View source for Xi'an alphabet

[[File:Xi'an letters blocks.PNG|thumb|The word Xi'an written in kyexiin in [[xiinthle'a]].]] 

The '''Xi'an alphabet'''{{SClang|lang=xian|kyexiin=kyexiin|srx=kyexiin|srx-meaning=script / alphabetic letter}} is a writing system to write the [[Xi'an language]].

The alphabet has over 200 "letters", symbols or glyphs. A letter is referred to as a kyexiin, which translates as "written symbol" Each letter has more than one form (basic, block, corner). The Xi'an writing system also has a hyphen, 'comma' (epentheses and pause), quotation and a period (full stop) mark. Proper nouns are also marked in the Xi'an script. There are a special glyph for vowel muting and a glyph equal to the ampersand (&).

Some glyphs can occur in different shapes or variants. Glyphs are grouped into blocks which form individual syllables. Often a single syllable represents an 'elemental' concept in the language, and is thus called a tai {{SClang|lang=xian|kyexiin=tai}}. Multiple tai can combine to form compound words. The block format is always:

*V, Vowel
*VC, Vowel - Consonant
*CV, Consonant - Vowel
*CVC, Consonant - Vowel - Consonant

Only a certain set of consonants (denoted below as those that have a 'corner form') are permitted to come at the end of a syllable. This applies to both CVC and VC syllables. Occasionally, and particularly within proper names, syllables will be compressed into a minimised number of blocks. An example of this is the word Xi'an, which in-lore has historically been written as {{SClang|lang=xian|kyexiin=9xi2an|srx=Xi'an}} but is now most commonly written as {{SClang|lang=xian|kyexiin=9xyan2|srx=Xy'an}}.

It is important to note that pitch diacritics can fundamentally change the meaning of a word. It can be sometimes very tricky to distinguish these diacritics from each other.<ref>{{Cite RSI|url=media/unzs4pdgg5wtir/source/Xian-Language-Overview-31-10-2947_corrected_x5.pdf|text=An Overview of the Xi'an Language for Diplomats}}</ref>

==Components==
{{Note|'''Note:''' The following kyexiin are written in xiinthle'a, the proper writing style or 'font' of the Xi'an language. Forms may vary in other writing styles.
}}
===Vowels===
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible" style="font-kerning: none!important"
|-
!SRX||Basic||Block||Corner||Simple pronunciation||IPA
|-
|A||{{Kyexiin|a8}}||{{Kyexiin|a}}||{{Kyexiin|77a}}||a in father||{{IPA|ɑ|PR-open_front_unrounded_vowel.ogg}}
|-
|Ā||{{Kyexiin|aa8}}||{{Kyexiin|aa}}||{{Kyexiin|77aa}}||extended a in father||{{IPA|ɑː|Open_front_unrounded_vowel.ogg}}
|-
|Â|| || ||{{Kyexiin|â}}|| c in but and cut || {{IPA|ə|Open-mid_front_unrounded_vowel.ogg}}/{{IPA|ʌ|PR-open-mid_back_unrounded_vowel2.ogg}}
|-
|O||{{Kyexiin|o8}}||{{Kyexiin|o}}||{{Kyexiin|77o}}|| o in cone and bone ||{{IPA|o|Close-mid_back_rounded_vowel.ogg}}
|-
|Ō||{{Kyexiin|oo8}}||{{Kyexiin|oo}}||{{Kyexiin|77oo}}|| extended o in cone and bone ||{{IPA|oː|Close-mid_back_rounded_vowel.ogg}}
|-
|E||{{Kyexiin|e8}}||{{Kyexiin|e}}||{{Kyexiin|77e}}|| e in bet, set and let || {{IPA|ɛ|Open-mid_front_unrounded_vowel.ogg}}
|-
|Ē||{{Kyexiin|ee8}}||{{Kyexiin|ee}}||{{Kyexiin|77ee}}|| ay in day, say and slay || {{IPA|eː|Close-mid_front_unrounded_vowel.ogg}} / {{IPA|e⁀ɪ}}
|-
|I||{{Kyexiin|i8}}||{{Kyexiin|i}}||{{Kyexiin|77i}}|| ee in spree only slightly shorter ||{{IPA|i|Close_front_unrounded_vowel.ogg}}
|-
|II||{{Kyexiin|ii8}}||{{Kyexiin|ii}}||{{Kyexiin|77ii}}|| ee in spree||{{IPA|iː|Close_front_unrounded_vowel.ogg}}
|-
|U||{{Kyexiin|u8}}||{{Kyexiin|u}}||{{Kyexiin|77u}}|| u in flu ||{{IPA|u|Close_back_rounded_vowel.ogg}}
|-
|Ū||{{Kyexiin|uu8}}||{{Kyexiin|uu}}||{{Kyexiin|77u}}|| extended u in flu ||{{IPA|uː|Close_back_rounded_vowel.ogg}}
|}

===Consonants===
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible" style="font-kerning: none!important"
|-
!SRX||Basic||Block||Corner||Pronunciation
|-
|P||{{Kyexiin|p}}|| || ||{{IPA|<nowiki>[p]</nowiki>|Voiceless_bilabial_plosive.ogg}}
|-
|K||{{Kyexiin|k}}|| || style="padding-left:8px" |{{Kyexiin|7k}}||{{IPA|<nowiki>[k]</nowiki>|Voiceless_velar_plosive.ogg}}
|-
|T||{{Kyexiin|t}}|| || ||{{IPA|<nowiki>[t]</nowiki>|Voiceless_alveolar_plosive.ogg}}
|-
|S||{{Kyexiin|s}}|| || ||{{IPA|<nowiki>[s]</nowiki>|Voiceless_alveolar_sibilant.ogg}}
|-
|H||{{Kyexiin|h}}|| || ||{{IPA|<nowiki>[h]</nowiki>|Voiceless_glottal_fricative.ogg}}
|-
|M||{{Kyexiin|m}}|| || style="padding-left:8px" |{{Kyexiin|7m}}||{{IPA|<nowiki>[m]</nowiki>|Bilabial_nasal.ogg}} in him {{IPA|/ˈhɪm/}}, alt: {{IPA|<nowiki>/əm/</nowiki>}}
|-
|N||{{Kyexiin|n}}|| || style="padding-left:8px" |{{Kyexiin|7n}}||{{IPA|<nowiki>[n]</nowiki>|Alveolar_nasal.ogg}}
|-
|NG||{{Kyexiin|ng}}|| || style="padding-left:8px" |{{Kyexiin|7g}}||{{IPA|<nowiki>[ŋ]</nowiki>|Velar_nasal.ogg}} in Song {{IPA|/sɒŋ/}} alt: {{IPA|/sɔŋ/}}, {{IPA|/sɑŋ/}} and singing {{IPA|/ˈsɪŋɪŋ/}}
|-
|TH||{{Kyexiin|th}}|| || style="padding-left:8px" |{{Kyexiin|7th}}||{{IPA|<nowiki>[θ]</nowiki>|Voiceless_dental_fricative.ogg}} or {{IPA|<nowiki>[ð]</nowiki>|Voiced_dental_fricative.ogg}} n with {{IPA|/wɪð/}}, thin {{IPA|/ˈθɪn/}}
|-
|L||{{Kyexiin|l}}|| ||{{Kyexiin|7l}}||{{IPA|<nowiki>[l]</nowiki>|Alveolar_lateral_approximant.ogg}} in tell {{IPA|/tɛl/}} or {{IPA|/tɛɫ/}} , lit {{IPA|/ˈlɪt/}} ; in dialect: {{IPA|<nowiki>[r]</nowiki>|Alveolar_trill.ogg}}
|-
|R||{{Kyexiin|r}}|| || style="padding-left:8px" |{{Kyexiin|7r}}||{{IPA|<nowiki>[ɾ]</nowiki>|Alveolar_tap.ogg}} or {{IPA|<nowiki>[r]</nowiki>|Alveolar_trill.ogg}} in ital. 'rosa' {{IPA|/ˈrɔ.za/}}
|-
|THL||{{Kyexiin|thl}} or  {{Kyexiin|thl6}} (rare)|| || ||{{IPA|<nowiki>[θ]</nowiki>|Voiceless_dental_fricative.ogg}} + {{IPA|<nowiki>[l]</nowiki>|Alveolar_lateral_approximant.ogg}} = with love
|-
|X||{{Kyexiin|x}}|| || ||{{IPA|<nowiki>[ʂ]</nowiki>|Voiceless_retroflex_sibilant.ogg}}
|-
|XY||{{Kyexiin|xy}}|| || ||{{IPA|<nowiki>[ʃ]</nowiki>|Voiceless_palato-alveolar_sibilant.ogg}}
|-
|CH||{{Kyexiin|ch}}|| || ||{{IPA|<nowiki>[ʈʂ]</nowiki>|Voiceless_retroflex_affricate.ogg}}
|-
|CHY
|
|
|
|No discret glyph. CH in "Cheat"
|-
|KL||{{Kyexiin|kl}}|| || ||{{IPA|/kl/}}
|-
|KR||{{Kyexiin|kr}}|| || ||{{IPA|/kɾ/}} or {{IPA|/kr/}}
|-
|Y||{{Kyexiin|7y}}|| || ||{{IPA|<nowiki>[j]</nowiki>|Palatal_approximant.ogg}} in PYU {{IPA|/pjuː/}} , KYU {{IPA|/kjuː/}}, HYUN {{IPA|/hjuːn/}}, NYU {{IPA|/njuː/}} or {{IPA|/nju/}}, mutant {{IPA|/ˈmjuːtənt/}} or {{IPA|/ˈmjuʔn̩(t)/}}
|}

===Diphtongs===
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible" style="font-kerning: none!important"
|-
!SRX||Basic||Block||Corner||Variant||Pronunciation
|-
|AO||{{Kyexiin|ao8}}||{{Kyexiin|ao}}||{{Kyexiin|77ao}}|| ||{{IPA|/ɑo/}}
|-
|ĀO||{{Kyexiin|aao8}}||{{Kyexiin|aao}}||{{Kyexiin|77aao}}|| ||{{IPA|/ɑːo/}}
|-
|OA||{{Kyexiin|oa8}}||{{Kyexiin|oa}}||{{Kyexiin|77oa}}|| ||{{IPA|/oɑ/}}
|-
|ŌA||{{Kyexiin|ooa8}}||{{Kyexiin|ooa}}||{{Kyexiin|77ooa}}|| ||{{IPA|/oːɑ/}}
|-
|AI||{{Kyexiin|ai8}}||{{Kyexiin|ai}}||{{Kyexiin|77ai}}||{{Kyexiin|ai6}}||{{IPA|/ɑi/}}
|-
|ĀI||{{Kyexiin|aai}}||{{Kyexiin|aai}}||{{Kyexiin|77aai}}||{{Kyexiin|aai6}}||{{IPA|/ɑːi/}}
|-
|EA||{{Kyexiin|ea8}}||{{Kyexiin|ea}}||{{Kyexiin|77ea}}||{{Kyexiin|ea6}}||{{IPA|/ɛɑ/}}
|}

===U-Diphtongs===
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible" style="font-kerning: none!important"
|-
!SRX||Basic||Block||Corner||Pronunciation
|-
|UA||{{Kyexiin|ua8}}||{{Kyexiin|ua}}||{{Kyexiin|77ua}}||{{IPA|/wɑ/}}
|-
|UĀ||{{Kyexiin|uaa8}}||{{Kyexiin|uaa}}||{{Kyexiin|77uaa}}||{{IPA|/wɑː/}}
|-
|UO||{{Kyexiin|uo8}}||{{Kyexiin|uo}}||{{Kyexiin|77uo}}||{{IPA|/wo/}}
|-
|UŌ||{{Kyexiin|uoo8}}||{{Kyexiin|uoo}}||{{Kyexiin|77uo}}||{{IPA|/woː/}}
|-
|VU||{{Kyexiin|vu8}}||{{Kyexiin|vu}}|| ||{{IPA|/vu/βu/}} - Unclear whether this is the bilabial fricative or the labiodental fricative
|-
|UE||{{Kyexiin|ue8}}||{{Kyexiin|ue}}||{{Kyexiin|77ue}}||{{IPA|/wɛ/}}
|-
|UĒ||{{Kyexiin|uee8}}||{{Kyexiin|uee}}||{{Kyexiin|7uee}}||{{IPA|/wɛː/}}
|-
|UI||{{Kyexiin|ui8}}||{{Kyexiin|ui}}||{{Kyexiin|7ui}}||{{IPA|/wi/}}
|-
|UII||{{Kyexiin|uii8}}||{{Kyexiin|ui}}||{{Kyexiin|7ui}}||{{IPA|/wiː/}}
|-
|UAO||{{Kyexiin|uao8}}||{{Kyexiin|uao}}||{{Kyexiin|77uao}}||{{IPA|/wɑo/}}
|-
|UĀO||{{Kyexiin|uaao8}}||{{Kyexiin|uao}}||{{Kyexiin|77uao}}||{{IPA|/wɑːo/}}
|-
|UOA||{{Kyexiin|uoa8}}||{{Kyexiin|uoa}}||{{Kyexiin|77uoa}}||{{IPA|/woɑ/}}
|-
|UŌA||{{Kyexiin|uooa8}}||{{Kyexiin|uooa}}||{{Kyexiin|77uooa}}||{{IPA|/woːɑ/}}
|-
|UAI||{{Kyexiin|uai8}}||{{Kyexiin|uai}}||{{Kyexiin|77uai}}||{{IPA|/wɑi/}}
|-
|UĀI||{{Kyexiin|uaai8}}||{{Kyexiin|uai}}||{{Kyexiin|77uai}}||{{IPA|/wɑːi/}}
|-
|UEA|| ||{{Kyexiin|uea}}|| ||{{IPA|/wɛɑ/}}
|}

===Y-Diphtongs===
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible" style="font-kerning: none!important"
|-
!SRX||Basic||Block||Corner||Pronunciation
|-
|YA||{{Kyexiin|ya8}}||{{Kyexiin|ya}}||{{Kyexiin|77ya}}||{{IPA|/ja/}}
|-
|YĀ||{{Kyexiin|yaa8}}||{{Kyexiin|yaa}}||{{Kyexiin|77yaa}}||{{IPA|/ja:/}}
|-
|YO||{{Kyexiin|yo8}}||{{Kyexiin|yo}}||{{Kyexiin|77yo}}||{{IPA|/jo/}}
|-
|YŌ||{{Kyexiin|yoo8}}||{{Kyexiin|yoo}}||{{Kyexiin|77yoo}}||{{IPA|/jo:/}}
|-
|YU||{{Kyexiin|yu8}}||{{Kyexiin|yu}}||{{Kyexiin|77yu}}||{{IPA|/ju/}}
|-
|YŪ||{{Kyexiin|yuu8}}||{{Kyexiin|yuu}}||{{Kyexiin|77yuu}}||{{IPA|/ju:/}}
|-
|YE||{{Kyexiin|ye8}}||{{Kyexiin|ye}}||{{Kyexiin|77ye}}||{{IPA|/yɛ/}}
|-
|YĒ||{{Kyexiin|yee8}}||{{Kyexiin|yee}}||{{Kyexiin|77yee}}||{{IPA|/yɛ:/}}
|-
|YI||{{Kyexiin|yi8}}||{{Kyexiin|yi}}||{{Kyexiin|77yi}}||{{IPA|/ji/}}
|-
|YII||{{Kyexiin|yii8}}||{{Kyexiin|yii}}||{{Kyexiin|77yii}}||{{IPA|/jiː/}}
|-
|YAO||{{Kyexiin|yao8}}||{{Kyexiin|yao}}||{{Kyexiin|77yao}}||{{IPA|/jɑo/}}
|-
|YĀO||{{Kyexiin|yaao8}}||{{Kyexiin|yaao}}||{{Kyexiin|77yaao}}||{{IPA|/jɑːo/}}
|-
|YOA||{{Kyexiin|yoa8}}||{{Kyexiin|yoa}}||{{Kyexiin|77yoa}}||{{IPA|/joɑ/}}
|-
|YŌA||{{Kyexiin|yooa8}}||{{Kyexiin|yooa}}||{{Kyexiin|77yooa}}||{{IPA|/joːɑ/}}
|-
|YAI||{{Kyexiin|yai8}}||{{Kyexiin|yai}}||{{Kyexiin|77yai}}||{{IPA|/jɑi/}}
|-
|YĀI||{{Kyexiin|yaai8}}||{{Kyexiin|yaai}}||{{Kyexiin|77yaai}}||{{IPA|/jɑːi/}}
|-
|YEA|| ||{{Kyexiin|yea}}|| ||{{IPA|/jɛɑ/}}
|}

===Special glyphs===
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible" style="font-kerning: none!important"
|-
!SRX||Glyph||Pronunciation
|-
|UTH||{{Kyexiin|uth}}||
|-
|E'E||{{Kyexiin|e2e}}||
|-
|
|{{Kyexiin|0}}
|(Vowel muting)
|}

===Numbers===
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible" style="font-kerning: none!important"
|-
!SRX||Basic||Pronunciation||SRX||Basic||Pronunciation
|-
|1||{{Kyexiin|1}}|| ||6||{{Kyexiin|6}}||
|-
|2||{{Kyexiin|2}}|| ||7||{{Kyexiin|7}}||
|-
|3||{{Kyexiin|3}}|| ||8||{{Kyexiin|8}}||
|-
|4||{{Kyexiin|4}}|| ||9||{{Kyexiin|9}}||
|-
|5||{{Kyexiin|5}}|| ||0||{{Kyexiin|0}}||
|}

===Punctuation===
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible" style="font-kerning: none!important"
|-
!Symbol||Notes
|-
|{{Kyexiin|.}}||Full stop
|-
|{{Kyexiin|,}}||Pause
|-
|{{Kyexiin|)}}||Epenthesis
|-
|{{Kyexiin|?}}||Question mark
|-
|{{Kyexiin|" "}}||Quotation marks
|}

===Pitch and 'Capitalisation'===

These examples all use the character {{Kyexiin| a }} as the example.
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible" style="font-kerning: none!important"
|-
!Symbol||Notes
|-
|{{Kyexiin|9a}}||Proper name, i.e. Capitalisation
|-
|{{Kyexiin|a1}}||Low pitch
|-
|{{Kyexiin|a3}}||High pitch
|-
|{{Kyexiin|a2}}||Normal Fall
|-
|{{Kyexiin|4a5}}||Normal Rise
|-
|{{Kyexiin|4a3}}||Rise-to-high
|-
|{{Kyexiin|a2 a1}}||Fall-to-low
|-
|{{Kyexiin|4a2}}||Rise-to-fall
|}

==See also==

*{{Link RSI|url=media/unzs4pdgg5wtir/source/Xian-Language-Overview-31-10-2947_corrected_x5.pdf|text=An Overview of the Xi'an Language for Diplomats}}
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tznbxuUbEwI uo'aXy'an Lesson Two: Pronunciation and Writing]
*{{Link RSI|url=spectrum/community/SC/forum/88012/thread/xi-an-alphabet|text=Xi'an Alphabet}}
*[[Template:Kyexiin]]
*{{Link RSI|url=spectrum/community/SC/forum/88012/thread/xi-an-language-learning-resources|text=Useful learning resources}}
* [[Banu glyph]] - the writing system of the [[Banu language]]

==References==
<references/>

{{Short description|Writing system of the Xi'an language}}
{{stub}}
Description	What you type	What you get
Italic	''Italic text''	Italic text
Bold	'''Bold text'''	Bold text
Bold & italic	'''''Bold & italic text'''''	*Bold & italic text*