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Deseret alphabet

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Deseret alphabet
File:Deseretalphabet.png
Script type
Alphabet
CreatorBoard of regents and church leaders led by Brigham Young
Time period
The later half of the 19th century
DirectionLeft-to-right Edit this on Wikidata
LanguagesMostly English, but intended for others too
ISO 15924
ISO 15924Dsrt (250), ​Deseret (Mormon)
Unicode
Unicode alias
Deseret
 This article contains phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA. For the distinction between [ ], / / and ⟨ ⟩, see IPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters.

The Deseret alphabet (𐐼𐐯𐑅𐐨𐑉𐐯𐐻 𐐰𐑊𐑁𐐰𐐺𐐯𐐻 or 𐐼𐐯𐑆𐐲𐑉𐐯𐐻 𐐰𐑊𐑁𐐲𐐺𐐯𐐻) is a phonetic alphabet developed in the mid-19th century by the board of regents of the University of Deseret (later the University of Utah) under the direction of Brigham Young, second president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The alphabet was intended to replace the traditional Latin alphabet with an alternate, more phonetically accurate alphabet for the English language. This would offer immigrants an opportunity to learn to read and write English, which is often less phonetically consistent than many other languages. Similar experiments were not uncommon during the period, and some of the better-known results include Pitman Shorthand and (much later) the Shavian alphabet.

Another goal in creating the Deseret alphabet was to offer all faithful Mormons a unifying script that might encourage a sense of community among recent European converts, as well as a higher sense of difference from non-Mormons. The Deseret alphabet was never widely used.

Contrary to what some people believe, the Deseret alphabet was never considered to be the same as the reformed Egyptian characters in which the original Book of Mormon was written.

Development and use

Sample from the Deseret Second Book, printed in 1868. The first three (and part of the fourth) words read "One of the worst habit..." (The first four words phonetically read "W-u-n ah-v thee w-u-r-s-t")

The Deseret alphabet was developed primarily by a committee made up of the university's board of regents and church leaders Parley P. Pratt and Heber C. Kimball. The two main contributors to the alphabet's character development were Pratt and George D. Watt, a local expert on shorthand systems. The Deseret alphabet may have been inspired by or even based upon Michael Hull Barton's phonetic alphabet he published out of Boston and Harvard from 1830-1832. Originally a Quaker, Barton was baptized a Mormon in Portsmouth, NH about October 1831 (right in the middle of his phonetic alphabet experiment), but within a few months then converted to Shakerism, although he continued to meet with early Mormon leaders until at least 1844. See Barton's Something New: comprising a new and perfect alphabet containing forty distinct characters, etc. as a PDF.

The alphabet went through at least three major revisions during its first few years. At least four books were published in the new alphabet (The First Deseret Alphabet Reader, The Second Deseret Alphabet Reader, The Book of Mormon, and an excerpt called First Nephi-Omni) as well as various articles and New Testament passages published in the Deseret News on a press obtained by Orson Pratt, who estimated that the cost of printing a regular library would be over one million dollars.

Although heavily publicized by the Deseret News, and promoted by Brigham Young, the alphabet never became widely accepted, and fell into disuse about twenty-five years after its creation. Contemporary reports showed most Deseretians were reluctant to abandon the conventional Roman alphabet for everyday matters.

Shortly after Brigham Young's death in 1877, his successor, John Taylor, ended all official funding and publicity for the alphabet. Scholars argue that associated expenses were among the major reasons for the alphabet's failure.

Surviving material printed in the Deseret alphabet can sell for considerable sums among modern collectors of Mormon antiques.

Table of glyphs

The Unicode Standard version 3.1 includes the Deseret alphabet in positions 10400 to 1044F; version 4.0 adds the letters Oi and Ew. (Most combinations of operating systems, Web browsers, and installed font sets will not be able to display this table correctly; browsers that do handle it properly include Safari, Camino, and Firefox running under Mac OS X 10.3.9 and higher.)

CapitalLowercase
HexDecimalGlyphNameHexDecimalGlyphName
1040066560𐐀Long I 1042866600𐐨Long I
1040166561𐐁Long E 1042966601𐐩Long E
1040266562𐐂Long A 1042A66602𐐪Long A
1040366563𐐃Long Ah 1042B66603𐐫Long Ah
1040466564𐐄Long O 1042C66604𐐬Long O
1040566565𐐅Long Oo 1042D66605𐐭Long Oo
1040666566𐐆Short I 1042E66606𐐮Short I
1040766567𐐇Short E 1042F66607𐐯Short E
1040866568𐐈Short A 1043066608𐐰Short A
1040966569𐐉Short Ah1043166609𐐱Short Ah
1040A66570𐐊Short O 1043266610𐐲Short O
1040B66571𐐋Short Oo1043366611𐐳Short Oo
1040C66572𐐌Ay 1043466612𐐴Ay
1040D66573𐐍Ow 1043566613𐐵Ow
1040E66574𐐎Wu 1043666614𐐶Wu
1040F66575𐐏Yee 1043766615𐐷Yee
1041066576𐐐H 1043866616𐐸H
1041166577𐐑Pee 1043966617𐐹Pee
1041266578𐐒Bee 1043A66618𐐺Bee
1041366579𐐓Tee 1043B66619𐐻Tee
1041466580𐐔Dee 1043C66620𐐼Dee
1041566581𐐕Chee 1043D66621𐐽Chee
1041666582𐐖Jee 1043E66622𐐾Jee
1041766583𐐗Kay 1043F66623𐐿Kay
1041866584𐐘Gay 1044066624𐑀Gay
1041966585𐐙Ef 1044166625𐑁Ef
1041A66586𐐚Vee 1044266626𐑂Vee
1041B66587𐐛Eth 1044366627𐑃Eth
1041C66588𐐜Thee 1044466628𐑄Thee
1041D66589𐐝Es 1044566629𐑅Es
1041E66590𐐞Zee 1044666630𐑆Zee
1041F66591𐐟Esh 1044766631𐑇Esh
1042066592𐐠Zhee 1044866632𐑈Zhee
1042166593𐐡Er 1044966633𐑉Er
1042266594𐐢El 1044A66634𐑊El
1042366595𐐣Em 1044B66635𐑋Em
1042466596𐐤En 1044C66636𐑌En
1042566597𐐥Eng 1044D66637𐑍Eng
1042666598𐐦Oi 1044E66638𐑎Oi
1042766599𐐧Ew 1044F66639𐑏Ew

See also

References

External links

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