Kaitè is traditionally written using an abugida, a system where each consonant is represented by a symbol. Vowels are then noted by modifying the consonant symbol. Words and sentences are read horizontally from right to left (opposite to English), and from top to bottom on a page.
The Kaithan abugida has 42 different symbols, each representing one consonant or phoneme. These symbols are usually written as they appear here, with no separate or simplified handwritten form.
The Kaithan abugida has 42 different symbols, each representing one consonant or phoneme. These symbols are usually written as they appear here, with no separate or simplified handwritten form.
The following 19 different notations are then used to indicate the vowel sound following the consonant:
These vowel symbols are only written in this way when the vowel begins a word/syllable, in which case the horizontal line is extended through the following consonant, as seen in the writing samples below.
When following a consonant, the horizontal line in the vowel is removed, and the top and bottom symbols are added to the consonant symbol as follows:
When following a consonant, the horizontal line in the vowel is removed, and the top and bottom symbols are added to the consonant symbol as follows:
Punctuation:
Sample text: