Sigil Panel Script   

The Sigil Panel script was invented by Ian James for SIGIL, and emerged
when the author was struggling with the phonotactics of that language.
Unlike the linear script, which simply shows
the phoneme stream, this script breaks the stream into syllabic units.
For SIGIL these units comprise at most two parts; most easily recognized
are the consonant+vowel units.

Notable features

• Type of writing system: syllabary built from phonetic components
• Shapes depict perceived processes of phonemic production
• Read from left to right, with fixed-width glyphs
• Small number of strokes per glyph

The Consonant Part

Similar to the linear script, there are a number
of consonantal bases, to which modifiers of articulation are attached. For
convenience, the bases (which represent regions in the mouth) are labeled:

These go from front to rear: labial, dental, alveolar, alveolo-palatal,
lateral, retroflex, palatal-velar, velar-uvular, and glottal.

The simple modifiers are: unvoiced plosive, voiced plosive, unvoiced
fricative, voiced fricative, nasal, unvoiced affricate, and voiced affricate.
Here they are shown next to a dotted circle which is where the consonantal
base will sit:

Upon the base + simple modifier there is space for a vowel. Together, the
consonant + vowel make a syllabic unit, which is drawn to fill a fixed-size
rectangle (rather like Chinese characters). Not all base + modifier combinations
make sense, but it is possible that unnatural combinations come to take on special,
non-phonemic meanings.

There are also double modifiers, which fill a syllabic unit: double unvoiced
fricative, double voiced fricative, double nasal, double unvoiced affricate,
and double voiced affricate. This also shows the normal height of a full syllabic unit:

In addition, there are modifiers involving stoppage which are considered to take a whole syllabic unit: ejective, unvoiced stop, voiced stop (actually the stops are shorter in height than other units):

Here is the entire P series, showing how the parts join together. The vowel above the simply-modified consonants is /a/.

The Vowel Part

Above a single non-stopped consonant sits a single vowel. Here the vowel
set is shown upon /m/ in red. A plosive may also go “without” a vowel, which
means its inherent short, vague vowel schwa will be sounded.

The second vowel set here is of single vowels which are drawn to fill a
syllabic unit. They are not “syllabic” in length, but their sound will end with
a following consonant, which must signal the start of a new syllabic unit. A
vowel in the lower position is referred to as an even-numbered vowel.

A sequence of vowels may occur, and may occur in both the lower and
upper parts of a syllabic unit. The vowel in the upper position is referred
to as an odd-numbered vowel.

It can also be seen here how a high tone is marked by a little tick in
the bowl of the respective vowel.

Punctuation

The in-breath marker from the linear script is used unaltered (resembling
the numeral 3), and stands in the space of a syllabic unit. This is used in
a similar manner to comma. The symbol for out-breath is simply a double /h/,
and together with a preceding in-breath forms a longer pause, similar to a
period, or end-of-paragraph:

Also, blank syllable-wide spaces can be used to separate blocks of text
in a general manner. On a page, the glyphs thus sit in a regular grid, not
unlike the way Chinese characters are printed. And because of the way SIGIL
is structured, lines can break after any syllable, not just between “words”.

Sample text

This is a transliteration of the the first sentence of Article 1 of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights:

Translation

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.

Here is the rest of the Article in a quicker, less formal hand:

Translation

They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one
another in a spirit of brotherhood.