Shavian Letter Err

It marks the vowel-plus-r sound in Shavian “early.”

Shavian began as English playwright George Bernard Shaw’s spelling-reform project. After Shaw died in 1950, his will asked the Public Trustee to find an alphabet of at least 40 letters, so English sounds could be written without multi-letter spellings or diacritics. A 1958 competition led to Kingsley Read’s design; a parallel Latin-and-Shavian edition of Androcles and the Lion appeared in 1962.

By 1965, Shavian learners used a journal and letter-writing circles to practice the alphabet. 𐑻 stayed a letter inside words as the project moved from reform publishing into learner use. The reading-key word “err” shifts by accent: British and Australian English use the vowel in “urge”; North American “err” can rhyme with “air.”

Why does 𐑻 show as a box?

A box means the font or app may lack a Shavian glyph.

A missing Shavian font can show a box, question mark, or blank. Choose a font with Shavian coverage or an app that respects your font choice. Different typefaces can draw 𐑻 differently without changing which letter it is.

Is 𐑻 the Shavian AIR letter?

No. The standard reading key calls 𐑻 ERR and 𐑺 AIR.

In that key, 𐑼 spells an unstressed vowel plus r, as in “array.” Some Shavian references swap the AIR and ERR labels, so follow the reading key of the book or text you are reading.