Written Language & Literacy - Volume 4, Issue 1, 2001

The traditional classification of phonemic writing systems into three types — syllabaries, consonantal scripts, and alphabets — is based on a phonological theory which recognizes only the syllable and the segment as potential units of representation. It is argued here that an accurate typology of phonemic writing systems requires recognition of two further dimensions of phonological structure: phonological time, and the sonority hierarchy. The analysis focuses on two “typical” non-alphabetic systems — Japanese kana and the Arabic script, the former traditionally classed as a syllabary, the latter as a consonantal script. It is argued that the two scripts in fact share a common organizational principle, namely the iconic representation of phonological time.

This paper surveys the history of dictionary construction and orthographic choice in the Comoros — a former French colony in the Indian Ocean — with special reference to issues of literacy, identity, and politics. Evidence ranging from 16th century wordlists to contemporary bilingual/bidirectional dictionaries, as well as colonial, missionary, and scholarly approaches to lexicography and orthography in the Comoros, are examined and compared. While Arabic-influenced writing systems have a long history in the Comoros, the experiences of colonialism and independence in the 20th century introduced French- and phonemically-influenced systems. As the Comoros move into the 21st century, linguists and ethnographers are attempting to assist with questions of standardization, literacy, and dictionary construction. The situation remains fluid, with considerations of tradition, modernity, nationalism, and representation to be taken into account. This paper seeks to address the complex interrelationships between orthographic choice and ethnic identity in the Comoros, with special reference to the development of the first bilingual/bidirectional Shinzwani-English dictionary.

This paper examines how China’s language policy, dictated by its ethnic minorities policy, has influenced reforms of writing systems for minority languages since 1949. Measured by the landmark publication of the Plan for the Phonetic Spelling of Chinese in 1957, reforms of minority writing systems can be divided into three stages. The pre-Plan stage featured efforts to match written and oral languages, and Russian influence including introduction of the Cyrillic script. During the Plan-oriented stage, romanization ruled not only the creation of new writing systems for oral languages, but also the reform of existing non-roman systems. The relatively Plan-independent stage, ushered in by standardization of the Yi writing system in a Siniform script, has opened the door, though only narrowly, to “native” writing systems. Examined from an international perspective, China’s language policy has undergone the same waxing and waning of assimilation and accommodation as those of industrialized and developing countries; but the Chinese experience demonstrates both the advantages and disadvantages of direct government involvement in minority language maintenance and development.

This paper focuses on the spelling conventions used in a corpus of written rap music lyrics intended for public consumption. The non-standard spellings evident in this corpus are used deliberately for various purposes, one of which is to graphically represent the phonological and syntactic features of African American Vernacular English (AAVE). This use of non-standard orthography can be seen as a way for the writer to demonstrate a positive evaluation of the non-standard speech forms that characterize rap music performances. Other non-standard spellings bear no relation to the grammar or phonology of AAVE. However, through the use of processes such as “inversion”, these non-standard spellings invoke alternative meanings while simultaneously calling attention to the arbitrariness of dominant spelling conventions. It is argued that, overall, the non-standard spelling conventions employed in rap music lyrics function to create and sustain hip-hop culture as an “anti-society”.