative mood expresses commands or requests as a grammatical mood. These commands or requests urge the audience to act a certain way. It also may signal a prohibition, permission, or any other kind of exhortation.- Morphology :...
particleGrammatical particleIn grammar, a particle is a function word that does not belong to any of the inflected grammatical word classes . It is a catch-all term for a heterogeneous set of words and terms that lack a precise lexical definition...
. It is an allophoneAllophoneIn phonology, an allophone is one of a set of multiple possible spoken sounds used to pronounce a single phoneme. For example, and are allophones for the phoneme in the English language...
of V [h̃], which causes nasalization to the syllable.
Vowels
| |Front | |Central/back | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High | ꓲ [i] | Ⴖ [y] | Ⴈ [ɯ] | U [u] |
| Mid | E [e] | Ǝ [ø] | ꓷ [ə] | O [ʊ] |
| Low | ∀ [ɛ] | A** [ɑ] |
** Not written after a consonant.
For example,
Tones
Tones are written with standard punctuation. Lisu punctuation therefore differs from international norms: the comma is <-.> (hyphen period), and the full stop is <=> (equal sign).| F [tsɑ̄] | F. [tsɑ́] | F, [tsɑ̌] |
| F., [tsɑ̄ˀ]* | F.. [tsɑ̄ˀ] | Fʼ [tsɑ̄̃] |
| F; [tsɑ̂ˀ] | F: [tsɑ̂] | F_ [tsɑ̄ɑ̂] |
* It is not clear how the <.,> mid tone differs from the unmarked mid tone.
The tones <.>, <,>, <..>, <.,> may be combined with <;> and <:> as compound tones. However, the only one still in common use is <,;>.
The apostrophe indicates nasalization
Nasalization
In phonetics, nasalization is the production of a sound while the velum is lowered, so that some air escapes through the nose during the production of the sound by the mouth...
. It is combined with tone marks.
The understrike (optionally a low macron
Macron
A macron, from the Greek , meaning "long", is a diacritic placed above a vowel . It was originally used to mark a long or heavy syllable in Greco-Roman metrics, but now marks a long vowel...
) indicates the Lisu "A glide", a contraction of [ɑ̂] without an intervening glottal stop. The tone is not always falling, depending on the environment, but is written <_> regardless.
Unicode
The Fraser alphabet was added to the UnicodeUnicode
Unicode is a computing industry standard for the consistent encoding, representation and handling of text expressed in most of the world's writing systems...
Standard in October, 2009 with the release of version 5.2.
The Unicode block for the Fraser alphabet, called Lisu, is U+A4D0–U+A4FF:
External links
- Omniglot entry on Fraser alphabet
- Proposal for encoding the Old Lisu script in the BMP of the UCS
- Issues in orthography development and reform by David Bradley
- http://www.evertype.com/standards/iso10646/pdf/fraser-sample.pdfSample text from Michael EversonMichael EversonMichael Everson is a linguist, script encoder, typesetter, and font designer. His central area of expertise is with writing systems of the world, specifically in the representation of these systems in formats for computer and digital media...
's website]