Gem Glyph

The Gem Language is a language that appears in writing throughout Steven Universe in the background art, and as a plot point in "Monster Reunion". It is the native language (or one of the native languages) of the Gem race. The majority of the language is depicted in "Steven the Sword Fighter" on the columns of Pearl's Arena, in "Sworn to the Sword", "Steven vs. Amethyst" and "Mindful Education", on the columns of the Ancient Sky Arena, in "Monster Reunion", on papers that the Centipeetle Mother wrote on, in "Bismuth" on the weapons in Bismuth's Forge, and in "Gem Heist" on the pillars of the entrance to the Zoo's Containment Area. It also appears throughout Attack the Light in scenery and in-game dialogue.

Script

The Crewniverse has yet to reveal anything about the language's grammar, orthography, or lexicon in canon, and it has not been heard spoken. It is likely not an alternative script or substitution cipher for English, as it has more than 26 characters. Some of the characters resemble simplified Chinese; among those characters are: 中 (middle), 門 (door), 日 (day), 目 (eye), 几 (amount), 月 (month), 山 (mountain), 开 (open), 王 (king), 田 (field), 丑 (ugly), and 巳 (pat).

Trivia

• In "Monster Reunion", the script Centipeetle writes in while trying to communicate with Steven looks completely different from the other writing systems seen in canon. The elements are written similarly to the Arabic script as opposed to the runes seen on the show or in Attack the Light. Steven mistakes it for meaningless scribbling when he first sees it, but Pearl describes it as "decently legible". It is possible this is a cursive or stylized form of the written language, or a different writing system entirely.
• The script used in Attack the Light bears some resemblance to the Unown from Pokémon. Twenty-six Pokémon designed to look like the letters of the Roman alphabet as they are both made of lines arranged around circles. Some of the characters are almost identical to Unown.
• Some characters may be Star Wars references, as one resembles the Rebel Alliance symbol from the original trilogy, and another bears a passing resemblance to a TIE fighter.

Gallery

Crystal Gem home (shelf).

"Steven the Sword Fighter".

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Attack the Light.

"Sworn to the Sword".

Weird Arabic-ish Gem Text 1.png

"Monster Reunion".

Weird Arabic-ish Gem Text 2.png

"Bismuth".

The closest look of the Gem Language in the Forge's giant sword.

"Gem Heist".