If you like what you see and want to know more, the NQaLF LoJIK page has an in depth explanation of the history and reasoning behind the system. It's written only in Nooalf to help prove that you can already read it. You can also Download NQaLF V2 literacy training program for free! It contains expanded versions of this chart in English and English/Spanish. Each one has over 600 spoken and written sample words. There are also printable full size charts and helpful guidlines for home schoolers. It will take quite a while if you're on dial up, so you may prefer to order a printed chart, which will include a free disk.
(Charts are also available at Amazon.com)
Nooalf can be typed in 3 forms. 1. Real Nooalf, which consists of the blue letters on the chart and are typed with the Caps Lock set and Shift is hit to access the extra letters. 2. Nooalf ascii, which are the small black letters on the chart. You will see mixed CAPS/lower case on the alternative pages of this site if your computer does not have the font installed. 3. slakrz nqalf, in which you leave the keyboard in lower case and don't bother hitting the shift. All three are typed with the same keys and can be read by most people with no prior study. When keyboards with the complete Nooalf set become available, the 2nd & 3rd forms become obsolete.
In order to see the Nooalf pages on this website correctly, you will need to install this new version of the 2NQ4YQ font. The version automaticly installed by the NQaLF V2 program isn't very good. Hit SAVE & download it to your desktop. Click on START, CONTROL PANEL and FONTS to open your Windows Font folder. Then drag & drop the 2NQ4YQ.ttf file into the FONTS window. If you are using XP, that should be all there is to it, hopefully. The font will work with any operating system that can use .ttf and I think installation will be the same or similar for Windows 98 on up. I have heard that new Macs can use .ttf, but If you have and older Mac you can email me a request for a Mac version, Mac.
If the installation doesn't happen, all the pages that are written in Nooalf will be a mix of UPPER CASE and lower case. You will still be able to make sense of it, but it looks bad.
Font files are very small; typically less than 30K. In spite of this, they are a freakin ass-tangler to make!
What we take for granted as a simple group of letters is actually a mind boggling labyrinth of computer code working to make each letter look like its supposed to no matter what size, screen, printer, application software and operating system is being used. This is accomplished to varying levels of success with the arcane art of hinting, which involves the manipulation of a selection of 'tools' that seem closer to a witch's spice rack than a craftsman's tool box.
If you've ever grumbled about the fact that alot of fonts look the same, I'd say its probably because alot of them are mostly copied and modified rather than made from scratch.
Since you're already literate in English, you probably feel that there's nothing to be gained by learning a new way to spell. This may seem like an unavoidable and obvious fact, but it's actually incorrect. The truth is that there are major practical advantages for you, but no immediate competative disadvantage in not knowing Nooalf. Since everybody's working with the same handicap, nobody's expected to be able to operate at the level of efficiency possible with Nooalf.
It's similar to the fact that everybody's right or left handed. The environment we've created for ourselves is set up to accomidate people who have one fully functional hand and one weaker, relatively uncoordinated hand. So, although ambidexterity is clearly a big advantage, nobody's going to be ostracized or qualify for handicap benefits because they can't hammer, catch or write equally well with both hands.
Even so, wouldn't you rather be ambidexterous? And by the same token of self improvement, wouldn't you like to know a better way to spell?
Generally speaking, people aren't too quick about getting rid of old junk in their heads. We have this unfortunate tendency to build mental castles with whatever drops in first and rejecting anything that may force us to tear them down. On top of that, the average adult has read each of the common words of English countless thousands of times, so any variation just looks bad. Because of these and other factors, trying to convert a billion adults to Nooalf is a waste of time. The way to make the change is to teach it to children and immigrants as a fast track to literacy. They can learn it in a month and use it as a way to more efficiently acquire vocabulary and then proceed with the drudgery of memorizing the old spelling. This way Nooalf is in their heads first, and they KNOW regular spelling is absurdly disfunctional.
The next page is for parents and teachers. It explains what's wrong with current literacy training practices and how Nooalf can actually help children learn regular spelling.
PAJ UPDATID JQN 29 2008