# What was that thing (alphabet?) called? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 26, 2003, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-that-thing-alphabet-called/164407 "2003-03-26T23:59:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mancunian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mancunian/32/12244_2.png) [@mancunian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mancunian)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-that-thing-alphabet-called/164407/1 "2003-03-26T23:59:30Z")
On this very mb, maybe a year ago or more, there was a language discussion goin’ on. Anyway, one of you guys refered to a form of English written in a whole new alphabet. There was links ponting to sites showing this in action, like CocaCola signs written in it, etc. For the life of me I cant remember what it was called and searching turns up like 12000 results. It resembled Arabic/Russian? Can somebody help, 'cause for the life of me I can’t remember. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Jayrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Jayrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayrot)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2003, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-that-thing-alphabet-called/164407/2 "2003-03-27T00:05:34Z")
l33tspeak? di|) It Lo0|\< @||y+|-|1ng L1kE T|-|1$? ---
**Author:** ![mancunian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mancunian/32/12244_2.png) [@mancunian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mancunian)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2003, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-that-thing-alphabet-called/164407/3 "2003-03-27T00:14:31Z")
Hehe, I wish. I 0wn3z j00 😉 If ya want leet speak, this has been my guide for a while. Some real LOL moments: > **[Home - 1337.org.uk](https://1337.org.uk/)** > > We 1337.org.uk are a casino reviewer who have a year of experience in gambling, betting and casino. We want to make a comparison with various companies or online betting sites .... No, I am serious. This was a proper whole new alphabet, that replaced x amount of vowels with consonants etc. ---
**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:** [March 27, 2003, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-that-thing-alphabet-called/164407/4 "2003-03-27T00:19:45Z")
Was it George Bernard Shaw’s [Shavian Alphabet](http://www.omniglot.com/writing/shavian.htm)? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2003, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-that-thing-alphabet-called/164407/5 "2003-03-27T00:20:26Z")
You mean Dan Ackroyd’s Decibet? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2003, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-that-thing-alphabet-called/164407/6 "2003-03-27T00:28:19Z")
I remember seeing Dan Ackroyd in a comedy sketch, proposing to decimalise the alphabet (chiefly by combining letters - I sincerely doubt that this is what you are looking for, but it sounds just similar enough to be worth mentioning. ---
**Author:** ![mancunian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mancunian/32/12244_2.png) [@mancunian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mancunian)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2003, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-that-thing-alphabet-called/164407/7 "2003-03-27T00:32:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Q.E.D. \* > \*\*Was it George Bernard Shaw’s [Shavian Alphabet](http://www.omniglot.com/writing/shavian.htm)? \*\* That may well be it **Q.E.D.** , ta mate, Need to see that coke logo to be sure tho’… ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2003, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-that-thing-alphabet-called/164407/8 "2003-03-27T01:21:30Z")
[Mark Twain on spelling reform](http://www.mantex.co.uk/samples/spell.htm). > [@](#): > > Bai Iear 15 or sou, it wud fainali bi posibl tu meik ius ov thi ridandant letez ‘c’, ‘y’ and ‘x’ – bai now jast a memori in the maindz ov ould doderez – tu riplais ‘ch’, ‘sh’, and ‘th’ rispektivli. > > Fainali, xen, aafte sam 20 iers ov orxogrefkl riform, wi wud hev a lojikl, kohirnt speling in ius xrewawt xe Ingliy-spiking werld. Makes sense to me. ---
**Author:** ![Zenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/cdc98d/32.png) [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2003, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-that-thing-alphabet-called/164407/9 "2003-03-27T02:33:48Z")
Someone really needs to post the humor email about standardization of EU word and letter pronunciation where, by the end, it is all sounding like German. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2003, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-that-thing-alphabet-called/164407/10 "2003-03-27T02:55:19Z")
More Shavian: [http://members.aol.com/RSRICHMOND/shavian.html](http://members.aol.com/RSRICHMOND/shavian.html) ---
**Author:** ![msgotrocks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8edcca/32.png) [@msgotrocks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msgotrocks)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2003, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-that-thing-alphabet-called/164407/11 "2003-03-27T07:03:57Z")
Zukhoi: I think Sunspace’s link has a small pic of the Coke logo you needed to see. Very interesting! ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2003, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-that-thing-alphabet-called/164407/12 "2003-03-27T07:43:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Zenster \* > \*\*Someone really needs to post the humor email about standardization of EU word and letter pronunciation where, by the end, it is all sounding like German. \*\* Here’s the version I received: ============================================== "The European Union commissioners have announced that an agreement has been reached to adopt English as the preferred language for European communications, rather than German, which was the other possibility. As part of the negotiations, the British government conceded that English spelling had some room for improvement and has accepted a five-year phased plan for what will be known as EuroEnglish (Euro for short). In the first year, “s” will be used instead of the soft “c”. Sertainly, sivil servants will resieve this news with joy. Also, the hard “c” will be replased with “k”. Not only will this klear up konfusion, but typewriters kan have one less letter. There will be growing publik enthusiasm in the sekond year, when the troublesome “ph” will be replaced by “f”. This will make words like “fotograf” 20 per sent shorter. In the third year, publik akseptanse of the new spelling kan be expekted to reach the stage where more komplikated changes are possible. Governments will enkorage the removal of double letters, which have always ben a deterent to akurate speling. Also, al wil agre that the horible mes of silent "e"s in the languag is disgrasful, and they would go. By the fourth year, peopl wil be reseptiv to steps such as replasing “th” by “z” and “w” by " v". During ze fifz year, ze unesesary “o” kan be dropd from vords kontaining “ou”, and similar changes vud of kors be aplid to ozer kombinations of leters. Und efter ze fifz yer, ve vil al be speking German like zey vunted in ze forst place." Run dat thru yer spelcheker! ---
**Author:** ![Popup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/94ad74/32.png) [@Popup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Popup)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2003, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-that-thing-alphabet-called/164407/13 "2003-03-27T07:49:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Zenster \* > \*\*Someone really needs to post the humor email about standardization of EU word and letter pronunciation where, by the end, it is all sounding like German. \*\* But that is exactly the **Mark Twain** text that **friedo** linked to earlier! Some jokes never get old.