Creating orthographies for endangered languages / edited by Mari C. Jones and Damien Mooney.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Jones, Mari C., editor.

Mooney, Damien, 1986- editor.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Endangered languages--Orthography and spelling.

Endangered languages.

Language revival--Social aspects.

Language revival.

Language and languages--Orthography and spelling.

Language and languages.

Social aspects.

Physical Description:

x, 333 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, United Kingdom : Cambridge University Press, 2017.

Summary:

Creating an orthography is often seen as a key component of language revitalisation. Encoding an endangered variety can enhance its status and prestige. In speech communities that are fragmented dialectally or geographically, a common writing system may help create a sense of unified identity, or help keep a language alive by facilitating teaching and learning. Despite clear advantages, creating an orthography for an endangered language can also bring challenges, and this volume debates the following critical questions: whose task should this be - that of the linguist or the speech community? Should an orthography be maximally distanciated from that of the language of wider communication for ideological reasons, or should its main principles coincide for reasons of learnability? Which local variety should be selected as the basis of a common script? Is a multilectal script preferable to a standardised orthography? And can creating an orthography create problems for existing native speakers?

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781107148352

1107148359

OCLC:

953222314