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Deseret alphabet

"Mormon script" redirects here. For alleged script of portions of the Book of Mormon, see Reformed Egyptian.

This article contains Deseret alphabet characters. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Deseret letters.
Deseret alphabet
𐐔𐐯𐑅𐐨𐑉𐐯𐐻
Script type
Alphabet
CreatorGeorge D. Watt, under the direction of the Board of Regents, led by Brigham Young
Published
1854
Time period
Mainly 1854–1869; some use in modern era
DirectionLeft-to-right Edit this on Wikidata
LanguagesEnglish
Related scripts
Parent systems
ISO 15924
ISO 15924Dsrt (250), ​Deseret (Mormon)
Unicode
Unicode alias
Deseret
U+10400–U+1044F
 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 (/ˌdɛzəˈrɛt/ ⓘ;[1] Deseret: 𐐔𐐯𐑅𐐨𐑉𐐯𐐻 or 𐐔𐐯𐑆𐐲𐑉𐐯𐐻) is a phonemic English-language spelling reform developed between 1847 and 1854 by the board of regents of the University of Deseret[2] under the leadership of Brigham Young, the second president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).[3] George D. Watt is reported to have been the most actively involved in the development of the script's novel characters,[3][4][5]: 159  which were used to replace those of Isaac Pitman's English phonotypic alphabet. He was also the "New Alphabet's" first serious user.[6][7]: 12  The script gets its name from the word deseret, a hapax legomenon in the Book of Mormon, which is said to mean "honeybee" in the only verse it is used in.[8]

The Deseret alphabet was an outgrowth of the idealism and utopianism of Young and the early LDS Church. Young and the Mormon pioneers believed "all aspects of life" were in need of reform for the imminent millennium,[9][10] and the Deseret alphabet was just one of many ways in which they sought to bring about a complete "transformation in society,"[5]: 142  in anticipation of the Second Coming of Jesus.[11] Young wrote of the reform that "it would represent every sound used in the construction of any known language; and, in fact, a step and partial return to a pure language which has been promised unto us in the latter days", which meant the pure Adamic language spoken before the Tower of Babel.[12][13][14]

In public statements, Young claimed the alphabet would replace the traditional Latin alphabet with an alternative, more phonetically accurate alphabet for the English language. This would offer immigrants an opportunity to learn to read and write English, the orthography of which, he said, is often less phonetically consistent than those of many other languages.[3]: 65–66  Young also proposed teaching the alphabet in the school system, stating "It will be the means of introducing uniformity in our orthography, and the years that are now required to learn to read and spell can be devoted to other studies."[15]

Between 1854 and 1869, the alphabet was used in scriptural newspaper passages, selected church records, a few diaries, and some correspondence. Occasional street signs and posters used the new letters. In 1860 a $5 gold coin was embossed 𐐐𐐬𐑊𐐨𐑌𐐮𐑅 𐐻𐐭 𐑄 𐐢𐐫𐑉𐐼 (Holiness to the Lord). In 1868-9, after much difficulty creating suitable fonts,[5] four books were printed: two school primers, the full Book of Mormon, and a first portion of it, intended as a third school reader.[16]

Despite repeated and costly promotion by the early LDS Church, the alphabet never enjoyed widespread use, and it has been regarded by historians as a failure.[3][7][17][18][19] However, in recent years, aided by digital typography, the Deseret alphabet has been revived as a cultural heirloom.[20][21]

Similar neographies have been attempted, the most well-known of which for English is the Shavian alphabet.[22]

  1. ^ Book of Mormon, p. 534, "Pronunciation Guide". Converted to IPA from dĕz-a-rĕt′ according to key on p. 533.
  2. ^ Arrington, Leonard J. (2012). Brigham Young : American Moses. New York: Vintage Books. pp. 353–8. ISBN 978-0-345-80321-4. OCLC 779877565.
  3. ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference Moore2006 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Wentz, Roby (1978). 38 Mormon Characters: A Forgotten Chapter in Western Typographic History (PDF). Los Angeles, California. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 January 2017. Retrieved 7 January 2017.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  5. ^ a b c Watt, Ronald G. (2009). The Mormon Passage of George D. Watt: First British Convert, Scribe for Zion. Logan, Utah: Utah State University Press. ISBN 9780874217582. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  6. ^ "The New Alphabet". Deseret News. 19 January 1854.
  7. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Beesley2004 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Book of Mormon, p. 489. Ether 2:3: And they did also carry with them deseret, which, by interpretation, is a honey bee; and thus they did carry with them swarms of bees, and all manner of that which was upon the face of the land, seeds of every kind.
  9. ^ Underwood, Grant (1993). The millenarian world of early Mormonism. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. p. 6. ISBN 0-252-02037-5. OCLC 27643026.
  10. ^ Mauss, Armand L. (1994). The angel and the beehive : the Mormon struggle with assimilation. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. p. 188. ISBN 0-252-02071-5. OCLC 28333190.
  11. ^ LDS Tenth Article of Faith
  12. ^ Dunn, Scott (26 March 1982). "The Tongue of Angels?: Glossolalia in the Mormon Church". Deseret Language and Linguistic Society Symposium. 8 (1): 38.
  13. ^ Young, Brigham (29 November 1858). "1858 November 29 Letter to Frederick Edward Schonfield". Brigham Young Papers;The Brigham Young Center.
  14. ^ The Pearl of Great Price, Moses 6:5–6
  15. ^ Young, Brigham (8 October 1868). Journal of Discourses. Vol. 12. delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, UT. p. 289.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  16. ^ Morgan, Dale L. (2012). Dale Morgan on the Mormons: Collected Works, Part 1, 1939–1951. Norman, OK: Arthur Clark. p. 210. ISBN 978-0-87062-416-2.
  17. ^ Cite error: The named reference Zobell1967 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  18. ^ Cite error: The named reference Simmonds1968 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  19. ^ Spendlove, Loren Blake (1 January 2015). "Say Now Shibboleth, or Maybe Cumorah". Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture. 15. Archived from the original on 9 July 2015. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
  20. ^ "Deseret Alphabet Translator". 2deseret.com. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
  21. ^ "Illinois Deseret Consortium". faculty.las.illinois.edu. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  22. ^ Drucker, Johanna (1995). The Alphabetic Labyrinth: The Letters in History and Imagination. Thames and Hudson. ISBN 9780500280683.

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