Tools
Shavian transliterator
Transliterate English text into the Shavian alphabet, the phonetic script backed by G. B. Shaw.
The Shavian alphabet (𐑖𐑱𐑝𐑾𐑯) is a phonemic writing system designed for English by Kingsley Read, commissioned by the will of George Bernard Shaw. Each letter represents exactly one sound — no silent letters, no ambiguous spellings.
Type or paste English text below. Click individual Shavian letters to swap phonemes. Click a Latin word to cycle through markers: namer dot · (proper noun), acroring ⸰ (initialism), acroarc ꤮ (pronounceable acronym).
English text only: the pronunciation dictionary is English, so text in Spanish, Basque or other languages will give meaningless results.
Start typing above to see the Shavian transliteration.
About this tool
The Shavian alphabet is a phonetic script for English, designed by Kingsley Read in the early 1960s thanks to a bequest in George Bernard Shaw’s will, which called for a spelling system where each letter stands for one sound. This tool turns English text into Shavian. It’s a treat for writing-system enthusiasts, phonetics students, designers after an unusual lettering style, or anyone wanting a card, sign or tattoo in the script.
Type or paste English into “English input”. Below it you’ll see, word by word, the Latin spelling, the Shavian letters and an IPA transcription: green for dictionary matches, red for guesses. Click a Shavian letter to swap it for another phoneme, or click the Latin word to add the namer dot for proper nouns or the acronym markers. “Copy Shavian” copies the text and “Export gloss (PNG)” downloads an image of the full gloss.
It only works for English: the dictionary is based on English pronunciation, so other languages give meaningless output. Everything is processed in your browser; the full dictionary is downloaded from this same site, with no external services. You need the Noto Sans Shavian font, loaded automatically, to see the letters. Rare words are guessed by rules and may need correcting.
What is the Shavian alphabet?
It is an alphabet designed for English only, in which each letter stands for one sound and each sound is always written with the same letter. That gets rid of silent letters and misleading spellings: “though”, “through” and “tough” are written with different letters because they sound different.
It has 48 letters and no capitals; to mark a proper noun you put a namer dot (·) in front of it. Each letter is named after an English word containing its sound: 𐑐 is “peep” and 𐑚 is “bib”. Voiceless consonants are tall letters, and their voiced partners are the same shape turned downwards, as with 𐑐 (p) and 𐑚 (b).
It is part of Unicode, so Shavian text can be copied and pasted like any other text. To see it you need a font that draws these letters, such as Noto Sans Shavian, which is the one this page uses.
How do you turn English text into the Shavian alphabet?
- Type or paste your English text into “English input”. The transliteration appears straight away under “Shavian gloss”.
- Wait for “Dictionary ready”: a core dictionary loads first, then the full one loads in the background and recognises more words.
- Check each word: the Latin spelling is on top, the Shavian letters in the middle and the IPA transcription underneath. Green means a dictionary match; red means the pronunciation was guessed.
- If a letter does not match your pronunciation, click it and choose another: vowels offer the other vowels, and consonants offer the others in their group, such as the voiced or voiceless partner.
- Click the Latin word of a proper noun to add the namer dot (·). Click again to switch to the acroring ⸰ (initialism), then the acroarc ꤮ (acronym), and then back to no marker.
- Press “Copy Shavian” to take the text with you, or “Export gloss (PNG)” to download an image with all three lines for each word.
Why does the result depend on pronunciation?
Shavian does not replace Latin letters; it replaces sounds. So the tool looks each word up in an English pronunciation dictionary and turns its phonemes into Shavian letters. If the word is not there, the pronunciation is guessed from the spelling using rules, which is where mistakes are more likely: proper nouns, brand names or uncommon words.
The dictionary records one reference pronunciation. If you speak with a different accent, or a word is said two ways depending on context (such as “read” in the present and the past), you may want to change a vowel. The change only affects that word and carries through to the IPA transcription, the copied text and the exported image.
Frequently asked questions
Who invented the Shavian alphabet?
Typographer Kingsley Read, who won the competition funded by George Bernard Shaw’s will. An edition of Androcles and the Lion was published in the script in 1962.
Why are some words shown in red?
They aren’t in the dictionary, so their pronunciation was guessed by rules. Check them and click letters to fix the phonemes if needed.
What is the namer dot?
A dot (·) placed before proper nouns, since Shavian has no capital letters. Click the Latin word to add it, or to cycle through the acronym markers.
Can I paste Shavian text into other apps?
Yes, it uses standard Unicode characters. The reader needs a font with Shavian support, such as Noto Sans Shavian, to see it properly.