Writing System
In the Nauruan written language, 17 letters were originally used:
- The five vowels: a, e, i, o, u
- Twelve consonants: b, d, g, j, k, m, n, p, q, r, t, w
The letters c, f, h, l, s, v, x, y and z were not included. With the growing influence of foreign languages (most of all German, Tok Pisin and Kiribati) more letters were incorporated into the Nauruan alphabet. In addition, phonetic differences of a few vowels arose, so that umlauts and other similar sounding sounds were indicated with a tilde.
Read more about this topic: Nauruan Language
Famous quotes containing the words writing and/or system:
“No race can prosper till it learns there is as much dignity in tilling a field as in writing a poem.”
—Booker T. Washington (1856–1915)
“The twentieth-century artist who uses symbols is alienated because the system of symbols is a private one. After you have dealt with the symbols you are still private, you are still lonely, because you are not sure anyone will understand it except yourself. The ransom of privacy is that you are alone.”
—Louise Bourgeois (b. 1911)