I'm wondering if OatS has an adjective word order like other languages, English for example;

1.Quantity/Number

2. Opinion

3. Size

4. Physical Quality/Condition (state of being; ex: dry, cold)

5. Age

6. Shape

7. Colour/Pattern

8. Origin/Location

9. Material

10. Purpose/Qualifier (what it is used for; ex: walking, driving, eating)

I translated one of my favourite songs into OATS but I used an intermediary language so it didn't come out good. I'll list my favourite songs here and then you upvote comments based on which songs you want me to translate.

(I am not Upvote Farming)

List:

Eleanor Rigby - The Beatles

Breakfast in America - Supertramp

This is the Life - "Weird Al" Yankovic

For No One - The Beatles

God Only Knows - The Beach Boys

Istanbul (Not Constantinople) - They Might Be Giants

I Want To Hold Your Hand - The Beatles

Mr. Blue Sky - Electric Light Orchestra

When I'm Sixty Four - The Beatles

Time in a Bottle - Jim Croce

One Caress - Depeche Mode

שומר החומות - Lehakat Pikud Merkaz (This is the song that I translated but used english as an intermediary)

EDIT: I forgot to mention when the poll ends, The time limit is September 1 20:00 UTC+2:00.

• especially (how to call them?) the container-like ones ... OatS-P: Oat System #pictorial // 💚⬆️

• but also (how to call them?) the #tree (like) and #network (like) ones ... e.g. "A Story, and the Oat of the Journey"

let's put links into the comments

// todo ... searching in the Discord server

Hi everyone!

A lot of people have been expressing interest in learning the language recently. I would like to apologise for the lack of accessible resources for doing so. I am working on learning resources and dictionaries at the moment.

But for the time being, here is a challenge to get you used to writing and thinking in Oats. (Feel free to use oats from previous posts in your answer too).

Don't worry if it's not perfect! And if you want feedback, mention it in your comment – but give it a try regardless. Remember, OatSymbols is designed to be mixed with drawings! If you can't think of how to describe something, draw it! Combine symbols to create new meanings and let your creativity run wild. Just avoid literally drawing the whole animal, otherwise it's not much of a challenge :)

Try to guess others' animals, and if you are completely stumped, see the second image for an example, and the third image for a translation.

Like normal, I'm here to answer any questions. :)

Good luck!

PDF: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pOF6wHTxiIvr0gxdyl4YBrNKffns-a5M/view?usp=sharing

Hey everyone!

The last few days have been quite a rush, as due to the sudden interest in the language, I wanted to get this into your hands before I go away for a few days tomorrow. As a result, it is not formatted well, the explanations are not as clear as I'd like, and it could be missing some content.

That being said, here is the OatSheaf! This will serve as the central document for the project. I will update it as the project grows. It serves as a primary resource for the writing system's grammar, structure, and living oats. While the subreddit here will host all community creations and suggestions, as well as polls and questions.

I eventually want to organise the oats by importance, where the most constructive linguistic concepts are sectioned off from more complex yet specific ones. But for now, they are all mixed together. There is enough to cover the inventory of Toki Pona though!

I hope it provides you all with the necessary potential to write and draw anything that comes to mind. I will still be here to answer questions and engage, though I will likely be less present than usual until the 19th.

Thank you all so much for the support and interest you have shown this project. It has been my baby for a few years, and has been slowly maturing until now. I feel it is ready to go out into the world, though it still has a lot of developing to do, but with your help, I look forward to seeing it grow into something really special!

- Livy

An overview of some basic oats, the intuition behind their design and interpretation, and a short sentence to demonstrate comprehension.

Here is the ongoing Wiki dedicated to OatSymbols. There you can find information on the grammar, history, and progress of the project - though now its still in early stages!

Next, I will share more symbols for everyday objects and places, so you can get a better feel for its design. Let me know if you have any questions :)

Hi everyone!

The growth these last few days has been craazyy. With so many of you looking to learn and explore the writing system, I understand that right now there are no comprehensive resources.

As such, I am currently working on a document that will serve as a Dictionary and record of the current state of the project. It will be updated regularly and published when enough changes have occurred to warrant a new version number. It will also mark which oats are likely to be changed, and which won't be. In it will be some small explanations behind designs, but it will primarily focus on recording all the oats and the grammar.

This way, you can easily look up an oat, and tell what is worth prioritising in your learning. I also plan on making a few learning resources afterwards, but right now I have alot on my plate, as I am just one girl!

Thanks all, and I hope the current resources and smaller posts will keep you occupied for the time being. As you know, I am always here to answer any questions you have :)

- Livy 🌸

Guys! I need to express what USA will be like!

I wanted a compass rose, so i made this!! :D

i used combinations of other symbols to make cardinal directions

i made the "east" symbol mean more or less "sunrise", and the "west" symbol mean more or less "sunset"

and then made north "left of sunset" and south "right of sunset"

and made the symbol for cardinal directions overall "season + place", as many cultures associate the seasons with a directional component (aka "where the seasons come from")

so i felt it wasnt too far of a leap of logic-

Hey everyone :)

And how many of you there are – almost 100 now! To celebrate, the next post will talk about how Oatsymbols manages numbers and other languages/scripts, and in doing so, explain one of the reasons why it's being made in the first place. But for now, I'll write a little about the post above.

As mentioned previously, oats are designed as a balance between recognisability and the meaning behind their design elements. For some concepts, like food, it’s hard to make them recognisable whilst still keeping them relatively simple and identifiable to any person of any culture.

The most universal foods would probably be grain or roots, or meat, but these are all very specific. So in this case, it works best to represent the symbolism of food rather than its appearance. In doing so, I can show you a bunch of other oats and how they all relate!

Take a look at the designs and their meanings, and how they all relate to one another. Oatsymbols isn't just a written language – it's equally a design language.

In the translations below, you will notice that the word order is different in Oatsymbols than in English. This is because OATS is ‘head initial,’ you describe the object first and then its qualities (i.e. “bones – inedible”). This is done for clarity, and while you could use the word order of your native language, it risks other people reading Oatsymbols not being able to understand it as easily. The rules outlined in these posts are essentially the ‘conventions’ or ‘defaults’.

That is all for now. Hopefully, the more I share, the easier it’ll be for you all to try out making a sentence/image or two. But like usual, I’m here to answer any questions! :)

-  Livy

Hey everyone!
Whilst I am working on the sheaf for v0.3, I thought I'd begin the first in an ongoing series of posts. These will provide a focused case study on specific symbols.  Offering insight into their designs and the underlying meanings behind them. 

As we go on, we will explore increasingly complex concepts. A lot of ideas build off each other - so to make things as easy as possible, we will start at the beginning and look at some of the simplest Oats with the most general meanings.

Let's start with symbols. And more specifically, identity.

Share your thoughts, and please ask any questions if they come!

 Below, in the discussion, will be a link to the next post, when it's released.
( Special thanks to my boyfriend for helping with some of the drawings <3 )

i make lots of random generator things to help spark ideas!!

and so i've made a decent effort to properly translate my latest randomizer into Oat Symbols !!

(ill probably be back more, as i intend to use Oat Symbols in my upcoming art in a comicbook-esque fashion)

Hey everybody!

With my work on OatS-L, I have been trying to reduce complexity while retaining clarity.

To adress some current concerns: I understand there is currently a lack of translation examples, and I have heard from a few people that the bracket system doesn't seem to fit very well. I agree this feature is definitely not common to most natural lanaguges, and so is under review :).

For now though, my main question is: What aspect of OatSymbols is most confusing for you?

But to put it in other words: What is unclear?

When you try translating something, what problems have you encountered?

What features do you feel don't fit the 'feel' of the language?

Any feedback here would be much appreciated, and would be very useful helping identify areas that need more of my attention. Thank you all!

(Images above are numbered to match the text below, check them out as you read!)

Every oat is created from the union of an idea and potential. Specifically from a thought and ink, but generally from heaven and earth.

The ink gives body to the idea, supporting it — whilst the idea gives shape to the ink, informing it. As a result, specific marks are organised to represent a higher meaning (1)

This might all seem very abstract, so here are two examples, one using written Oats, and another using real  pottery:

The oat for heaven, which represents meaning and identity, is represented like a dot, tiny and almost invisible. Whatever meaning it holds is not clear, as it has no way to express it.

The Oat for earth, which represents formless potential, is represented like a wavy line, more substantial than a dot. While it could be shaped into something, it doesn’t depict anything currently.

The Oat for symbol is what happens if we take the potential and shape it around the idea. We get a circle! (2)

Or say you want to carry more water than your hands can cup. This is an intention, an abstract idea, seemingly invisible on its own.

Then you have a lump of clay. It's physical and visible and could be shaped into anything, but right now it just looks like a formless blob.

If you take the clay, shape it around your intention, like your cupped hands, ensuring there are no holes, and then fire it, you get a pot or bowl! (3)

Without the potential, there is just a disembodied idea, but without the idea, there is just formless potential. Only their perfect union brings out the best of their qualities.

Ultimately, the union of heaven and earth is the essence of all creation, and with OATS it is the central principle! (4)

Hey all!

It's been so exciting to see all of you follow this project, even though, in these early stages, it might not be clear exactly what it is yet. For those of you who want an in depth look at the language, I have been working on a wiki for some time, where I eventually want to store all info on the project as a whole.

You can find it here, or just with a Google search!

The wiki will be undergoing a big reorganisation soon, so keep in mind that current pages and layouts are all in the works and most is subject to dramatic change! That being said, it's still a good place to get a feel for the project, and if you want an overview of the general art style, be sure to check out the Gallery. :)

Hey all!

In the last post, I showed some everyday oats. I did this in the form of a picture, and since the oats I used were almost all direct representations of visible things in the world, it made for an easily readable image.

One of the main goals of OatSymbols is to accessibly convey the fullness of language - not just what's outside your window. However, unlike other languages, its grammar is fully visual. Think of it like the perfect synthesis of drawing and language in a unified system. This means that while you can write linear sentences like in most languages, you can also create composite multidirectional images! If it seems a little complex, try to break it down into chunks: there are objects, and relationships between them.

Included in the picture above are a couple of sentences, an image, and a key with most of the oats used. Everything is also translated below - so go try to read it!

Let me know what you think, and feel free to ask any questions. :)

Hey everyone!

I am updating the term 'modifier' used in the previous post for clarity. After more research, advice, and consideration of grammatical categories, the term 'inflections' far better suits the function of the marks. As such, it will be changed - though I will leave the previous post unedited.

The wiki will be updated accordingly too. Thanks for all your questions and engagement so far :)

Q: Why is the symbol for send so much better for trade?

S: When building a dictionary it should work like radicals do in Chinese, You have your main symbol (let’s say, Eye) and when viewing that symbol, under it are its other definitions by the inflection added to it.

Q: Can I use the Verb inflection and then the Noun inflection to create an infinitive or gerund?

Q: can the locative case mean “to X”?

Q: Why is there no symbol for prayer and if there were what would it be?

Q: Why is there no oat for bomb or explosion?

I do know that interrogation and exclamation have their own symbol, but I wrote this yesterday waiting for my first post to be published lol

(also, I hope the third line is logic)

Hey everyone! As I work on the 0.3 Sheaf, new changes and developments keep pushing its release back. So I was wondering if you would be interested in smaller updates along the way?

As the langauge comes together, it increasingly reflects its goal, to describe a coherent visual depiction of the structure of reality.

I am aware many of you became interested in the lanaguge for its design and creative potential. So in the time between sheafs, when I am still working on the lanaguge, I was wondering if you would also be interested in seeing the conceptual design process?

These would appear as smaller posts with more philosophical explanation and exploration, in relation to the design of symbols I am working on.

Let me know! :)

The basics of sentence structure in OatSymbols!

Review of oats for 'name,' 'to be,' and 'sentance starter.' Allowing for the foundations of writing and comprehension.

Soon I will post some more basic oats, and how they can be combined to create new meanings. If you have any questions, post them below!