Notes on pronunciation: h after another consonant indicates aspiration, i.e. sh and zh are pronounced s’h and z’h, not as English sh and zh (Zhivago etc); γ and x are the voiced and unvoiced velar fricatives, respectively (as ch of Scottish loch and g of Spanish plaga); r represents a tap (as in the r of Spanish pero or d of American ladder) and rr a trill (as in Spanish perro).
The order of the script has no obvious rationale, but was remembered by means of a pangrammatic prayer: “Pabba ñópherr’ ngówwe Bhäkhim nghamhéz’, yózh fadiighé, whéónnor’ ñhagóanhis shetüyw lakaedh’ véhäth, γaxa yhé” = “May the Lady bless us, may (She) ward us, may She and (Her) snow-breath long chill (the) hearts of (Her) enemies and ours (lit. those-us-to), thrice amen.’
Notes on pronunciation: e and o are mid-low vowels (as French j’aime and vol); é and ó are mid-high vowels (as French thé and gros). ä and ü are low central and mid central vowels, respectively.
Texts in Niphadic were traditionally written as concentric circles and read anti-clockwise from the center, starting at the lowest consonant in the circle being read. If the outer circle was incomplete, it was completed by beginning the text again, as in this list of consonants:
This is a sample text in Niphadic, praising Our Lady for the deliverance of a hierarchess from illness (vowels were often dropped from Niphadic texts but are included here for completeness’ sake):
Niphadic was also employed as a divinatory script, when snowflakes were allowed to fall on black cloth and read according to their resemblance to letters of the Niphadic alphabet.