High Elven alphabet (alphabet family)

The High Elven alphabet is a writing system used to render various spoken languages. It originally evolved in 800 BEKE, replacing it's predecessor, the Early High Elven alphabet, roughly corresponding to the shift from spoken Archaic High Elven to Classical High Elven. The alphabet was unique and cutting-edge in the respects that it introduced the distinction between capital and miniscule, it pioneered the usage of diacritics for vowel length distinction, and eventually more innovations would follow.

Classical High Elven
The original High Elven alphabet was little different from it's predecessor, other than the shapes of the letters. However, around 700 BEKE, diacritics were invented to distinguish between long and short vowels. The Early High Elven alphabet did not distinguish between long and short vowels at all, whatsoever. The Classical High Elven alphabet between 800 BEKE and 700 BEKE used various systems to dinstinguish betwene short and long vowels. Eventually, by 700 BEKE, diacritics have won and became the standard, although several words and personal names retained the alternate spellings 「ei」 and 「ou」. Roughly during the same period - between 800 and 700 BEKE - most of the archaic, now-unused letters were also being thrown out. Out of the 25 letters of the Early High Elven alphabet only 22 were kept. However, the addition of diacritics have inceased the total number of letters from 22 to 28.
 * Writing the short vowels /ɐ ɛ ɔ ɪ ʊ y/ as 「a e o i u y」 and the long vowels /aː eː oː iː uː yː/ as 「ah ei ou ih uh yi~yu」.
 * Writing the short vowels /ɐ ɛ ɔ ɪ ʊ y/ as 「a e o i u y」 and the long vowels /aː eː oː iː uː yː/ as doubled 「aa ee oo ii uu yy」.
 * Writing the short vowels /ɐ ɛ ɔ ɪ ʊ y/ as 「a e o i u y」 and the long vowels /aː eː oː iː uː yː/ with diacritics, as 「á é ó í ú ý」.
 * Not distinguishing between long and short vowels in writing at all, forcing the reader to figure them out from the context.

Unlike later variants, the Classical High Elven alphabet did not distinguish vowels and semivowels. As such, the same letter was used to write /ɪ/ and /j/, the same letter was used to write /ʊ/ and /w/. Distinction between close vowels and semivowels was an innovation that came later, around 200 BEKE with Middle High Elven.

Middle High Elven
Around 200 BEKE, Vulgar High Elven gave way to Middle High Elven. Unlike it's predecessor, Middle High Elven however was more than the language of the common rabble. It was also embraced as the language of nobility and royalty, and as such, it warranted the need of a standardized way to write. The sound shifts however rendered the Classical High Elven alphabet ill-suited to properly represent Middle High Elven, and as such, the writing was reformed.

One of the most important reforms is the introduction of two new letters for the vowel /u/. While Classical High Elven did not distingusih between the vowel /u/ and the semivowel /w/ (which has hardened into /v/ in Middle High Elven) in writing, Middle High Elven introduced a new letter for /u/, and it's longer variant /uː/, keeping the original letter reserved for the consonant /v/ only. The usage of 「u」 for the glide /w/ persisted however, for example in the digraphs 「qu」 and 「gu」.

Previously, 「i」 was used for the front unrounded /i/, and 「y」 was for the front rounded /y/, but by Middle High Elven, /y/ got unrounded to /i/, rendering the letter 「y」 redoundant - it was recycled to represent the semivowel /j/, but usage for vowel sounds still persisted - for /i/ in etymological spellings and /y/ in foreign words.

All around, the most important innovation of the Middle High Elven alphabet was the introduction of (partial) distinction between vowels and semivowels. The total number of letters was 30, three new letters being added to and one being dropped from the original 28 of the Classical High Elven alphabet.