ong ago, on a foggy rock in a southern portion of our northern hemisphere, CZ and BCN created an alternate character set for the English language they called “neo-kufic.” They began this endeavor in order to facilitate BCN exchanging undeciphered correspondence with KM. This highly decorative script was intended to be unique every time it was written and completely untransferable to the keyboard, as each character linked inextricably with the next.* Later, once the initial correspondence had ceased and BCN abandoned the language, CZ picked up the various threads and streamlined the original script, making it much easier for the novice to decipher and master. He began writing all his correspondence in neo-kufic, to either the delight or chagrin of his recipients. One of the delighteds, I proposed to CZ that we create a spoken neo-kufic, and now we speak an incomprehensible English in an English-speaking public – without anyone knowing our dialect is merely a repronunciation of well-known words. We thus travel verbally incognito.


 
 
To visit the enchanted land of Neo-Kufia, guided by the hand of Edward Gorey, enter through this door...
 
Image credit:
End page from the first mathematical book by Oronce Finé, Paris, 1530.
 
 

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