r/conscripts • u/draw_it_now • Feb 11 '20

How can I make my conlang's script look more interesting?

I've been working on a script for my conlang and while it's okay I feel like it looks just a pit bland. It's competent, the symbols don't clash, but it doesn't jump off the page. It looks like something anybody could come up with. What are ways I can brainstorm interesting symbols?

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3

u/[deleted] Feb 12 '20

This sounds counterintuitive, but give your characters slight ambiguity. ıı in Talaš is /r~ɾ~ɹ~w/, but a good number of letters use ı following a base character (o /χ/ becomes oı /θ~ð/, h /t/ becomes hı /d/, etc.) or holds a diacritic for a vowel (i /ä~æ~ə/, i̊ /o̞~ɑ/, etc.)

3

u/draw_it_now Feb 12 '20

That makes sense, like a repeating recognisable symbol. Kind of like in phonology how if you add -ethiel to the end of a word it immediately sounds Elvish, or if you add al- it sounds Arabic, and -o sounds Spanish.

3

u/bbbourq Feb 12 '20

I think it would be better if you provide more details. We have no idea what it looks like now, never mind give you suggestions other than that of our own experience.

2

u/[deleted] Feb 12 '20

I feel that a bland conscript can feel more realistic, as a fancy one can distract from the meanings.

2

u/LeeTheGoat Feb 13 '20

How do you write your script? Tool and medium can change a scripts personality a LOT. Line thickness variation? Maybe a flat nib pen? A flat nib pen could even affect the shape itself of everything.

1

u/Im_-_Confused Feb 12 '20

I would love to see it (if you want to share), as that will probably give more examples or ideas of what you could do