In our first lesson, we started with the five Shavian characters that represent the most common sounds in English. Then, in lesson two, we discussed how Kingsley Read designed character pairs based on their phonetic similarities, touching on mirroring, line positioning, and the idea of pairing similar sounds. Now, let's take a closer look at how Shavian organizes these characters into groups and why it matters.

The Shavian Alphabet from Androcles and the Lion.

Kingsley sorted the Shavian alphabet into four groups: tall, deep, short, and compound characters. Each group has visual cues that hint at the sound it represents. Here’s a simple breakdown:

• Tall Characters rise above the baseline and represent unvoiced sounds like 𐑑-("tot") and 𐑕-("so"). Their tall shape helps you remember that these sounds are produced up in the mouth.
• Deep Characters drop below the baseline when written and represent voiced sounds, like 𐑛-("dead"). The way they dip down mirrors how these sounds are produced lower in the vocal cords.
• Short Characters stay within the baseline and represent softer, central sounds like 𐑦-("if") and 𐑯-("nun"). Their central position is a reminder that these sounds balance use of both the mouth and vocal cords.
• Compound Characters are more complex, with extra features to capture sounds that vary depending on accents, like how "car" sounds different in British English ("cah") and American English ("car"). These characters are flexible and adapt to regional pronunciations while keeping spelling consistent.

By organizing characters based on how sounds are made and how the characters look, Kingsley made Shavian easier to learn. As we continue to focus on pronunciation, these groupings help you better understand how each character is used.

In this lesson and the next, we’ll focus on the next five most common sounds in English, along with their mirrored counterparts. By the end of these two sessions, you’ll have learned 20 out of the 40 non-compound Shavian characters—covering half of all the sounds in English. So let's get started with the characters:

• 𐑤-('loll')
• 𐑞-('they')
• 𐑒-('key')
• 𐑧-('egg')
• 𐑐-('peep')

The first Shavian character, 𐑤 ('loll'), represents the L sound, as in "leg" or "lamp." You can think of 𐑤 as a lazy 'L'—leaning or drooping forward, with its curved shape suggesting the soft, flowing sound of the letter.

Next is 𐑞 ('they'), representing the "th" sound in words like "they," "there," and "the." In Shavian, 𐑞 also stands for the entire word "the," making it one of five characters with a dual purpose, helping to make writing in Shavian shorter.

The third character in this lesson, 𐑒 ('kick'), represents the hard "k" sound, as in "key" or "kite." Its upside-down question mark shape resembles a key, helping you visually connect it to the "k" sound in "key."

For the next character, 𐑧, imagine cracking the letter "e" from "egg" in half. The character 𐑧 is like the bottom piece of the letter "e" from "egg," just as the sound is the short "e" part of the word "egg."

Lastly, we have 𐑐 ('peep'), a tall, unvoiced character representing the "p" sound, as in "peep," "pin," or "pop." Its straight, upright design resembles a long pin—something that could pop a balloon, releasing a puff of air, just like the burst you feel when making the "p" sound.

You've now learned five more Shavian characters:

• 𐑤-('loll')
• 𐑞-('they')
• 𐑒-('key')
• 𐑧-('egg')
• 𐑐-('peep')

Which brings your total count up to 15 out of 40 characters complete. Let's keep going!