[Linganth] Endangered writing systems: an appeal

[George Fulford]

Good morning from Winnipeg, Canada.  This is a thoroughly worthwhile endeavour (note my Canadian spelling of that last word).  I will add a couple of comments, rather than anything to your list.  First - regarding alphabets.  As you know, strictly speaking alphabets attempt to represent the inventory of phonemes in a given language with distinct characters.  In practice, through orthographic idiosyncracies there are often fewer characters than there are phonemes.  So in most dialects of English we have 43 orr 44 phonemes, but just 26 "letters" in the alphabet.  

Alphabets are just one of three distinct ways that I can think of by which we can use visual marks to represent the sounds of a spoken language.  At least three of the languages listed in your email (Cree and Inuktitut) use the syllabary that was invented by. Methodist missionary James Evans in Norway House (Manitoba) in the 1840s.  You could add Ojibwa to this list too.  Syllabaries represents the possible syllables in these spoken languages, not their individual consonants and vowels the way an alphabet does.  It is conceptually and definitionally important to distinguish alphabets from syllabaries when talking about writing systems.

Ideographs such as Mandarin represent a third kind of writing system.  Ideographic characters represent entire concepts/words.  In the case of Mandarin, it is possible to trace how contemporary characters developed from pictorial representations, such as those found on oracle bones 3000 years ago. Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs and Mayan glyphs also seem to have developed in this way.  

There are other systems of visually representing language that could also be considered, such as quipus, braille, the various ways for visually representing signed languages - perhaps even Laban notation used for choreographing dance, that might also be considered.  But this is likely straying too far afield.

George Fulford
Sent from my iPad

> On Jun 30, 2017, at 8:57 AM, Brookes, Tim <brookes at champlain.edu> wrote:
> 
> Dear Linganth Community:
> 
> The other day someone asked me, "So which alphabets *are* endangered? Do you have a list?" Which stopped me in my tracks because I know which alphabets I've carved, and which I know I'd like to carve, but as far as I know there's no catalogue of endangered writing systems. So we should create one.
> 
> I say "we" because I'm constantly reminded how little I know, and how this field is changing and the definitions are flexible. I'd like to offer two things: a first-draft list of endangered writing systems for you all to add to, edit, or subtract from; and a first-draft definition of "endangered." Both are pretty volatile subjects, so let's head into this in a spirit of collaboration!
> 
>  
> 
> I guess we should start with the definition, though this may in fact be the more difficult of the two. The way I think of an endangered writing system, it includes at least some of these qualities:
> 
>  
> 
> 1.     Originally created/developed/adapted for general use, not only for the purposes of fiction/film/TV
> 
> 2.     Once in general use by at least a significant minority of the population
> 
> 3.     Not extinct—that is, still in use by some percentage of the population, even if only in a specialized context (such as for spiritual/sacred purposes)
> 
> 4.     No longer generally taught in schools
> 
> 5.     Lacking official status in the eyes of the government
> 
> 6.     Facing a clear and present danger from some cultural, military, political or economic threat that has the capacity to marginalize it within two generations
> 
> 7.     Having certain distinct qualities that make it different from other members of the same language family
> 
>  
> 
> Please by all means suggest edits!
> 
>  
> 
> Now here’s my list of endangered alphabets, derived largely from Omniglot, though I must stress I know very little about many of these languages/writing systems, and I’m sure there are others I don’t know. That’s why I’m reaching out to you! 
> 
>  
> 
> Ahom
> 
> Arakanese
> 
> Assyrian/Neo-Aramaic
> 
> Bagatha
> 
> Balinese
> 
> Bamum/Shupamom
> 
> Bassa Vah
> 
> Batak
> 
> Bats
> 
> Baybayin
> 
> Berber/Tifinagh/Tamazight
> 
> Bilang-Bilang
> 
> Bugis/Lontara
> 
> Buhid
> 
> Chakma
> 
> Cham (Eastern and Western)
> 
> Cherokee
> 
> Chu-Nom
> 
> Cree
> 
> Dene Syllabics (Carrier)
> 
> Eskayan
> 
> Glagolitic
> 
> Grantha
> 
> Hanuno’o
> 
> Inuktitut
> 
> Javanese
> 
> Kalmyk
> 
> Kawi
> 
> Khojki                 
> 
> Kpelle
> 
> Kulitan
> 
> Lampung
> 
> Lanna (Northern Thai)
> 
> (Loma)
> 
> Makasar
> 
> Maldivian/Thaana
> 
> Manchu
> 
> Mandaic
> 
> Manipuri
> 
> Marma
> 
> (Mende/Kikakui)
> 
> Mongolian
> 
> Mro
> 
> Naxi/Dongba
> 
> New Tai Lue
> 
> N’Ko
> 
> Nushu
> 
> Pauauh Hmong
> 
> Rejang/Bengkulu/Satera Jontal/Lembak/Lintang/Lebong/Serawai/Kaganga
> 
> Samaritan
> 
> Sorang Sompeng
> 
> Sui
> 
> Sundanese
> 
> Sylheti/Syloti-Nagri
> 
> Syriac
> 
> Tai Dam
> 
> Vai
> 
> Wolof/Garay
> 
> Yi
> 
>  
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> Tim Brookes
> 
> www.endangeredalphabets.com
> 
> Champlain College 
> 
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