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The core of the writing system is the syllabary-- the glyphs needed to write each possible Axunašin syllable. Children learn to write by first learning these glyphs, then learning to modify them to show the final consonant (as shown at right, using the syllable pa).
Note that the b- row is used for both b and v.
This is not the full set of glyphs; there were 770 logographs representing individual words (including 18 used for digits and powers of ten). One can write entirely using the syllabary, but it would be like writing Japanese only using kana: only for children or foreingers. E.g. the name of the language is written
using the glyph for Axun then na - ši+n.
The following diagram shows the Wede:i glyphs each of the Axunashin glyphs is based on. It does not represent a syllabary for Wede:i: often the Axunašin glyph is based on a word glyph, not a syllable glyph.
The italicized words represent glyphs which were borrowed by meaning rather than sound. E.g. muku 'bull' was used to write Axunašin bouz, which in turn became the glyph for syllable bou. A question mark indicates that the derivation of the Axunašin glyph is uncertain.
Finally, here is the modern Xurnáš syllabary. Each glyph descends from the Axunašin equivalent, but is now drawn as (in most cases) a single cursive stroke.
This is by no means the only way to draw the glyphs today. Here's the character mou in several different hands. (The date shows the approximate time the hand was developed.) The above chart represents a late form of the Classic tradition; Jenubri is based on this, but smooths out the strokes and replaces the loops with points. The Čeiyu hand is the standard in Čeiy. The others are artistic or historical variants.
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