L2
Marks
The mark is the bit of the key, written last: it gives the vowel. There are six marks, and one of them, the bar, gives no vowel at all.
| Mark | Sound | How to remember it |
|---|---|---|
| dot below | a | The open vowel, at the bottom of the mouth. One dot, the first vowel. |
| two dots | i | The two corners of a smile: lips spread. |
| ring | o | Lips rounded. |
| bar | no vowel | A line that shuts the syllable and leaves the consonant on its own. It is called tik, the lock. |
| dot above (with its dot below) | e | A dot halfway risen, its shadow left below: the vowel between a and i. |
| three dots | u | Three points drawn toward one: the tightest rounding. |
Signs are numbered by a simple rule: the mark's number times eight, plus the stroke's number. The table on the sheet has eight columns, one for each stroke, and six rows, one for each mark.
The crook before a vowel
The crook is the catch in the throat. Before a vowel it is so light that the sign simply says the vowel. So the crook with each mark gives you the five vowels on their own, and with the bar it gives the catch itself.
Two dots are never joined into a dash, and the bar is always wider than the stroke's bowl. That one rule keeps i and the silencer apart in every hand.
Reading the back of the book
Under the line To dream is to resist, on the back of every copy, sit five red signs. The same five head the Contents page. You can read them now.