#Sherman's Circular

[linguistwho]

So apparently there's an official Gallifreyan translator now.

On the one hand, I'm really excited that Sherman's Circular is becoming more and more canon. On the other hand, it feels weird that such major part of the fandom is now being kinda... corporatized. But this blog isn't for my opinions and I don't want to influence yours. All I will say with conviction is that I really hope they credit the original creator.

However, for those who want some more info, I did a comparison between the new "official" translator, the old translator that most people just getting into Gallifreyan probably used, and my own style.

The first image in black is the old translator, the second in yellow on blue is the new one, and the third in blue is my style from two years ago, and all of them say "Never Give Up, Never Give In". (Though only mine includes punctuation). The first and biggest difference between the computer-translated ones and mine is that mine has the various words interlocked. This is something that anyone can do when they write the Gallifreyan on their own, little practice required, but it cannot be done by the computer translators. They only ever put the words in fixed, equidistant positions. Another major difference is the curve of the connecting lines -- this is another thing that neither translator will do for you. The old translator does allow you to curve the lines yourself, but is very finicky about it. The dots are worth noting as well -- in both translators, they are quite small, while I make them big and pretty separated, for ease of reading. In other words, in terms of style and readability, these computer translators will never replace those created manually.

However, there are clear benefits to the translators. They are extremely helpful for those who are just getting into Gallifreyan and want to double-check their work. So long as you remember that what really matters for readability -- the shapes and positions of the circles and the number of lines and dots -- the rest is just stylistic flourishes. And both allow you to download the Gallifreyan as a .svg so that you can edit it in Inkscape or Illustrator or whatever vector editing software you prefer. As for the comparison between the two translators, the new one has more color customization, and will probably better match how Gallifreyan appears on-screen (though I find it interesting that the Gallifreyan on the new Sonic has the starting point of each word be at the furthest point from the center of the circle, while this translator has them at the usual bottom), but the old one allows for more in-engine editing, and as the lines actually connect to somewhere and the dots are slightly larger, it is easier to read.

TL,DR: Manually-made Gallifreyan still allows for far more stylization and is generally the most easily readable, but both translating websites can be useful, especially as both can be downloaded as editable .svg files. The old one is more readable and has in-engine editing capabilities, but the new one allows for color customization and may be more accurate to what is seen on-screen. And Sherman needs to be credited for its creation.

[justgallifreyanthings]

Sorry if this is random but I saw this and thought of you. The BBC/doctor who website just posted an official gallifreyan translator which looks to be Sherman’s gallifreyan. I know you had opinions about them using Sherman’s gallifreyan on the doctors screwdriver because the bbc didn’t make it or credit the person who made it. Do you have thoughts about the translator?

*gestures vaguely toward my blog* haha yeah

this has, in fact, been driving me loudly insane the entire day! tl;dr i think it's basically plagiarism and it makes me really really mad. what follows is an extended rant, and i apologize in advance about that!

in case anyone else has not been keeping up with this, the Doctor Who team released an "official gallifreyan translator" today, the output of which bears a strong resemblance to Sherman's Circular Gallifreyan, the fanmade system created by Loren Sherman (he/they) in 2011 and developed over the years by them, Annie "Skribe of Sirkles", and the general gallifreyan fan community.

the DWlator does not follow the Sherman's Circular ruleset exactly, but it has clearly taken inspiration from Sherman's Circular, as it uses the same basic structure for creating words and sentences, and the letters use the same stem/decorator system. despite this, Loren is still not credited anywhere on the translator site, nor has the DW team mentioned them in any of their social media posts.

it's an unbelievably shitty, lazy, disingenuous thing for the DW team to do. they really couldn't come up with their own gallifreyan system? they had to stoop to stealing a fan's creation, without even reaching out for permission or acknowledgement? i'm absolutely certain the DW team is going to profit off of their DWlator system; Loren will not see a penny of that, even though it's THEIR system being used, their contribution to the community being exploited.

and if the DW team wanted to put out a translator, there are so many translators that already exist! the GTH does basically exactly what the DWlator does, right down to the way dots and lines are displayed - why not try to strike a deal with the creator of the GTH? why not work with the community, instead of exploiting our work and then ignoring us?

Loren and Skribe of Sirkles are unwilling to seek legal recourse about this: Loren because their goal has never been to have sole ownership of the system, and Skribe of Sirkles because being a gallifreyan artist is her full-time job and she doesn't want to jeopardize her career. i understand their perspectives, and i'm certainly not a big enough player on the field to have a say that means much, but as someone who has been in fandom spaces for decades, i am TERRIFIED of the legal precedent being set here.

i know a lot of folks in the discord server are not quite as "doom and gloom" as i am. Skribe of Sirkles, for instance, is reaching out to the BBC to say "we're excited you're using the system, and we would love to work with you as an offering of goodwill." but i'm not ready to go that far. to me, this is just another, more egregious expansion of the BBC's long history of stealing fan content.

as a corollary, i'm also quite worried that the differences between Sherman's Circular and the DWlator system mean that a lot of fans who've gotten tattoos in Sherman's Circular are going to look at the DWlator output and say "wait a second. my tattoo doesn't look like this. what the hell? did i get ripped off?" loads of people on twitter are already going "but i got the fan system tattooed, and now it doesn't mean anything :("

in fact, the DWlator is not backwards compatible with any other "Gallifreyan" DW has ever put out in the past - including Ncuti's sonic screwdriver lmfao. so even by THEIR OWN RULESET, Ncuti's screwdriver is illegible. absolutely comical.

[tardis-technician]

Been creating some pride stickers in Sherman's Gallifreyan

(click for better quality)

[calligraphy-and-colour]

Doctor, are you there? This is me signing off, with thanks and love, and please send this monster back into hell, because I have to hope that the birds will sing again. There will be birds!

- The dying words of Dr Kate Stewart, season 14, episode 8: Empire of Death

[theprecuresystem]

Precure System Commissions post

We're in a position where having to buy our medication has left us with little to no funds for breakfast each day, having to skip two days a week. We're opening commissions to see if we can make a bit to help with that.

Sketches: £10 for 1 character, +£5 for each additional character.

Sherman's Gallifreyan: £3 per word, or £15 per short sentence.

MAHO Girls/Mahoutsukai Cipher Message: £3 Per Word, £15 per short sentence, £30 full page.

WILL DO:

Any characters from any franchise

Kamen Rider suits

Super Sentai suits

Mecha (provided with reference)

Furries

Young Characters

Some NSFW (Up to The Precure System's discretion due to country-based laws)

Vulgar statements in the ciphers

Colored Text for the Gallifreyan and MAHO Cipher pieces

WON'T DO:

Hate speech

Some NSFW (Up to The Precure System's discretion due to country-based laws)

Colored/Lined versions of the Sketch images (Do not have the resources)

If you feel like helping us out through ordering any of these, please let us know through Tumblr DMs. We will respond as quickly as possible.

[mel-mcz]

Soooo… here's something I promised to the people who read "Whenever I Look at You" on Ao3.

“The Doctor and Rose Tyler forever in the TARDIS, as it should be.”

(I sure hope it's right, because I've spent the whole week consulting guides to make sure it is – you know – right).

[vivvision]

Although it doesn’t seem accurate or translatable… that’s definitely Sherman’s circular gallifreyan on the sonic. Everyone who learned a fictional and fanmade language in middle school… on a scale of one to ten how much are you freaking out?

[regicidal-defenestration]

What I love most about Circular Gallifreyan is how utterly impractical it would be to use in everyday writing. There's a reason all these writing systems we have on Earth tend to stick to going in straight lines

[pl9090]

[Personal headcanon] Gallifreyan

Disclaimer: As the title says this is just how I think of and use what I consider to be the main fan created Gallifreyan font/languages. This is not me attempting impose it on everyone else as a definitive organisation just as reference for my work following this to avoid confusion.

Old High Gallifreyan: https://fontstruct.com/fontstructions/show/666099/archaic_gallifreyan

Modern Linear Gallifreyan: https://fontstruct.com/fontstructions/show/657463/assassin_s_gallifreyan

Timelord Circular/History coding: (Doctor's Cot) http://doctorscotgallifreyan.com/

Faction Paradox Circular/alt time coding: (Shermans) https://shermansplanet.com/gallifreyan/

Faction Paradox Circular/alt time coding is used by sme renegades as an act of defience hence the Doctor's ocassional onscreen use of it. It's like an Eton alumni, "rebelling" purposely using americanisms in an Austrailian accent. instead of the proper English language in a London accent as taught.

[doctahpants]

Practicing Sherman's circular Gallifreyan while frustrated with work means that this (hopefully) says "this is bullshit"

[linguistwho]

Commission Details:

For Sherman's Circular Gallifreyan and Gallifriyt, each word costs $1. The first color is free, the second color is $10, and any additional colors after that are $5 each. Adding a gradient is $10, a solid background is $5, and image backgrounds and further customizations are priced on request. All backgrounds can be a solid shape behind the Gallifreyan, or just fill the words themselves.

For The Linguist's Phonetic Gallifreyan, each word costs $1. The first color is free and any additional colors after that are $5 each. Adding a gradient is $10, a solid background is $5, and image backgrounds and further customizations are priced on request. All backgrounds can be a solid shape behind the Gallifreyan, or just fill the words themselves.

For Doctor's Cot Gallifreyan, each word costs $2. The first color is free and any additional colors after that are $5 each. Adding a gradient is $10, a solid background is $5, and image backgrounds and further customizations are priced on request. All backgrounds can be a solid shape behind the Gallifreyan, or just fill the words themselves.

All commissions should be purchased through https://ko-fi.com/linguistwho/commissions, but you can message me directly with specialized orders or questions.

[i-got-bored]

any advice for learning to read (Shermans/Circular) Gallifreyan? i can write a bit with a translation key next to me but i really struggle to read it due to stylisation etc (which ofc is not a bad thing!) sooo...any advice would be greatly appreciated <3

[ggtgwg]

Greetings all!

Geoffrey Groat here! I am currently trying to learn Sherman's gallifreyan. Feel free to send me asks for quotes or stuff to write down, I would love the practice!

I will try to write anything (except for crude/crass stuff), but I do tend to run out of energy past 2-3 small/medium sentences. I do enjoy adding in punctuation though.

So uhhh, yeah. Send me words please?

[mariapoda]

Greetings! I transcribed the last couple of lines from the Uranium Suite into circular gallifreyan, enjoy

Earth is sky and sky is ground

Did we finally leave our town?

[rorschachcherub]

I think it’s really cool that the internet is a thing... now I can figure out what my name is in circular Gallifreyan. Thank you Loren Sherman <3

[ziorite]

okay maybe you can calculate “related rates” (obviously not real 🙄) but can you write buddie quotes in a fantasy language ???