Hi everyone, just wanted to share – I’ve finished the Shavian cover for my novel, Blue Are the Hills. The full Shavian transliteration is complete, and it’s almost ready for release (now I’m just doing battle with Scrivener to compile it properly). There are almost no modern novels in Shavian, so I’m looking forward to sharing mine. It’s a literary sci-fi novel about identity, hope, and transhumanism. Only a couple of things left to do and it will be ready. This has been a very fun project!

What’s Shavian? I’m glad you asked! It’s an alphabet created by John Kingsley Read in response to a challenge by George Bernard Shaw, intended to make a lexicon specifically designed for English, in order to make reading and writing English easier.

Here’s more info, including many resources (lexicon, guidelines, fonts): shavian.info.

It’s fun if you’re into linguistics or cryptography at all.

  • LillyPipOPEnglish
    2·
    12 days ago

    Thank you!

    Yes, I did. If you read it and find typos etc, I’d love to know!

    • Nico198X@europe.pub
      3·
      12 days ago

      Love it! VERY inspiring stuff! So good to see people living the dream like this.

      Where can i find this work?

      • LillyPipOPEnglish
        3·
        12 days ago

        Thanks, that’s so nice to hear. ☺️

        It’s on Amazon, here. I’d love feedback, if you have any.

        • Nico198X@europe.pub
          2·
          12 days ago

          thanks, i’ll check it out!

          how long did it take you to do the transliteration into Shavian?

          btw i’ve crossposted this to a new Shavian community also.

          • LillyPipOPEnglish
            3·
            11 days ago

            Thanks! Much appreciated.

            It took 5 months, but I was also learning Shavian whilst doing it. It was a fun project, and I think a similar project would take less time now.

            e: there were a LOT of self-editing passes.