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The Fraser or Old Lisu script is an artificial abugida for the Lisu language invented around 1915 by Sara Ba Thaw, a Karen preacher from Myanmar, and improved by the missionary James O. Fraser. It is a single-case (unicameral) alphabet. It was also used for the Naxi language, e.g. in the 1932 Naxi Gospel of Mark,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and used in the Zaiwa or Atsi language, e.g. in the 1938 Atsi Gospel of Mark.
The script uses uppercase letters from the Latin script (except for the letter Q) and rotated versions thereof (except for the letters M, Q and W) to write consonants and vowels. Tones and nasalization are written with Roman punctuation marks, identical to those found on a typewriter. Like the Indic abugidas, the vowel {{#invoke:IPA|main}} is not written. However, unlike those scripts, the other vowels are written with full letters.
The local Chinese government in Nujiang de facto recognized the script in 1992 as the official script for writing in Lisu, although other Lisu autonomous territories continue to use the New Lisu (Latin script) for official matters.Template:Citation needed
ConsonantsEdit
Note: You may need to download a Lisu-capable Unicode font if not all characters display.
- Initial glottal stop is only written when the inherent vowel Template:IPAblink follows, and just like all consonants, the inherent vowel suffix Template:Script must not be written as that would indicate another Template:IPAblink follows ({{#invoke:IPA|main}} instead of {{#invoke:IPA|main}}). It is automatic before all initial vowels but Template:IPAblink and Template:IPAblink.
- Template:Script represents a "vowel" in the Naxi language, presumably a medial Template:IPAblink, and a consonant Template:IPAblink in the Lisu language. Template:Script, Template:Script and Template:Script are likewise ambiguous.
- Template:Script only occurs in an imperative particle. It is an allophone of Template:Script Template:IPAblink, which causes nasalization to the syllable.
- Template:Script, Template:Script and Template:Script are used only in Lisu language.
- Template:Script is used only in Naxi language.
VowelsEdit
| Front | Central/back | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High | Template:Script Template:IPAblink | Template:Script Template:IPAblink | Template:Script Template:IPAblink | Template:Script Template:IPAblink | ||
| Mid | Template:Script Template:IPAblink | Template:Script Template:IPAblink | Template:Script Template:IPAblink | Template:Script Template:IPAblink | Template:Script Template:IPAblink | Template:Script [{{#invoke:IPA|main}}]/Template:IPAblink |
| Low | Template:Script Template:IPAblink | Template:Script** Template:IPAblink | Template:Script [{{#invoke:IPA|main}}] | Template:Script Template:IPAblink | ||
- **Only written after a syllable (consonant letter) to indicate a second vowel. Other vowels do not have special letters to emphasize a secondary vowel without glottal stop initial, such as Template:Script ({{#invoke:IPA|main}}) is not written as Template:Script and can only be distinguished from Template:Script ({{#invoke:IPA|main}}) by a space.
For example, Template:Angle bracket is {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, while Template:Angle bracket is {{#invoke:IPA|main}}.
When consonant ꓠꓬ, ꓬ is used with vowel ꓬꓱ, ꓬ, without being ambiguous only one ꓬ is written.
When transcribing diphthongs and nasal codas, letters ꓮ and ꓬ can work like vowels just like English letter Y, making Fraser script behave like an abjadic alphabet like the Roman instead of an abugida like Tibetan; meanwhile space works like a delimiter like a Tibetan tseg, making a final consonant (such as ꓠ) possible without necessity of a halanta sign: 凉粉 Template:Script reads as {{#invoke:IPA|main}} rather than as Template:Script {{#invoke:IPA|main}}.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
TonesEdit
Tones are written with standard punctuation. Lisu punctuation therefore differs from international norms: the comma is Template:Angle bracket (hyphen period) and the full stop is Template:Angle bracket (equal sign).
| Template:Script {{#invoke:IPA|main}} | Template:Script {{#invoke:IPA|main}} | Template:Script {{#invoke:IPA|main}} |
| Template:Script {{#invoke:IPA|main}}* | Template:Script {{#invoke:IPA|main}} | Template:Script {{#invoke:IPA|main}} |
| Template:Script {{#invoke:IPA|main}} | Template:Script {{#invoke:IPA|main}} | Template:Script {{#invoke:IPA|main}} |
- *It is not clear how the Template:Angle bracket mid tone differs from the unmarked mid tone.
The tones Template:Angle bracket, Template:Angle bracket, Template:Angle bracket, Template:Angle bracket may be combined with Template:Angle bracket and Template:Angle bracket as compound tones. However, the only compound tone still in common use is Template:Angle bracket.
The apostrophe indicates nasalization. It is combined with tone marks.
The low macron indicates the Lisu "A glide", a contraction of {{#invoke:IPA|main}} without an intervening glottal stop. The tone is not always falling, depending on the environment, but is written Template:Angle bracket regardless.
Letter formsEdit
Although Fraser published a serif form of the script,<ref>James Fraser (1922) Handbook of the Lisu (Yawyin) language. Superintendent, Government printing, Rangoon</ref> almost all typesetting today is done in a sans-serif typeface.
UnicodeEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}}
The Fraser script was added to the Unicode Standard in October, 2009 with the release of version 5.2.
The Unicode block for the Fraser script, called 'Lisu', is U+A4D0–U+A4FF:
An additional character, the inverted Y used in the Naxi language, was added to the Unicode Standard in March, 2020 with the release of version 13.0. It is in the Lisu Supplement block (U+11FB0–U+11FBF):
Template:Unicode chart Lisu Supplement
See alsoEdit
ReferencesEdit
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