handwriter summary

Handywrite System Summary

 

To better understand the above, study the following. Notice how, in the examples, each sound is often spelled several different ways.

Consonants: (as in....)

n m    knit—mit , knife—calm (no l sound)

t d two—do , stopped (one p, ends in t)—fiddle 

k g coat—goat , back—ghost 

r l rake—lake , wrong—tell 

p b pin—been , happy (only one p sound)—rabbit 

f v fairy—very , laugh—of (v not f)

h w how—wow , who (starts with h)—wine 

sh ch shin—chin , ocean—watch 

("ch" is the sound of t+sh, but gets a symbol of its own)

zh j azure—jam , measure—bridge

("j" is the sound of d+zh as in "edge")

ng nk sing—sink , long—lank 

("nk" is the sound of ng+k)

Th th thin—then (same vowel) , thigh—breathe 

("Thin" and "then" are the only two common words distinguished solely by the two forms of th, so if you get them mixed up writing other words, no big deal. By the way, the "th" in "then" or "the" occurs about ten times more often in writing than "Th" in "thin" or "think")

s z sin—zen , scent—has 

(s, z, and x may curve two ways, whichever seems best)

x y example—yet , extra—onion 

("x" is the sound of k+s in fox, eh+k+s in extra, or eh+g+z in exact—if you need to be excruciatingly exact you could write extra as )

ll ny   llama—manana 

(These sounds are from foreign words such as "llama" when pronounced like "y" instead of "l." In Spain "ll" is like the "lli" in "million." The "ny" sound is the "ñ" in "mañana" or "canyon")

Vowels: (as in...)

ae    bat , plaid , half , laugh, can , 
glad 

eh   bet , many , said , says , bread , 
leopard 

ih   bit , mini , Sid , busy , women , 
hymn

a   bot or bought, father , Don , far , caught , 
heart 

uh   but , done , alone , circus , pencil 

ey    bait , age , aid , say , they , vein 

i    beet , team , people , key , equal 

ay    bite , height , aisle , eye , lie , high 

(may be written with a forward or backward slant, but generally down)

o    boat , sew , open , toe , beau , yeoman 

yu    butte , new , few , feud , beauty , view 

u    boot , shoe , rule , blue , fruit , adieu 

c    book, put , full , wolf , good , should 

au   bout , house , bough , now, towel 

oy    boil , boy , toil , voice , oil 

aw   bawl , dawn , law , yawl—y'all , 
drawl 

(This is a minor vowel very close to the "short o" in Don. In practice this vowel sound can be represented by the  symbol without confusion. So "all" or "awl" could be written or and so forth, but if you need to distinguish between "dawn" and "Don" or "la" and "law," "tock" and "talk," then you can—these being the among the few examples I have encountered that differ solely on the basis of these vowel sounds. Some words, like "bought" (bawt) and "bot" (baht) may be pronounced the same by some people, and so may be written the same. Note that when writing this symbol there is always at least one sharp angle between it and a consonant to distinguish it from the vowels and which may also be tear shaped when they sometimes blend in with two consonants— in which case there is no angle.)

r bur , bird , first , word , honor , zephyr 

(A little known or acknowledged fact: "r" is a vowel, not a consonant. Generations of English teachers have mislead you. While I did list "r" with the consonants, I'm now giving you the straight dope. A vowel sound is one you can make in a continuous manner using your vocal cords with mouth open until you run out of breath. Try it. Consonants are the various ways vowels can be modified at the beginning or end of them. Say "ahahahahahahahah," now say "rrrrrrrrrrrrr." Obviously "R" is a vowel. Some admit only that it's a semivowel, but I prefer to say the emperor has no clothes and claim it's a vowel. Next time you're around an English teacher or other language expert, argue this point ad nausium until they concede.)