Duployan Letter N With Dot

It can spell a sound or stand for a Romanian word. In Chinuk pipa, 𛰢 marks the single final consonant in English sing. In Romanian shorthand, it represents nici, which contributes a “neither” or “nor” reading according to the sentence.

Why did Duployé shorthand become Chinuk pipa?

It could support religious teaching and carry across several languages. Émile Duployé’s system began as French shorthand, published in 1860 to keep pace with speech. In 1890, missionary and priest Jean-Marie Le Jeune adapted it to write Chinook Jargon, a regional trade language. Missionaries wanted written religious instruction; the syllable-based script they considered—a writing system with signs for syllables—did not transfer easily to other languages such as Shuswap.

Local teachers and study groups taught Chinuk pipa in their communities. The Kamloops Wawa newspaper began in 1891 in Chinuk pipa, English, and French, carrying local news and religious instruction. By 1894, Indigenous readers were exchanging letters in the script. Le Jeune’s 1898 primer includes the dotted N among Chinuk pipa letters.