# Attn: Johanna **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 20, 2005, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attn-johanna/285673 "2005-01-20T04:15:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![yBeayf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/e274bd/32.png) [@yBeayf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yBeayf)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attn-johanna/285673/1 "2005-01-20T04:15:55Z")
Having recently had the opportunity to puzzle over some Russian handwriting from the 19th century, I lamentably find I must agree with your conclusion in [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=288493): Cyrillic handwriting is teh suck. These writings I’m trying to read might as well be seismograph printouts for all their legibility. Rest assured that I shall therefore diligently work to create and promote a new way of handwriting, that I am confident will see immediate and widespread adoption in the Cyrillic-using world. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attn-johanna/285673/2 "2005-01-20T05:04:56Z")
I’m glad you concur with this, although I haven’t been involved in the discussion up until now. But a typical handwritten Cyrillic word resembles a line drawing of seagulls flying over a stormy sea, much more than it does actual script! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Keapon\_Laffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e274bd/32.png) [@Keapon\_Laffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keapon_Laffin)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attn-johanna/285673/3 "2005-01-20T05:42:41Z")
> [@yBeayf](#): > > Cyrillic handwriting is **teh suck.** Th0u 4r7 n07 1337! Its supposed to be\*\* t3h sux0r\*\*! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attn-johanna/285673/4 "2005-01-20T05:57:21Z")
> [@Keapon Laffin](#): > > Its supposed to be\*\* t3h sux0r\*\*! > 😃 Dood, that is soooooo last week. “Teh suck” is teh kewl. ---
**Author:** ![Keapon\_Laffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e274bd/32.png) [@Keapon\_Laffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keapon_Laffin)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attn-johanna/285673/5 "2005-01-20T07:45:33Z")
> [@Q.E.D.](#): > > Dood, that is soooooo last week. “Teh suck” is teh kewl. OMG n00b! ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attn-johanna/285673/6 "2005-01-20T14:45:45Z")
Yes, Cyrillic is horrible. My handwriting normally isn’t very pretty, but when I was taking Russian I would look at the Cyrillic answers to my howmework and it’d be an undistinguishable set of bumps – even though, since I was new to the language, I’d labored over crafting every single letter perfectly. Ugh. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![yBeayf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/e274bd/32.png) [@yBeayf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yBeayf)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attn-johanna/285673/7 "2005-01-20T16:47:54Z")
Well, having scribbled idly for a few minutes, I’ve determined that with a few minor modifications the Cyrillic alphabet could be much more readable in cursive. Most of the letters can stay the same. The ones that I changed are: Г – now written like Greek _gamma_, or English _j_ without a dot И – now like English _i_ Й – now like English _i_ with a breve К – now like English _k_ L – now like English _l_ Н – now like English _h_ Т – now like English _t_ The only ones I’m stumped on are Ш and Щ – I’m leaning towards something like English cursive _fu_, but I’m thinking that would still be too easily confusable. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2005, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attn-johanna/285673/8 "2005-01-29T11:07:56Z")
**yBeayf** , how I wish your proposal could be implemented. But its seems Uzbeks still haven’t gotten the memo that their language uses the Roman alphabet now. Based on their dragging their feet in implementing the new alphabet, I don’t know how much confidence I could have in them taking up reformed Cyrillic. Thanks anyway! The “sh” can stay as a cursive w shape. Since you’ve eliminated the other seagull shapes, it wouldn’t be ambiguous to keep one of them.