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Deseret Phonetic Alphabet

In 1854 the Deseret Phonetic Alphabet was adopted to help converts coming from Europe to Utah learn English. This can be viewed here:
https://www.utlm.org/images/deseretalphabet_englishequiv.gif

More information:
https://www.utlm.org/onlineresources/deseretalphabet.htm

Alphabet Phonetic Deseret

I have never heard of this before now. How interesting. I am surprised it didn't get the support Brigham Young usually got. I wonder how much was his desire to help immigrants and how much was his desire to truly be "a nation unto itself" so to speak. You know if we don't speak the same language, we are a bit more isolated. Even though the pronounciation of the language would remain the same, it would be difficult to be successfully in an area where they wrote the language differently. In fact, it is possible this could have led to a different dialect being spoken as well.

I think the entire concept is quite intriguing.

Deseret Phonetic Alphabet Studies Doctrine Mormon

I've heard about it a couple of times. Brigham Young wanted a special way for the Saints to communicate without having the Gentiles understanding what we were saying. Unfortunenatly it didn't work it only lasted a little while. There were several books published in it, I think they even published a Book of Mormon in it also.

Alphabet Phonetic Deseret

Why would Brigham Young, or the Church, want to speak in a secret language? What were they hiding that required a secret language?

In my opinion, that works against all that God is--Truth!

Alphabet Phonetic Deseret

The Desseret Alphabet is not really a language. It is a phonetic alphabet that is used to speak English. It was designed to help Mormon immigrants to learn to speak English since being phonetic was easier to learn. It also had the advantage of being used to send messages back and forth that you did not want the U.S. government to have. (I think that this reasoning was not used very often.) It did not really take well, simply because who wants to learn a new alphabet. I have an authentic Book of Mormon written in the Desseret Alphabet. It is a neat keepsake but I will never read it.

Deseret Phonetic Alphabet

Thank you Isiah53...that explains the purpose in a much more desirable light. I'm glad it wasn't a covert language after all.

Deseret Phonetic Alphabet

I heard that the reason the Deseret Phonetic Alphabet was dropped out of usage is that it was suppose to make learning English easier, but it instead made it harder to learn. If anyone has pitchers of the alphabet, please post them. I"ve seen pitchers of the alphabet and the Deseret characters look nothing like English.
Look at this Wikipedia entry: Source 2



Edited: haleray on 27th Aug, 2008 - 4:08pm

Deseret Phonetic Alphabet Mormon Doctrine Studies

I just hope that the written language that is used in the hereafter is strictly phonetic. If I have to learn to spell in the Adamic language and it is not phonetic I am not sure that it would really be heaven. English phonetics are nuts. I much prefer reading languages like Hungarian or Spanish which are a lot more phonetic in nature.