APPENDIX E : Changes From SERA System 5 [Revision: 10/30/94, Originally the ADDENDUM Document] The Ethiopic Fidel in ASCII ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ he hu hi ha hE h ho le lu li la lE l lo lWa He Hu Hi Ha HE H Ho me mu mi ma mE m mo mWa s2e s2u s2i s2a s2E s2 s2o * re ru ri ra rE r ro rWa se su si sa sE s so sWa xe xu xi xa xE x xo xWa qe qu qi qa qE q qo qWe qWu qWi qWa qWE Qe Qu Qi Qa QE Q Qo QWe QWu QWi QWa QWE be bu bi ba bE b bo bWa (Q is Tigrigna/Chaha) ve vu vi va vE v vo vWa te tu ti ta tE t to tWa ce cu ci ca cE c co cWa h2e h2u h2i h2a h2E h2 h2o hWe hWu hWi hWa hWE * ne nu ni na nE n no nWa Ne Nu Ni Na NE N No NWa e/a u/U i A E I o O ke ku ki ka kE k ko kWe kWu kWi kWa kWE `ke `ku `ki `ka `kE `k `ko (`k is Chaha) * Ke Ku Ki Ka KE K Ko KWe KW KWi KWa KWE Xe Xu Xi Xa XE X Xo (X is Chaha ) we wu wi wa wE w wo wWa `e `u `i `a `E `I `o * ze zu zi za zE z zo zWa Ze Zu Zi Za ZE Z Zo ZWa ye yu yi ya yE y yo de du di da dE d do dWa De Du Di Da DE D Do (D is Afan Oromiffa) je ju ji ja jE j jo ge gu gi ga gE g go gWe gWu gWi gWa gWE Ge Gu Gi Ga GE G Go (G is Bileen/Chaha) Te Tu Ti Ta TE T To TWa Ce Cu Ci Ca CE C Co CWa Pe Pu Pi Pa PE P Po Se Su Si Sa SE S So SWa S2e S2u S2i S2a S2E S2 S2o * fe fu fi fa fE f fo fWa pe pu pi pa pE p po * The characters written with either ` or 2 may be written in an alternate form as shown: s2e s2u s2i s2a s2E s2 s2o = `se `su `si `sa `sE `s `so S2e S2u S2i S2a S2E S2 S2o = `Se `Su `Si `Sa `SE `S `So h2e h2u h2i h2a h2E h2 h2o = `he `hu `hi `ha `hE `h `ho `ke `ku `ki `ka `kE `k `ko = k2e k2u k2i k2a k2E k2 k2o `e `u `i `a `E `I `o = a2 u2 i2 A2 e2 I2 o2 A Discussion of Changes Made in SERA System 6 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Ascii Fidel : A part of the original design premise of the SERA Ascii Fidel (AF) was that it take advantage of the sounds found in all languages that use Ethiopic for their written script. During discussions with tgrNa (Tigrigna) speakers at the Dehai network's Eritrea-Info, it was learned that the first and second "h" in the fidel do not have the same sound as they do in amarNa (Amharic). The rationale for the appendage of "2" following a consonant was to denote a second character that was the phonetic equivalent of some other. In spoken Ge'ez tables the 2nd "h" of the fidel is represented with phonetic symbology as "h" with a "." underneath. It is consistent with the choices of the upper case "T", "C", "S", and "P" to then use "H" for what had been "h2". This is indeed the same character used in the Dehai fidel as well as "K" for h4 or what had previously been "H" in SERA. The Dehai convention is now adopted in the SERA Ascii Fidel. Further, h3 logically became h2. These changes allow for a simpler use by members of any language group where Ethiopic script is used as well as for some simplification in transliteration computer code. The second set of vowels in the AF were also updated to reflect more of the way that tgrNa relates to the fidel. The 2nd set of vowels are more important in written and spoken tgrNa and do not have the same sounds as does (are not homophonic to) the first vowel group. This second set of vowels (or perhaps vowels-like letters) will be represented with the ` character used by many Ge'ez and Arabic tables for the "`ain". The original system of "a2" may also be used if the typist finds the ` more difficult to reach or if thinking by the sounds the characters have in the typist's language, "a2" becomes a more natural choice in agreement with the logic for h2, s2, and S2. 2nd Vowel Set `e `u `i `a `E `I `o also --> a2 u2 i2 A2 E2 I2 o2 It can be argued that the 2nd vowel group now depicts a higher degree of syllabic thinking. This arises from how the characters relate to each other through the ` , vs the first vowel group where each character is symbolically independent (and indicate then a more alphabetic thinking). The original lone vowel ordering of the first form vowels will maintain their Amharic bias. Likewise the same alternate denotation was applied to the characters h2, s2, and S2. The use of ` here to imply a different pronunciation for the letters is valid when considering the original sounds of the characters in spoken g`Iz (Ge'ez). The choice is left to the typist then to select the prefixed ` or appended 2 form. Which s/he may do so based upon the ease of reach of the character or by the sound of the character that the typist wish to impart with the modifier. The Ordering of The First 7 Forms: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- SERA-101 System 6c ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Consonants: le lu li la lE l lo Independent Vowels: e\a u\U i A E I o e3 (as in e3re!) Rule : First Vowel Set Following a 6th Form Consonant: l'e l'u l'i l'A l'E l'I l'o also --> l'a lU lI lO (minimal punctuation) The writer may choose to use ' as a separator between vowels for clarity: keErtra = ke'Ertra leabebe = le'abebe = le'ebebe = leebebe -------------------------------------------------------------------- The primary changes from System 5 are the use of "E" for the hams and "A" for the lone rab`I vowel. This comes in part from early user comments that punctuation requires one to "...stop and remember what the letter is." In System 6 all forms of consonants and all of the vowels are given by alphabetic (readable) ascii characters except for the sads consonants which in a special instance have a two character form. It is believed that the elimination of punctuation for the vowels will allow for easier reading. Particularly in tgrNa where a4 may occur more commonly than a1 and in Gurage languages where a8 is found more often than other vowels. The character | is retained to imply that the vowel element of a sads consonant is enunciated. The dual use of "e" and "a" for the first form vowel is introduced now to permit the logical choices in ascii for the sounds of the character in amarNa and for the majority of Ethiopian and Eritrean languages that use the stricter, traditional, writing conventions. Allowing dual representation does not introduce conflicts for computer transliterators, as it is valid only for the lone vowel and not for consonant forms. It is hoped the system will work naturally for humans, the letter choices being in agreement with how one would think of the vowel's sound from his or her language in Latin form. The choice of "e3" is thought to be the best model for the sound of the character -the 8th vowel. The sound of the character is in Amharic the same as that of "e" (the first vowel) in Tigrigna. The choice of a numeral to follow "e" will detract from the reading quality of the character, which should come at a small cost when its infrequent use is considered. Finally, the "left over" Latin uppercase consonants; B, F, J, L, M, R, V, and Y, are now recognized as equivalent to their lowercase counterparts. That is "Y" in transliteration would be interpretted identically as "y" etc. These same Latin characters are considered to be on a "reserve" status to model some overlooked sound in an Ethiopian or Eritrean language. A test document written with System 5 and the previous Ascii Fidel was rewritten with the new logic presented here and showed a "cleaner", easier to read form. This was primarily do to the reduction of punctuation of for the hams forms as well as the trade described for "2" and ` . The reader is reminded at this point that SERA was not intended to close the book on the subject of the Ascii representation of Ethiopic -merely to offer a better place to start. System 6 represents the first step in the advancement of improved representation after the gain of new insight and additional input from users of the previous system proposed. The Ascii representation of Ge'ez script will remain an evolving process as computer users continue to find ways to make natural language communication with the Ascii medium both easier to write and read.