and 2–5 are based on this shape. 6 and 9 are square versions of Arabic 6 and 9, and 7–8 are formed by reflecting them. 1–5 are also the shapes used for the vowels i u e o a. Punctuation A period is used as a word divider to separate words. The punctuation corresponds to that of the Roman alphabet. A comma has the form of a short line, , a period a turned vee, , like the diacritic for o, and a colon and semicolon combinations of these (semicolon î, colon double ). The exclamation mark is like a lambda, λ, and the question mark is like a turned Y, ⅄. See also Syllabary Africa Alphabet African reference alphabet External links L'écriture Mandombe Mandombe script Pasch describing the script, its origins, and its uses References Abugida writing systems Writing systems of Africa Writing systems introduced in 1978