Script and Typography
| Script and Typography | |
|---|---|
| Moravska State Archive · 1976 | |
| Classification | Language |
| Status | canon |
| Last updated | 2026-11-03 |
| Archive source | 04 Language/Script and Typography.md |
| Length | 721 words (4 min read) |
| Letterform | Geometric, low contrast, flat terminals |
| Weight | Two weights only: heavy and medium |
| Case | Capitals for a name. Lower case for a sentence |
| Spacing | Tight. No letter spacing on a sign |
| Slant | Upright only. No italic on a sign |
| Colour | White or red on a dark ground. Black on white paper |
| Internal links | 4 outgoing, 13 incoming |
| Sources | 4 cited |
Contents
[hide]Moravskan uses a Cyrillic alphabet of 30 letters. Twenty-eight letters are standard. Two letters are unique to Moravska.
The state fixes the shape of the letters on every public sign.
The 30 letters [edit]
| Group | Letters | Count |
|---|---|---|
| Vowels | а е и о у ъ Ꙟ | 7 |
| Standard consonants | б в г д ж з к л м н п р с т ф х ц ч ш | 20 |
| Moravskan consonants | Ꙃ щ ь | 3 |
|
Warning:
|
The old count
An early count said "28 letters, with two ligatures". The count was wrong for two reasons. The alphabet has 30 letters. The two special letters are not ligatures, because they have their own sound.
|
The two unique letters [edit]
Ꙃ — "dze" stands for the sound /d͡z/. The letter is old Cyrillic. It left the Russian alphabet in 1708 and stayed on the coast.
Examples: Ꙃid (wall), Ꙃvon (bell), Ꙃvăn (sound).
Ꙟ — "ǫ" stands for the nasal /ɔ̃/. The letter keeps a Thracian sound in 14 words.
Examples: pǫt (path), mǫka (flour), rǫka (hand).
The Sea Letters reform of 1868 made both letters official. See National Revival.
The decree of 1972 [edit]
The orthography decree of 1972 removed Ꙟ from school books. The reason was simple. The letter serves 14 words and costs a page.
The decree caused three reactions.
- The academy obeyed. New books print păt and măka.
- The coast did not. Boat owners keep Ꙟ on a hull name. A painter charges extra for the letter.
- The young use it as a sign. A word with Ꙟ in a letter marks a private joke.
|
Note:
|
The boat name
A Skalina boat is named Pǫtna zvezda ("guiding star"). The harbour office wrote Pătna in 1973. The owner repainted the hull in the same week. The fine was 12 leva.
|
Letter shapes [edit]
The state style for a public sign is exact. The design office publishes a 24-page manual.
| Rule | Detail |
|---|---|
| Letterform | Geometric, low contrast, flat terminals |
| Weight | Two weights only: heavy and medium |
| Case | Capitals for a name. Lower case for a sentence |
| Spacing | Tight. No letter spacing on a sign |
| Slant | Upright only. No italic on a sign |
| Colour | White or red on a dark ground. Black on white paper |
A sign in a soft or a rounded letter is a private sign. A shop with a rounded letter is a private shop. See Art and Propaganda.
Where the letters appear [edit]
| Place | Letter style | Note |
|---|---|---|
| State sign | Geometric capitals | Fixed by the manual |
| Plant label | Stencil, 40 mm | The plate on a machine |
| Shop sign | Mixed, often hand painted | The state tolerates the habit |
| Boat name | Slanted or upright capitals | The owner chooses |
| Grave stone | Cut letters, wide spacing | The mason follows an old pattern |
| Newspaper | Narrow serif, 6 point | Two columns |
| Poster | Heavy block, 3 words | One idea per poster |
Copper and lettering [edit]
A copper plate holds a name for 100 years. A steel plate rusts in 20. The state uses copper for a ship's name plate and for a plant plaque.
The Medenik plant makes a thin plate for the resorts. The plate carries the resort name and a star. The star is 90 mm across.
Handwriting [edit]
A school teaches a slanted hand from the first year. The hand has 4 rules.
- A letter joins the next letter at the base line.
- Ꙃ keeps its sharp top. It does not round.
- Ъ stands above the line.
- A date goes at the top right.
A clerk reads a hand from the coast without difficulty. A hand from the interior is rounder and slower.
Type in 1976 [edit]
The state has two type foundries. One casts the standard letters. One cuts the special letters.
A shortage of Ꙃ in 1975 delayed 40 tonnes of cable labels. The plant printed the labels without the letter. The ministry accepted the labels and fined the foundry.
Other notes [edit]
See also[edit]
Sources[edit]
- Official document I. Petrov (1977). Ministry circular on regional administration in the Kraybrezhie. Ministry of Culture. MOC-1977-3165. Cited in Copper and lettering, Where the letters appear. See also Moravska.
- Register A. Kolarov (1975). Parish register extracts, Branishte. Archdiocese of Zaligrad. ADR-1975-6818. Cited in Copper and lettering, Where the letters appear. See also Timeline of Moravska history.
- Primary source Ministry of Culture (1976). Field notes from the the Kraybrezhie survey. Zaligrad Institute of Ethnography. ZIE-1976-7056. Cited in The 30 letters, Handwriting. See also Funerary Practices.
- Statistical compendium Archive Clerk 14 (1974). Comecon statistical yearbook, 1976. Comecon Secretariat. COM-1974-5829. Cited in Copper and lettering, Other notes. See also Rites of Passage.
References[edit]
Documents in the archive that cite or cross-reference Script and Typography:
- ^ "Art and Propaganda". Arts and Leisure, Narodna Biblioteka Moravska, 1976.
- ^ "Festivals and Calendar". Rituals and Calendar, Narodna Biblioteka Moravska, 1976.
- ^ "Funerary Practices". Rituals and Calendar, Narodna Biblioteka Moravska, 1976.
- ^ "Hadzhi Stoyan Vitanov". People, Narodna Biblioteka Moravska, 1976.
- ^ "Lexicon". Language, Narodna Biblioteka Moravska, 1976.
- ^ "Moravska". Foundations, Narodna Biblioteka Moravska, 1976.
- ^ "Moravskan Language". Language, Narodna Biblioteka Moravska, 1976.
- ^ "Narodna Biblioteka Moravska". Society and Power, Narodna Biblioteka Moravska, 1976.
- ^ "National Revival". History, Narodna Biblioteka Moravska, 1976.
- ^ "Phonology". Language, Narodna Biblioteka Moravska, 1976.
- ^ "Rites of Passage". Rituals and Calendar, Narodna Biblioteka Moravska, 1976.
- ^ "Slavic and Byzantine Era". History, Narodna Biblioteka Moravska, 1976.
- ^ "Timeline of Moravska history". History, Narodna Biblioteka Moravska, 1976.