The Comalanian Written Language

The Alphabet

Consonants 

There are 12 primary consonants in the common script. This may seem like a small number, especially considering the lack of things like digraphs (sh, ch, th, etc. — consonants that, when put together, produce a new sound). Consonant sounds in Comalanian have their own unique symbols, and will not change when combined with other consonants.

The reason there are only 12, as opposed to the 21 present in English, is because Common has a group of sounds sometimes called secondary consonants that are basically considered variations on certain consonants in the primary group, rather than their own unique letters. These sounds use the same symbol as the primary consonant they are derived from, but with a small mark added to indicate the change in sound. In certain Galean texts, these tick marks are omitted, and the reader is left to infer the correct sound through context.

Consonants present in Comalanian and their English counterparts.

If you look carefully, you’ll notice that all the secondary consonants are hardened versions of their corresponding primary consonant. Because ancient Galean used far more soft consonants than hard consonants, the soft versions of these basic sounds are considered the default, while the hard versions are considered variations. Also, you'll notice that there are two letter variations of the letters S and N. The second of each of these shown is the way one would write the letter when it occurs at the end of the word. These are called Final letters.

Vowels

There are six distinct vowels in the common script. Each sound has its own unique symbol, and each symbol has its own unique sound. Unlike our vowels, which can sound very different depending on context, vowels in the common tongue are almost always intended to be spoken in a single manner. 

Another reason that Common lacks some of the consonants we have is because certain consonants (like W or Y) can be (and are) produced simply by combining vowels. 

Vowels present in Comalanian and their respective sounds. These are positioned underneath consonants.

Words 

Below is an example of the above script being used to write some important words in the Comalanian Language. Pay attention to the placement of vowels in comparison to consonants. You'll notice that sometimes letters are lengthened or connected via a ligature in order to create certain sounds. Also, there is a specialized symbol that serves as a "silent" letter when a word begins with a vowel. See if you can spot it. 

The names of the Familiars of Chaos, Salica, Serenity, and Crane - in both English and Comalanian.

History and Influences

Restan linguist Hugo Winstrom's foundational text The Common Tongue of Mortanis and the Southern Isles provides, along with several anecdotes and observations about dialects, accents, and other variations in language across the known world, the following helpful summarization of the basic nature of the common written language. 

The modern common tongue is largely an amalgamation of the original languages of each of the original peoples of Mortanis. Therefore, it’s important to understand some things about each old language in order to understand what was contributed to common from each region.

The Galean region is the source of most of the consonant forms found in the common tongue. This region had one of the most developed and sophisticated written languages in the ancient world. Despite the contribution of so many forms, the ancient language looks extremely different than the common tongue. This is because while the common tongue is written linearly, from right to left, the ancient Galean language was written in a non-linear, modular form, with its myriad vowel sounds and intonations indicated solely through context or the position of a consonant in a word or sentence. 

Tanis is the source of all vowel forms in the common tongue, as well as a few consonant forms. The original language of the elves is particularly notable for being a highly deconstructed and simplified form of the ancient language of the Kilgor, deliberately handed down by Lady Serenity. As with Galean and consonants, the vowel forms contributed look very different than they do in their original form due to their combination with different consonant forms and different positioning.

The linear structure, directionality, and relatively straightforward nature of the common tongue is largely the result of Restan influence. Unlike Galean, which is highly context dependent and layered with meaning, the original Restan was a fairly simple alphabetic language with both basic vowels and consonants. Despite using different letter forms, the common tongue emulates this to a greater extent than it does the structure of either Tanisian or Galean.

The Heronite language has contributed the least to the common written script, in a visual sense. In ancient times, the written language of Pyris was largely pictographic. Their script was considered primitive and underdeveloped by their Restan neighbors to the south, despite being arguably far more complex and sophisticated. Even so, the original Heronite language did manage to influence the common script in a fairly indirect manner - certain consonant sounds common to the Heronite tongue are now denoted in the script through marks that modify the original Galean letter forms.