//Orthography

▸The Multi-Script Stack

Edenian's writing system is a complex amalgamation of several scripts, each serving distinct linguistic functions. The primary scripts are kanji (edenji), kana (rakugana), zhuyin (bopomofo), and hangul (sujamo), layered to convey phonological, morphological, and syntactic information simultaneously.

Script changes mark word or morpheme boundaries in what is otherwise space-free text. Interpuncts (・) and other punctuation may indicate case, conjunction, or visual balance.

▸Script Roles

Kanji / Edenji (伊甸字)

Content words — nouns, verbs, adjectives. Every kanji has at least two unique readings: one monosyllabic (onyomi-equivalent) and one polysyllabic (kunyomi-equivalent). The choice of reading encodes syntactic and derivational information.

Kanji was the first script adopted, mapped from Chinese characters to Edenian morphemes. Numerous "locally invented" kanji (伊造字) were created for Edenian-specific concepts, surpassing Chữ Nôm and Sawndip in proportion.

Kana / Rakugana (落画名)

Standalone grammatical particles only. Since kana represent strict CV syllables and Edenian pronunciation diverges from Japanese, their role is restricted. Particles are written with the first syllable in hiragana/hentaigana, with the remainder in bopomofo/katakana.

Three sub-scripts exist:

• ▪Hiragana — native particles
• ▪Katakana — borrowed particles
• ▪Hentaigana — archaic or formal particles (distinct meanings from hiragana/katakana)

Hangul / Sujamo (聲字母)

Inflections, foreign words, and slang. Hangul functions as an alphabet, but Edenian treats it the way English treats the Latin alphabet — irregular spellings, silent letters, archaic letters, and compatibility jamo. The Basement sociolect writes almost exclusively in sujamo.

Zhuyin / Bopomofo (ㄅㄆㄇㄈ)

Sporadic annotation and disambiguation. Used as a sort of okurigana/kanbun hybrid — clarifying readings, specifying compound conventions, and resolving ambiguity. Not a standalone writing system.

▸Script Selection Rules

▸Dual-Reading Requirement

Every kanji mandates at least one monosyllabic and one polysyllabic reading. Reading selection encodes:

• ▪Monosyllabic: Used in compounds, formal register, and when the kanji appears as part of a larger word
• ▪Polysyllabic: Used when the kanji stands alone or in native-origin words

For example: 書 has readings koniva (polysyllabic, "book/text/written word") and a monosyllabic compound reading. Meanwhile 书싸 konaza means "to write" — different kanji variant, different reading, different meaning.

▸Locally Invented Kanji (伊造字)

A vast majority of Edenian kanji are locally invented. Six character types exist:

• ▪Ideographic (15%) — Direct pictorial representation
• ▪Phonetic (10%) — Sound-based assignment
• ▪Compound semantic (25%) — Two meaning components combined
• ▪Semanto-phonetic (35%) — Semantic radical + phonetic component
• ▪Wildcard (10%) — Irregular or historical characters
• ▪Innovation (5%) — Newly coined compound forms

▸Script Typology Coverage