The Deseret Alphabet

A Fixed and Unalterable Sound

Buch | Hardcover

315 Seiten

2026
University of Illinois Press (Verlag)
978-0-252-04975-0 (ISBN)

Noch nicht erschienen (ca. Juni 2026)
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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Shosted and Davis draw on a wide range of sources, including previously unpublished archival material, to trace the alphabet's roots in Joseph Smith's esoteric translations and its role in shaping Latter-day Saint identity.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.

Ryan K. Shosted is a professor of linguistics at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. N. E. Davis is an educator, engineer, and computer language designer.

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

Erscheint lt. Verlag	30.6.2026
Zusatzinfo	50 b&w images in-text; 7 tables
Verlagsort	Baltimore
Sprache	englisch
Maße	152 x 229 mm
Gewicht	454 g
Themenwelt	Geisteswissenschaften ► Geschichte ► Regional- / Ländergeschichte
	Geisteswissenschaften ► Religion / Theologie ► Christentum
	Geisteswissenschaften ► Sprach- / Literaturwissenschaft ► Sprachwissenschaft
ISBN-10	0-252-04975-6 / 0252049756
ISBN-13	978-0-252-04975-0 / 9780252049750
Zustand	Neuware