
APPENDIX E :  Changes From SERA System 5
 
[Revision:  10/30/94, Originally the ADDENDUM Document]


The Ethiopic Fidel in ASCII 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

he    hu    hi    ha    hE    h    ho
le    lu    li    la    lE    l    lo    lWa
He    Hu    Hi    Ha    HE    H    Ho
me    mu    mi    ma    mE    m    mo    mWa
s2e   s2u   s2i   s2a   s2E   s2   s2o         *
re    ru    ri    ra    rE    r    ro    rWa
se    su    si    sa    sE    s    so    sWa
xe    xu    xi    xa    xE    x    xo    xWa
qe    qu    qi    qa    qE    q    qo    qWe    qWu   qWi    qWa    qWE
Qe    Qu    Qi    Qa    QE    Q    Qo    QWe    QWu   QWi    QWa    QWE
be    bu    bi    ba    bE    b    bo    bWa        (Q is Tigrigna/Chaha)
ve    vu    vi    va    vE    v    vo    vWa
te    tu    ti    ta    tE    t    to    tWa
ce    cu    ci    ca    cE    c    co    cWa
h2e   h2u   h2i   h2a   h2E   h2   h2o   hWe    hWu   hWi    hWa    hWE    *
ne    nu    ni    na    nE    n    no    nWa
Ne    Nu    Ni    Na    NE    N    No    NWa
 e/a   u/U   i     A     E    I     o     O
ke    ku    ki    ka    kE    k    ko    kWe    kWu   kWi    kWa    kWE
`ke   `ku   `ki   `ka   `kE   `k   `ko             (`k is Chaha)   *
Ke    Ku    Ki    Ka    KE    K    Ko    KWe    KW    KWi    KWa    KWE
Xe    Xu    Xi    Xa    XE    X    Xo              (X is Chaha )
we    wu    wi    wa    wE    w    wo    wWa
`e    `u    `i    `a    `E   `I    `o            *
ze    zu    zi    za    zE    z    zo    zWa
Ze    Zu    Zi    Za    ZE    Z    Zo    ZWa
ye    yu    yi    ya    yE    y    yo
de    du    di    da    dE    d    do    dWa
De    Du    Di    Da    DE    D    Do              (D is Afan Oromiffa)
je    ju    ji    ja    jE    j    jo
ge    gu    gi    ga    gE    g    go    gWe    gWu   gWi    gWa    gWE
Ge    Gu    Gi    Ga    GE    G    Go              (G is Bileen/Chaha)
Te    Tu    Ti    Ta    TE    T    To    TWa
Ce    Cu    Ci    Ca    CE    C    Co    CWa
Pe    Pu    Pi    Pa    PE    P    Po
Se    Su    Si    Sa    SE    S    So    SWa
S2e   S2u   S2i   S2a   S2E   S2   S2o           *
fe    fu    fi    fa    fE    f    fo    fWa
pe    pu    pi    pa    pE    p    po


*  The characters written with either ` or 2 may be written in an alternate
   form as shown:

s2e   s2u   s2i   s2a   s2E   s2   s2o = `se   `su   `si   `sa   `sE   `s   `so 
S2e   S2u   S2i   S2a   S2E   S2   S2o = `Se   `Su   `Si   `Sa   `SE   `S   `So 
h2e   h2u   h2i   h2a   h2E   h2   h2o = `he   `hu   `hi   `ha   `hE   `h   `ho 

`ke   `ku   `ki   `ka   `kE   `k   `ko = k2e   k2u   k2i   k2a   k2E   k2   k2o 
`e    `u    `i    `a    `E    `I   `o  = a2    u2    i2    A2    e2    I2   o2    

A Discussion of Changes Made in SERA System 6
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Ascii Fidel :

A part of the original design premise of the SERA Ascii Fidel (AF) was that it
take advantage of the sounds found in all languages that use Ethiopic for their
written script.  During discussions with tgrNa (Tigrigna) speakers at the Dehai
network's Eritrea-Info, it was learned that the first and second "h" in the
fidel do not have the same sound as they do in amarNa (Amharic).  The rationale
for the appendage of "2" following a consonant was to denote a second character
that was the phonetic equivalent of some other.  In spoken Ge'ez tables the 2nd
"h" of the fidel is represented with phonetic symbology as "h" with a "."
underneath.  It is consistent with the choices of the upper case "T", "C", "S",
and "P" to then use "H" for what had been "h2".  This is indeed the same
character used in the Dehai fidel as well as "K" for h4 or what had previously
been "H" in SERA.  The Dehai convention is now adopted in the SERA Ascii Fidel. 
Further, h3 logically became h2.  These changes allow for a simpler use by
members of any language group where Ethiopic script is used as well as for some
simplification in transliteration computer code.

The second set of vowels in the AF were also updated to reflect more of the way
that tgrNa relates to the fidel.  The 2nd set of vowels are more important in
written and spoken tgrNa and do not have the same sounds as does (are not
homophonic to) the first vowel group.  This second set of vowels (or perhaps
vowels-like letters) will be represented with the ` character used by many
Ge'ez and Arabic tables for the "`ain".  The original system of "a2" may also
be used if the typist finds the ` more difficult to reach or if thinking by the
sounds the characters have in the typist's language, "a2" becomes a more natural
choice in agreement with the logic for h2, s2, and S2.

2nd Vowel Set   `e    `u    `i    `a    `E   `I    `o
     also -->   a2    u2    i2    A2    E2   I2    o2

It can be argued that the 2nd vowel group now depicts a higher degree of
syllabic thinking.  This arises from how the characters relate to each other
through the ` , vs the first vowel group where each character is symbolically
independent (and indicate then a more alphabetic thinking).  The original lone
vowel ordering of the first form vowels will maintain their Amharic bias.

Likewise the same alternate denotation was applied to the characters h2, s2,
and S2.  The use of ` here to imply a different pronunciation for the
letters is valid when considering the original sounds of the characters in
spoken g`Iz (Ge'ez).  The choice is left to the typist then to select the
prefixed ` or appended 2 form.  Which s/he may do so based upon the ease of
reach of the character or by the sound of the character that the typist wish
to impart with the modifier.



The Ordering of The First 7 Forms:

----------------------------------------------------------------------
SERA-101 System 6c
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
          Consonants:
           le    lu    li    la    lE    l    lo
 
          Independent Vowels:
            e\a   u\U   i     A     E    I     o    e3    (as in e3re!)

Rule :    First Vowel Set Following a 6th Form Consonant:
           l'e   l'u   l'i   l'A   l'E   l'I   l'o   
also -->   l'a   lU                      lI    lO         (minimal punctuation)

The writer may choose to use ' as a separator between vowels for clarity:

		keErtra  = ke'Ertra
		leabebe = le'abebe = le'ebebe = leebebe
--------------------------------------------------------------------

The primary changes from System 5 are the use of "E" for the hams and "A" for
the lone rab`I vowel.  This comes in part from early user comments that
punctuation requires one to "...stop and remember what the letter is."  In
System 6 all forms of consonants and all of the vowels are given by alphabetic
(readable) ascii characters except for the sads consonants which in a special
instance have a two character form.  It is believed that the elimination of
punctuation for the vowels will allow for easier reading.  Particularly in tgrNa
where a4 may occur more commonly than a1 and in Gurage languages where a8 is
found more often than other vowels.  The character | is retained to imply that
the vowel element of a sads consonant is enunciated.

The dual use of "e" and "a" for the first form vowel is introduced now to
permit the logical choices in ascii for the sounds of the character in amarNa
and for the majority of Ethiopian and Eritrean languages that use the
stricter, traditional, writing conventions.  Allowing dual representation does 
not introduce conflicts for computer transliterators, as it is valid only for
the lone vowel and not for consonant forms.  It is hoped the system will work
naturally for humans, the letter choices being in agreement with how one would
think of the vowel's sound from his or her language in Latin form.

The choice of "e3" is thought to be the best model for the sound of the
character -the 8th vowel.  The sound of the character is in Amharic the same as
that of "e" (the first vowel) in Tigrigna.  The choice of a numeral to follow
"e" will detract from the reading quality of the character, which should come
at a small cost when its infrequent use is considered.

Finally, the "left over" Latin uppercase consonants; B, F, J, L, M, R, V, and 
Y, are now recognized as equivalent to their lowercase counterparts.  That is
"Y" in transliteration would be interpretted identically as "y" etc.  These
same Latin characters are considered to be on a "reserve" status to model some
overlooked sound in an Ethiopian or Eritrean language.

A test document written with System 5 and the previous Ascii Fidel was rewritten
with the new logic presented here and showed a "cleaner", easier to read form.
This was primarily do to the reduction of punctuation of for the hams forms as
well as the trade described for "2" and ` .


The reader is reminded at this point that SERA was not intended to close the
book on the subject of the Ascii representation of Ethiopic -merely to offer a
better place to start.  System 6 represents the first step in the advancement
of improved representation after the gain of new insight and additional input
from users of the previous system proposed.  The Ascii representation of Ge'ez
script will remain an evolving process as computer users continue to find ways
to make natural language communication with the Ascii medium both easier to
write and read.

