Orthography wars

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Not Available Online
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Issue Date: 
2014
Is Part Of Series: 
Publications in Language Use and Education 6
Extent: 
Pages 139-168
Description: 
Chapter 7 of "Developing Orthographies for Unwritten Languages," Publications in Language Use and Education 6. Some chapters of this book were presented as papers at the LSA Symposium in 2011.
There are an increasing number of Native American communities and individuals who are developing writing systems based on English spelling, often rejecting practical writing systems developed by linguists in order to do so. This paper examines some of these writing systems and looks at "code-external" considerations that have overridden the "code-internal" design factors that linguists hold dear. Since orthographic issues evoke a great deal of passion, the mutual trust between communities and linguists can be affected if linguists do not take into account the reasons for the preference of English-based Practical Orthographies (EPOs) over Linguistic Practical Orthographies (LPOs). LPOs in communities without means for ongoing community education in literacy in the local language will ultimately and repeatedly be abandoned in favor of systems using the spelling rules of English.
Publication Status: 
Published
Country: 
Canada
United States
Content Language: 
Work Type: 
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Cahill, Michael and Keren Rice, editors
2014
Entry Number: 
56615