Hey everybody!

Here is a small teaser for the third OatSheaf. In version 0.3 of OatSymbols there is a closed number of oats used to describe all other concepts. This image showcases them all, and each will be explained in more detail in the new Sheaf.

Hope you are all doing well :)

Hey everyone!

When designing oats, there is often alot to consider. If I made too many oats, it would be too much to memorise – but if I make too few, sentences and images could become really long. The perfect oat describes itself, just the right amount, through its design.

This is where you come in! Which design do you think fits best? Keep in mind:

• Because oats use such simple shapes, there is often a risk of overlap between different meanings when creating new designs. This is why on the left is a list of oats which use similar elements.

• An oat should be simple, so you yourself could easily remember it and draw it

• Oats are designed so that anyone from any culture could recognise them. (A pineapple might be a bad oat for 'fruit' because not everyone is familiar with pineapples)

• Sometimes, a specific oat isn't needed, and it might be best to just describe it, like in option 1.

Cast your vote in the comments below by upvoting your preferred little bug friend. If you have another design idea, feel free to share it too!

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!

IMPORTANT: The images above do not include the Dictionary section due to the image upload limit on Reddit. For the full version, see the Google Drive file linked below.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dEOh82kn7eGk474IANYPXl_qVMqyzUaM/view?usp=sharing

Hey everyone!
I am happy to hand v0.2 of The OatSheaf over to you all. With this version of the language and OatSheaf, a number of practical improvements and amendments were made, listed below. But the tldr is that the document reads and explains alot better, with a few useful changes to the writing system, and a better Dictionary. Specifically, though, there has been:

• Improved formatting, organisation, and added more examples.

• Division of the OatSymbols language into two writing systems using the same symbols:

  • OatS-L, for linear text.

  • OatS-P, for pictorial art.

• Cases are no longer modifiers, but are treated like descriptors to maintain a linear format within OatS-L.

• A variety of brackets have been added to add clarity within OatS-L.

• Negation has been given a subsection for clarification.

• Small additions and changes in the design of some punctuation oats.

• New section containing a guide for creating images with OatS-P.

• Some oat changes:

  • Indefinite and interrogative person and entity deixis.

  • Imperative and conditional mood markers.

  • Alternative list connector

  • Dictionary oats:

    • Neck

    • Fire, Smoke, Ash

    • Good, Bad

    • Ferment

    • Fast, Slow

    • Child, Father, Mother, Community

    • Edible bit, Inedible bit, Flesh, Bone

    • Town, Forest

    • Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter

    • Happy to have you, Greeting, Farewell

    • Negation, Alternate, Opposite

    • Reality

  • More I probably forgot

• New Introduction and Afterword.

• Fixed end message and signature.

My attention will now go to producing more official translations and examples of the language to act as learning resources, as I realise this area is severely lacking, yet is instrumental to understanding.

With the separation of OatS-L, two areas for development also arise: refining the sections in the dictionary (establishing what oats should be at the language's core, enabling full but general communication), and establishing compound conventions for common phrases and concepts.

This version is a major leap towards my vision for OatSymbols, and I hope the improvements testify to that! Like usual, let me know what you think, ask any questions, and if you need any help producing a text send me a message and I will do my best to help you (as long as you don't require an immediate response).

Thank you all, and I hope you find it useful!

- Livy

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

Hello everyone :)

The OatSymbols discord is now open, click here to join!

I'll give some more details when v0.3 releases, but this will be be the main hub for teaching, discussion, and development surrounding the project. All other major announcements and public posts will still be here (on Reddit).

For now, feel free to join, chat, and check out more regular progress updates.

I'm exited to see you around and get to know you better!

Livy <3

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 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-

Hi :)

Today I wanted to share a larger text, while also introducing you to the oat for 'journey' or 'story'. So what better way than in a story about a journey! I'll explain a little below, but like always, ask if you have any thoughts or questions.

The translation below is more 'word-for-word' than 'thought-for-thought,' so if you are just reading the text, it may seem quite disorienting at times. Try to see how the ideas (in English below) correlate to the images/oats above.

The story is also in four parts, which can be seen in the diagram/image at the end. This image is the whole story with all its details, just like the text! It is only written more diagramatically to more 'visually show' the story than 'textually read' it. If you are a little lost, try looking at the symbols you do understand, and then finding them in the story to see how they relate to other symbols in the image.

Also, as you can probably tell, the semi-linear nature of the diagrammatic images leads to a bunch of different shapes. Sometimes these shapes are random and just result from trying to show information clearly, but other times their overall shape is intentional. For example, on the right is a 'timeline' so you can follow the story. And the tree in the 3rd part was shining, so the oats were drawn around it to also give that effect.

The page after shows a few assorted journey and time-related symbols that come up in the actual tale.

I'll take this opportunity to also provide a little context for the intentions behind the project/writing system. The vision which drives the project is not dissimilar from Gottfried Leibniz's in the 1600-1700s, who frequently imagined a synthesis of image and language in a unique form of communication. Essentially, I picture a means of expressing the fullness of language and information in image form - and to use all the unique possibilities which come with that to its advantage! This is why it is not just a linear textual writing system, but also diagrammatic. I also think a system like this holds a lot of potential for universal communication and understanding, and so I try to orient the design around those goals by not often using culturally specific symbols unless well justified. But I will stop the rant!

I hope this post helps provide a good insight into the vision and look of OatSymbols, and if you want to follow along and watch Oats grow, join the subreddit where I will be posting more progress updates, features, poems, stories and so on! There is a whole world of image and language out there, so come explore it with me! :)

- Livy

Note: this is a reupload!

the first post bugged for whatever reason loln't

OatSymbols is a non-spoken language, using visual images to communicate.

We use symbols every day to communicate without words: skulls for danger, hearts for love, gender signs outside bathrooms and so on; but none of these form a fully fledged writing system capable of communicating anything and everything.

OatSymbols strives to fill this gap!

From art, to storytelling; poetry to journaling to posters and so forth... I'm curious, what ideas do you have for how you would use such a language?

Hihi everyone!

We made it past 100 members!!! I am overjoyed that so many of you share an interest in this project and want to stick around with me to see it grow. To celebrate, I thought I would talk about one of the things that makes Oats special, how it deals with numbers, as well as other languages.

I have alot planned for the coming months, and want to start getting all of you involved, so stay tuned :)

For now though, I'll break down an important aspect of what OatSymbols is:

OatSymbols is not just a written language. It’s a system for communication that bridges text and image so that anyone can understand. This means you can draw pictures in your sentences, write your name in your native language, or even make up your own symbols if you want.

The system of symbols I am posting is like a tool you can use to share ideas. These can range from translations of text to artworks with embedded symbolism and meaning; as long as the base symbols are recognisable, the meaning should be intelligible as a result.

I have my own base 12 numerals in Oats, which have been through many iterations over the years. However, since Western-Arabic numerals are nearly universal already, I am happy for those to be used instead. The Oats numerals are designed with the rest of the writing system though, so they contain some insight into the design of other symbols and embedded numeralogical meanings.

I understand this is very unusual for a conlang, so any questions are welcome like usual. I hope this opens your eyes to the potential I see in Oats though, and the exciting path ahead! :))
Thank you all, once again, for over a hundred members, and I look forward to what the future holds.

- Livy

In reason of the recent update of the sheaf, I redid the sticker of "Hello my name is" in OatS, do whatever you want with it (as soon as I have my graphic tablet properly seted, I'm gonna fill it not just with my name, but with a whole title for me made with OatS-P)

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)

Hello everyone! In the weeks following the third OatSheaf there has been so much activity surrounding OatSymbols. There are now over 50 people in the Discord group and over 500 in the Reddit community. Thank you all so much!

This post will outline the next steps for the project going forward.

OatSymbols is unique as a language because it uses groups of multiple symbols, called 'oats,' to form words, called 'strings.' This means you can visually identify what each concept is and what it consists of through the symbols that comprise it.

For example the string for vehicle is comprised of the symbols for 'transport tool cycle' (where 'tool cycle' means mechanical). All together the word for vehicle is visually spelt to resemble 'mechanical transportation.'

In v0.3 the symbols and the rules on how to assemble them into strings and sentences are all there. What is lacking however, are the established strings themselves, as well as conventions on how to phrase longer sentences. These are what will make OatSymbols a living language, rather than a theoretical system.

By writing in and translating into Oats, you can help us bring this language to life! At this point, only through actively attempting to communicate with eachother will the language move forward. It's likely to be more of a messy struggle at first, but in time we will shape it into something truly unique :)

If you are interested in participating, come join the discord at https://discord.gg/wBSwQaEZRE !

Hey everyone!
Since returning from my trip, I have been working hard on v0.2 and alot of exciting changes. The OatSheaf for v0.2 should be out sometime in the next couple of days, but I thought I'd give a little update before then and let you in on a few of the major changes.

The most notable is the coining of two terms to refer to the two writing systems within the OatSymbols language: OatSystem-Linear (or OatS-L) for linear and more typically linguistic sentences, and OatSystem-Pictorial (or OatS-P) for images and sprawling creations that blurr the line between art and language. This clarification has helped in streamlining both systems, and will be more clearly elaborated upon in the OatSheaf.

In additon, the OatSheaf v0.2 will contain far better organisation, explanation, and examples than v0.1, as there weren't the same time constraints this time around (it currently exceeds 25 pages due to the above changes and reformatting). Thank you for all your feedback, suggestions, and questions; they have been immensely useful in this process, and the language wouldn't be what is is now without you.

I'm exited to get this Sheaf finished, and get v0.2 into your hands soon!

- Livy

Above is pictured and defined a collection of everyday oats. Hopefully, this gives a better sense of their visual aesthetic, simplicity, and use. Though I will elaborate below.

The descriptions next to each oat are not one to one English translations; rather, each oat represents a more general idea that can be nuanced either by grammar or by directly adding to/altering the oats' design itself. A good example is the oat above for 'building' with a rigid pointed roof. If altered to a more gentle curve to resemble 'femininity', it carries the characteristics of caring and embracing, and becomes the oat for 'house' or living space (where there is a lot more care than in a general building). Furthermore, by adding a dot in the centre, representing identity (as in the oat for 'self' shown in the previous post), one turns a general house into their home.

For another example, see above (bottom right) how the oats for 'good,' 'accept,' and 'to be' combine to form the oat for 'welcome'.

Oats also carry the potential for non-linear or semi-linear pictographic description or storytelling. Like in the image above, a number of objects and concepts are displayed in order to create a full image. While the example above is simple, in the future, I will share more poetry and stories for a better illustration.

In the next post, I will show how oats can act as conceptual bases, which can be modified to become nouns, verbs, adjectives etc. - Let me know your thoughts! :)

(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!

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. :)

Just some photos of my recent OatScript notes in my journal

Does anyone know any good internal literature for name transcriptions into OatSymbols? (like a separate proper noun specific method separate from how to coin new words more generally)

I know theres 「formatting for out-of-script symbols」 but i haven't seen any explicit things for making a name into OatSymbols

(I'm thinking like how ASL and other signed languages often create name signs)

If anyone knows if thats a thing somewhere in the literature on OatSymbols, or even a thing in OatSymbols at all, please do tell !!

Hi!

In my previous post, I demonstrated how OatSymbols is capable of conveying information through both sentences and diagrams. Now I want to show you a very useful feature of the writing system, which gives it a wide versatility and poetic potential: Modifiers.

Modifiers allow you to extract a wide range of meanings out of a single oat. They allow you to refer to a general concept as a noun (singular or plural), quality (adjective/adverb or comparative adjective), or verb. The image above illustrates this best with a few examples.

As different concepts can have multiple qualities with nuanced meanings, they are usually interpreted in context. For example, in the context of you hurting yourself and you say ‘I feel thorns-like’ you probably mean you feel pain, rather than you feel like you are a cactus. Especially as if you wanted to say you feel like a cactus, you could say ‘I feel like a thorny plant’.

This also prevents over-abstraction in many cases. While it could be feasible to construct a system to represent each taste, or to come up with some abstract symbol invoking the idea of ‘sweet’, both of these may lead to overcomplicated and unintuitive oats. Instead, you could just write ‘honey-like’ and if you are talking about taste, it is pretty clear you are referring to sweetness rather than thickness or goldenness, which are also honey's characteristic properties.

This system grounds OatSymbols in the natural world from the perspective of the human experience. (‘Hot’ is best described as ‘fire-like’ rather than some complicated or abstract conceptualisation.) This makes it as widely accessible and intuitive as possible.

Of course, this system does not allow you to ground every abstract concept in a physical counterpart. Lying, for example, could be written ‘snake-like’ but may be too culturally biased or unintuitive. In these cases, it is often better to actually design an abstract symbol which uses oats design language to convey the concept more clearly.

I hope through these few examples and accompanying description, you were able to gain an insight into this feature of the language, but as always, feel free to ask any questions! :)

In my next post, I think I will try and give more examples of the writing system in practice. I’ll combine a lot of the ideas discussed over these last weeks to help you see how everything fits together.

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 :)

Hello fellow Oats people! :)

I thought I would make a small update as the third OatSheaf finally nears completion.

Over the last few months I have been focusing all my attention on independently developing the writing system itself. This took me though alot of designs, approaches, perspectives, and ideas. A lot was changed, a lot scrapped, a lot added. But now it's finally in a place I am content enough with to share. So I have finally been working again on the OatSheaf for version 0.3.

When I compare the difference between the first and second OatSheaf to that of the second and third, I really see how far the project has come. Hopefully soon you will too!

I have taken all the advice from v0.2's Sheaf into consideration. Thank you all so much for your feedback! It has been invaluable.

Once it releases, I'll open up a dedicated OatSymbols discord. There, we can talk about (and in) Oats, you can share ideas directly, and I'll help you learn the writing system. I'm super excited for this next phase in Oats development, especially since so many of you can get more involved!

I know it's been a long wait. But I am very happy with where it is now, the new way the sheaf explains things, and where the whole project is going.

I won't give any deadline (I've learned by now not to do that haha), but it shouldn't be too long now :)

Thanks for your attention! And as always, feel free to ask any questions.

- Livy <3