The Deseret Alphabet : A Fixed and Unalterable Sound

Shosted, Ryan (EDT)/ Davis, N. E. (EDT)

University of Illinois Press（2026/06発売）

• 製本 Paperback:紙装版/ペーパーバック版／ページ数 315 p.
• 言語 ENG
• 商品コード 9780252089428

Full Description

Facing starvation and ruin on Utah's nineteenth-century frontier, Latter-day Saint pioneers launched an audacious experiment to reshape the English language: the Deseret Alphabet. Ryan K. Shosted and N. E. Davis trace the alphabet's origins in the linguistic vision of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, explore its contested social, spiritual, and linguistic functions, and examine its decline and modern-day renewal.

Shosted and Davis draw on a wide range of sources, including previously unpublished archival material, to trace the alphabet's roots in Joseph Smith's esoteric translations and its role in shaping Latter-day Saint identity. Their account brings together theology, linguistics, and culture. As they show, the Deseret Alphabet remains relevant as a living artifact of a religion wrestling with its visionary origins and the divine potential of words.

In-depth and up to date, The Deseret Alphabet traces the script's creation, use, and legacy across Latter-day Saint history.

Contents

Abbreviations vii
Phonological representations xiii
Acknowledgments xvii
1 Orthographic Reform 19
2 History, 1837-1858 35
3 History, 1858-1878 95
4 Linguistic Perspectives 139
5 Practical Purposes 199
6 Social Purposes 229
7 Spiritual Purposes 257
8 Afterlife 295
9 Conclusion 327
Appendix A Scribes 335
Appendix B Corpus 341