MSS

Below is the alphabet and the vowel and consonant sounds as each are spelled in MSS. The letter Q has been retained despite its phonetic redundancy because visually speaking it is unique enough that eliminating it would only serve as a source of confusion for English speakers. You'll also notice that the letter C no longer has its own sound anymore and is only used as a letter in the CH sound.

a b c d e

f g h i j

k l m n o

p q r s t

u v w x y z

a/u e i o y

aa ay ee eu

aw oi oo ou

uu ar ur or

er eer

b ch d f g

h j k/q l m

n p r s/ss

sh t th v

w x y z zh

There are three types of vowels: Normal vowels, Trailing vowels, and a Lone vowel. Understanding these is not necessary for English speakers that are only reading MSS as these reflect some spelling patterns that English speaking are already accustomed to and have been preserved in order to make the initial transition to MSS easier for them. However, learning them is essential for anyone who aims to be able to spell words in MSS based on their pronunciation alone.

• Normal vowels are as specified above in Vowel Sounds.
• Trailing vowels are spelling variations of Normal vowels, due to their placement.
• Trailing vowels are used at the end of the word after the last consonant.
• Lone vowels overrule the use of Trailing vowels and are used in cases where a Trailing vowel would be when the vowel in question is the only vowel in the word.
• Lone and Trailing vowels exist to ease the transition to MSS for English speakers.

a/uh u

i ow oy

ee

Pronunciation Examples

A/U
about > about
another > anuthur

E
dress > dress
end > end

I
kit > kit
symphony > simfuni

O
though > tho
faux > fo

AA
and > aand
happy > haapi

AY	
late > layt
resume > rezoomay

EE
fleece > fleess
caprice > kapreess

EU
Europe > Eurup
utopia > eutopia

Y
lie > ly
light > lyt

AW 
on > awn
lawn > lawn

OI	
choice > choiss
join > join

OO
food > food
crude > krood

OU
mouth > mouth
frown > froun

UU
foot > fuut
could > kuud

AR
park > park
arc > ark

UR
her > hur
fire > fyur

OR
more > mor
hoard > hord

ER
fare > fer
wary > weri
error > erur

EER 
year > yeer
weary > weeri

A/UH
Allah > Awluh
karma > karma

U
through > thru
new > nu

I
city > siti
many > meni

OW
now > now
thou > thow

OY
joy > joy
Hanoi > Hanoy

B
bat > baat

D
dog > dawg 

F
fan > faan

G
goat > got

H
hat > haat

J
jam > jaam

K/Q
quick > qwik

L
lip > lip

M
map > maap

N
nest > nest

P
pig > pig

R
rat > raat

S/SS
stops > stawpss

T
top > tawp

V
van > vaan

W
wig > wig

X
ox > ox 

Y 
yes > yess

Z
is > iz

CH
chin > chin

SH
ship > ship

TH
thin > thin	

ZH
beige > bayzh

Additional Spelling Rules

• In order to prevent confusion for English speakers who are used to many words ending in an s but having a z sound instead, S is doubled at the ends of words after vowels. Due to the vast irregularities in English sound to spelling correspondence (or more precisely the lack thereof) this does not completely eliminate all potential sources of confusion, but it does significantly reduce them since many are the consequences of grammatical changes.
• The letter Q is preserved, but the U that typically follows is changed to conform to the word's pronunciation.
  (quick > qwik, queue > qeu)
• If it's not clear where phonemes begin or end (particularly vowels) then apostrophes can be used to clearly separate them in order to clarify pronunciation.
  (around > a'round) This is rarely necessary and is best used for aiding those learning MSS.
• If there are no apostrophes for clarification, assume the first 2 letters you see are a single sound.
• Contractions are accomplished by simply removing the unspoken letters.
  (cannot > kaanawt, can't > kaant)
• Lengthening a sound can be done by repeating the vowel/consonant cluster. This is primarily useful when recording dialog.
  (Nooooo > Nooooo, yasss > yassss)