HOW TO: Create your own Language

2-Creating your alphabet and sounds

What is an alphabet? 

It seems like a simple question, but would you really be able to describe the noun 'alphabet'? 

According to the dictionary, an alphabet is: ' a system of writing, developed in the ancient Near East and transmitted from the northwest Semites to the Greeks, in which each symbol ideally represents one sound unit in the spoken language,and from which most scripts are derived.'

In other words, an alphabet is nothing other than a set of characters/written letters written customarily and that represent the sounds in a given language.

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Before actually writing down your letters, ask yourself these questions:

-how many letters are there to be in my language?

-are they going to be made-up/invented letters or are they going to derive from other languages, like Latin?

-how many sounds do I want there to be in my language?

I wouldn't recommend more than forty letters, considering the English alphabet has 26 and Japanese Hiragana has 46. Regarding sounds, there could be as many as hundreds of them, but why complicate life and make learning your language more difficult? 

Since there are so many different sounds that man can make, it isn't always easy to know which ones to choose for your own language.

If you speak British English, then you can make over 44 different sounds. If you speak Dutch, you can make over 36 different sounds (or phonemes). As for German: about 45. 

IPA (the International Phonetic Alphabet) has a list of all possible sounds in the human language (and, between you and me, there are so many!) and represents them with signs. 

How many do you want? Less than 12? Or over 46? You choose!

In my language (Lei'ine), there are going to be more than 35 sounds. But how many letters?

We'll find out in the next chapter!