Language Ideologies and Orthographies: Developing a Writing System for Than Ówîngeh
type: CreativeWork
description: The use of writing to represent the heritage language represents a contentious issue for many members of Puebloan societies in the American Southwest. Many community members resist the use of writing for this purpose on the grounds that it acts as a form of colonialism, while others accept the use of writing in the heritage language because it is seen as valorizing the heritage language itself. This study seeks to address three research questions: 1) What factors motivate either a resistance to or acceptance of the use of writing to represent a heritage language? 2) If the use of writing is accepted or even promoted, what factors motivate the decision to use one writing system (e.g., alphabet, syllabary) over another? and 3) What factors motivate the decision to employ certain sound-symbol correspondences within that system? Ultimately, the factors that motivate a general resistance to the use of writing will be shown to involve the view of writing as a centrifugal, or disunifying, force, whereas the factors that motivate a general acceptance of the use of writing will be shown to involve the view of writing as a centripetal, or unifying, force. Further, by using language ideologies (i.e., syncretism, variationism, utilitarianism) as a heuristic, the decisions made regarding the development of the Than Ówîngeh orthography will be shown to support the principles of learnability, transparency, and acceptability.
abstract: The use of writing to represent the heritage language represents a contentious issue for many members of Puebloan societies in the American Southwest. Many community members resist the use of writing for this purpose on the grounds that it acts as a form of colonialism, while others accept the use of writing in the heritage language because it is seen as valorizing the heritage language itself. This study seeks to address three research questions: 1) What factors motivate either a resistance to or acceptance of the use of writing to represent a heritage language? 2) If the use of writing is accepted or even promoted, what factors motivate the decision to use one writing system (e.g., alphabet, syllabary) over another? and 3) What factors motivate the decision to employ certain sound-symbol correspondences within that system? Ultimately, the factors that motivate a general resistance to the use of writing will be shown to involve the view of writing as a centrifugal, or disunifying, force, whereas the factors that motivate a general acceptance of the use of writing will be shown to involve the view of writing as a centripetal, or unifying, force. Further, by using language ideologies (i.e., syncretism, variationism, utilitarianism) as a heuristic, the decisions made regarding the development of the Than Ówîngeh orthography will be shown to support the principles of learnability, transparency, and acceptability.
author: Ashworth, Evan
language: English
keywords: anthropology, linguistics, linguistic anthropology, writing system, orthography, language ideology
date published: 2013-12-01T08:00:00Z
date modified: 2026-07-24T05:25:53Z
provider: University of New Mexico
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of New Mexico