The alphabet of Niw Englisc consists of 32 letters:
- Capital: A, Æ, B, C, D, Ð, E, F, G, Ȝ, H, Ƕ, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, Œ, P, Q, R, S, T, Þ, U, V, W, X, Y, Z
- Lowercase: a, æ, b, c, d, ð, e, f, g, ȝ, h, ƕ, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, œ, p, q, r, s, t, þ, u, v, w, x, y, z
Most of these letters are used exactly like in Modern English, and should present no trouble. A few, however, require special attention.
- C - always pronounced like 'ch' in 'cheese'
- F - pronounced like 'f' in 'fox'; between vowels, it voices to 'v' as in 'victor'
- G - always pronounced hard, like 'goal', never 'general'. After back vowels, there is a tendency to pronounce it like a softer 'ch' as in German 'ach'; the verb slagen to strike becomes slog (sloaxh).
- Ȝ - yogh is always pronounced 'y' like 'yes'; this letter in some words is prononuced 'ch' like German 'ach' after a/o/u, for example friȝnan to ask becomes fraȝn asked in the past tense. In the present, it sounds like freenen, and the past fraxn.
- Ƕ - hwair is sometimes used to write words such as 'hwa' or 'hwenn' as 'ƕa' or 'ƕenn.' It is more commonly used in written than typed Englisc, like the combined HL and HR letters.
- J - always pronounced like 'y' in 'yes'; only appears in foreign words; all native Englisc words show up with yogh.
- R - pronounced in all locations in a word. It is pronouned trilled, as in Scottish. This can become uvular as in German with a thicker accent.
- S - always pronounced like 's' in 'sam' a the beginning and end of a word, and when doubled. Between vowels, it voices to 'z' in 'zulu'; example: sneiden to cut and lesen to gather
- Ð - always pronounced like 'th' in 'that'; this letter alternates with Þ in some words.
- Þ - always pronounced like 'th' in 'think'; this letter alternates with Ð in some words.
- V - always pronounced like 'v' in 'victor'; only appears in foreign words;
- Z - pronounced like 'ts' in 'cats' when unstressed, 'dz' as in 'goods' when stressed.
- A - like German Mann when short, long like German Saal (often doubled long)
- Æ - like English matt or German Männer short, long like German Säle
- E - like English bet short, long like German See
- I - like English bit short, long like English mine
- O - like German Gott short, long like German Boot (English Boat)
- Œ - like German Götter short, like schön
- U - like English put short, like German Fuß when long
- Y - like German Müntze short, long like German über
- AU - like English ow, or German Maus
- EA - like English matt or German Männer short, long like German Säle
- EI - always like German mein
- IE - always like German Miete
- IA - often like separate letters I, A, some pronounce like ja in unstressed syllables
- IO - often like separate letters I, O, some pronounce like yo in unstressed syllables
- OU - like English ow, or German Maus, some pronounce long u as 'ou'
- CG - sounds like 'j' as in modern English 'judge'
- HL - sounds like 'h' before a 'l'; a stressed pronunciation makes it sound more like the 'ach' sound and 'l'
- HR - sounds like 'h' before an 'r'; a stressed pronunciation makes it sound more like the 'ach' sound and 'r'
- HW - sounds like 'h' before a 'w'; a stressed pronunciation makes it sound more like the 'ach' sound and 'w'
- SC - always pronounced 'sh' as in 'ship'.
- SM, SN, ST - pronounced as in regular English, however, in a northern dialect, there is a tendency to pronounce it as a German would, which is 'shm', 'shn', and 'sht' (stinken as 'shtinken')
- E/I+Ȝ - lengthens the preceding vowel: 'e' like bett would sound like 'bait' (spelled beȜtt)
Englisc can also be written in Runes, just like the ancient Germanic languages were written. Some letters not present in the original Germanic languages use modified runes.
The Runic Alphabet (in Latin order): ᚪ, ᚫ, ᛒ, ᚳ, ᛞ, ᚧ, ᛖ, ᚠ, ᚸ, ᚷ, ᚻ, ᛁ, ᛄ, ᛣ, ᛚ, ᛗ, ᚾ, ᚩ, ᛟ, ᛈ, ᛢ, ᚱ, ᛋ, ᛏ, ᚦ, ᚢ, ᚡ, ᚹ, ᛉ, ᚣ, ᛊ; additional Runic letters: ᛥ (st), ᛝ (ng), ᛡ (ia, io), ᛠ (ea), ᛤ (kk), ᛇ (eo)
And in Runic Order: ᚠ ᚢ ᚦ ᚩ ᚱ ᚳ ᚷ ᚹ ᚻ ᚾ ᛁ ᛄ ᛇ ᛈ ᛉ ᛋ ᛏ ᛒ ᛖ ᛗ ᛚ ᛝ ᛟ ᛞ ᚪ ᚫ ᚣ ᛠ ᛡ ᛣ ᛤ ᚸ ᛢ ᛥ ᚡ ᚧ ᛊ ᛮ ᛯ ᛰ ᛬ ᛭ ᛫
Runic Punctuation: Space: ᛬ Period ᛫ or ᛮ when there's any other punctuation mark that might make the ᛫ illegible. Subordinate Clause: ᛭ Comma: ᛧ Question Mark: ᛰ Exclamation Mark: ᛯ Parenthesis: ᛆᚿ Colon: ᛨ Semicolon: ᛎ Apostrophe or Single Quote: ᛌ Double Quotes: ᛍ Example: -I knew your father (we worked together) -Ic waat þeinen Fader (wiȝ worhton ætsamen). -ᛁᚳ᛬ᚹᚪᚪᛏ᛬ᚦᛖᛁᚾᛖᚾ᛬ᚠᚪᛞᛖᚱ᛬ᛆᚹᛁᚷ᛬ᚹᚩᚱᚻᛏᛖᚾ᛬ᚫᛏᛋᚪᛗᛖᚾᚿᛮ