You’ve reached the final lesson on individual characters. By the end of this lesson, you’ll know all 40 basic Shavian characters, giving you the ability to read and write every English word in Shavian. That’s a significant achievement!

In our last lesson, we looked at the unvoiced character 𐑖 ('sure'). Now, let’s focus on its voiced counterpart, 𐑠 ('measure'), which makes a 'zh' sound, often found in Asian languages. You can picture 𐑠 as an unfinished 'Z,' representing the continuous nature of the sound, unlike 𐑟 ('zoo'), which is a complete 'Z' for a sharper, more abrupt sound.

Building on these details, let’s examine another character, 𐑡 ('judge'), which is similar to 𐑗 ('church') in how it's formed. It combines elements from 𐑛 ('dead') and 𐑠 ('measure') to create the strong 'J' or hard 'G' sound found in words like 'judge' and 'bridge.' This sound is different from the 'g' in 𐑜 ('gag'), which ends with an upward tone, while 𐑡 has a forceful, downward sound. The character 𐑡 also resembles the cursive Latin 'j,' reinforcing its connection to the 'J' sound.

As we move from 'g' sounds, let’s revisit the 'oo' vowels. After looking at the long "oo" in 𐑵 ('ooze'), we now see its shorter version in 𐑫 ('wool'). The 'oo' sound in 'wool' or 'foot' is much shorter than the extended 'oo' in 'ooze,' showing the difference between short and long vowels.

A helpful way to remember 𐑫 ('wool') is by its two triangular shapes, both representing 'oo' sounds, with 𐑫 visually distinct from the one that looks like a nose

Next, we examine the unique sound of 𐑶 ('oil'), as heard in words like 'oil' and 'boy.' The character's shape reflects the movement of your mouth—starting in a normal position and narrowing to a point, like a kiss. This contrasts with 𐑬 ('out'), where the mouth opens wide. To remember 𐑶, picture an oil can with a spout, mirroring the motion of your mouth.

Finally, we reach the end of our lessons with the introduction of our 40th character, 𐑭 ('ah'). This character fittingly represents a sigh of relief, similar to the sound in 'father' or 'spa.' You can remember 𐑭 by its open top, resembling a mouth wide open, ready for a doctor’s tongue depressor.

A note on dialects: Some examples below may use 𐑭 ('ah') where you might expect 𐑨 ('ash') due to dialect differences. Both spellings are technically correct. If 𐑭 ('ah') feels out of place to you, it’s likely a reflection of your own dialect.