Note this auction is only for the salmon colored book of mormon book of nephi part 1 and not the blue colored book or the gold coin. Deseret alphabet classics the deseret alphabet classics series provides deseret alphabet editions of some of the great works of english literature and lds theology. Watt also began giving lectures about the alphabet. The volume is of value to persons interested in early mormon missions, the deseret alphabet, the hopi people, or to linguists interested in the hopi language or uto. This alternative alphabet was created more than a century ago and fell into.
With that information, and the picture of the salt lake temple on the cover, i deduced that it was a mormon publication. Historical objects courtesy church historical department. Those learning english could find few reading materials in the deseret alphabet compared to the massive amount of reading material already available in the latin alphabet. The advantages of this alphabet will soon be realized, especially by foreigners. This book is in the deseret alphabet, a phonetic alphabet for writing english developed in the mid19th century at the it is held to be canonical by the church of jesus christ of latterday saints and related denominations. Brigham young wanted all letters to match sounds, to make reading and writing easier for immigrants. Find thousands of lds books, movies, music and more. One of the curious items of early utah history was brigham youngaetms effort to introduce a new alphabet, known as the deseret alphabet, into. During the alphabets heyday between 1854 and 1869, books, newspapers, street signs and.
Willard marriott library 295 south 1500 east, suite 5400 salt lake city, utah 84112. Jun 21, 2017 the deseret alphabet, a 38letter writing system developed by mormons copy link facebook twitter reddit flipboard pocket the opening pages of an 1869 copy of the book of mormon, printed in deseret. The remaining three chapters examine the practical application of the alphabet, its successes and failures, and the effect the alphabet had on english orthography. Deseret alphabet sample page deseret alphabet sample pages book of mormon title page book of mormon witnesses brigham youngs deseret alphabet one of the curious items of early utah history was brigham youngs effort to introduce a new alphabet, known as the deseret alphabet, into mormon use. The deseret alphabet, a 38letter writing system developed. Typesetting the deseret alphabet with latexandmetafont.
Various articles were also published in the deseret news using the alphabet during that time. Publication date 1869 topics book of mormon 1869 facsim publisher russell brothers collection churchhistorylibrary. This book is in the deseret alphabet, a phonetic alphabet for writing english developed in the mid19th century at the university of deseret now the university of deseret. It is a very short and small paperback book, only about 40 pages including an introduction to the deseret alphabet by arlene b. Even a gold coin image courtesy of heritage auctions minted in utah in 1860, included. The purpose of this book this book provides all the information a student will need in order to read the classic 1869 version of the deseret alphabet properly and to write with it today. The internet archive also has very nice scans of these books, plus some other interesting documents. Deseret bookthe worlds largest lds bookstore chain. Teachers taught the alphabet in the school system at the time.
The church history library and the internet archive recently made available a complete scanned copy of the 1869 deseret alphabet edition of the book of mormon here. The resulting book offers a fascinating mix of linguistics, mormon history, and native american studies. The alphabet was in use only between the 1850s and 1870s, fading away after youngs death in 1877. If nothing else, it includes book 6 it took its sweet time, but its finally available via printondemand on amazon. Dbd5117275 the role of the spirit in teaching and learning in the church of jesus christ of latterday saints, we are all teachers. The inclusion of the deseret alphabet spellings in this onomasticon is provided as an aid to the pronunciation of these words at the time the book of mormon was printed using the deseret alphabet. However, i will not be the one to write such a book, as my skills are in. Another testament of jesus christ smith jun, joseph on. Beesley and dirk elzinga did commendable work and a valuable service in producing the book an 1860 englishhopi vocabulary written in the deseret alphabet. The deseret alphabet faded out of use by 1875, and the book of mormon was never translated into hopi, but a suspected indian vocabulary of almost 500 words, written completely in the deseret alphabet, survived unidentified in the archives of the church of jesus christ of latter day saints. The deseret alphabet consists of 38 letters to account for alternate pronunciations of english vowels and some consonants. According to the book of mormon, deseret meant honeybee in the language of the jaredites, a group believed by mormons to have been led to the americas following the.
The deseret alphabet is a phonemic englishlanguage spelling reform developed between. The deseret alphabet, a 38letter writing system developed by mormons copy link facebook twitter reddit flipboard pocket the opening pages of an 1869 copy of the book of mormon, printed in deseret. Originally published in 1868, this 1996 reprint is an affordable way to own a piece of utahs history. This is a very comprehensive study of the history of the deseret alphabet. The mormon alphabet experiment newyork historical society. Discover lds genealogy in a new light with family history keepsake journals, generation pedigree charts, and family history beginner kits. At least four books were published in the new alphabet, all transcribed by orson pratt and all using the russells house font. Watt was the principal creator of the deseret alphabet characters. The deseret alphabet experiment religious studies center. The third chapter traces the roots of the deseret alphabet. Lalfabeto deseret inglese deseret alphabet, trascritto, nello stesso alfabeto, come.
But authors beesley and elzinga have now traced the manuscripts origin to the missionaries of 185960 and decoded its hopienglish vocabulary written in the shortlived deseret alphabet. For at least a year brigham youngs account books were kept in the deseret alphabet, and a new york firm printed five hundred copies of the entire book of mormon in it. Jan 04, 2017 the deseret alphabeta phonetic alphabet used briefly in early utahis represented on what looks like an antique book in some foreign script. Deseret alphabet simple english wikipedia, the free. The primers were used in some schools in utah, but the alphabet was never widely adopted. Interruptions prevented more progress being made, and nothing was published in the alphabet until almost a decade later. The series was ed in 1990, but was not completed until 1993. The deseret alphabet among the hopi byu college of humanities.
Beesley has already written about that in the deseret alphabet in unicode. The church history library and the internet archive recently made available a complete scanned copy of the 1869 deseret alphabet edition of the book of. Ultimately, other books were printed such as selections from the book of mormon, a christmas carol and a few other popular books. A comparison of deseret alphabet characters and other alphabets suggests that, although there may be some similarities, the deseret alphabet is for the most part original. This book does not pretend to give a detailed history of the origin and demise of the nineteenthcentury deseret alphabet. An 1860 englishhopi vocabulary written in the deseret alphabet. Our goal is to encourage the use of the deseret alphabet by making worthwhile reading material widely available.
It will be the means of introducing uniformity in our orthography, and the years that are now required to learn to read and spell can be devoted to other studies. A history of the deseret alphabet byu scholarsarchive. Just to add a little spice to the whole process, the deseret alphabet text is slightly longer than the latin script one. An 1860 englishhopi vocabulary written in the deseret. A group of leaders called the board of regents created it. This further relates the history of how the book of mormon was translated into the deseret alphabet by orson pratt in the spring of 1869 and published later that year by russell bros. The phonetic deseret alphabet was developed to assist in this cause. A history of the deseret alphabet larry ray wintersteen brigham young university provo follow this and additional works at. A complete guide to reading and writing the deseret alphabet. Typesetting the deseret alphabet with latex and metafont. Book of mormon 1869 facsim publisher russell brothers collection churchhistorylibrary. This book is in excellent condition, particularly given its age.
Not only do we have a glorious mandate to teach all nations the gospel, we also have numerous charges to teach one another the doctrine of the kingdom. The provisional state existed for slightly over two years and was never recognized by the united states government. The deseret alphabet, a 38letter writing system developed by. Part of thehistory commons,linguistics commons, and themormon studies commons this thesis is brought to you for free and open access by byu scholarsarchive. The book of mormon printed in the deseret alphabet. Deseret first credit unionformerly known as the lds church employees credit union. A history of the deseret alphabet archiviato l11 giugno 2011 in internet archive. Esempio dal deseret second book, stampato nel 1868. Four books were published in the deseret language, including two readers for learning the language, a selection of the book of mormon, and the entirety of the book of mormon. The note reproduced 1990 appears along the inside margin.
Four books were published in the late 1860s using the deseret alphabet, deseret first and second book readers, the book of nephi part 1 1st nephi through the words of mormon, and then the entire book of mormon. A bit of research led me to a strange footnote to mormon history. Brigham youngs deseret alphabet one of the curious items of early utah history was brigham youngs effort to introduce a new alphabet, known as the deseret alphabet, into mormon use. The first deseret alphabet reader 1868, the second deseret alphabet reader 1868, the book of mormon 1869, and a book of mormon excerpt called first nephiomni 1869. Deseret first book deseret alphabet historic reprint. In 1859 and 1860 the board began to prepare a dictionary, and brigham young had the manuscript history of the church written in the deseret alphabet. The duos book aims to document haskell and sheltons four months among the hopi, detail the history of the deseret alphabet, describe the hopi language and its history and present the vocabulary compiled by shelton. However, i will not be the one to write such a book, as my skills are in linguistics and are not those of a historian. It is a mormon story that needs to be seen and studied. In addition, some historical records, diaries, and other materials were handwritten.
A complete guide to reading and writing the deseret alphabet book. Old testament ideas on land ownership and marked ballots were not the only indications that utahs earliest settlers were bent on creating a society altogether unlike the. These readers were designed to help the saints transition into this new alphabet with simple sentence structures and plots. It is not a reproduction of the 1869 deseret alphabet edition of the book of mormon but a completely new transliteration based on the modern text and modern chapterverse. In 1869, deseret university published tenthousand copies of each of two textbooks, deseret first book and deseret second book. Deseret alphabeta nonlatin phonetic alphabet developed in the mid19th century by the board of regents of the university of deseret university of utah under the direction of brigham young.
The following year, the book of mormon was published in the deseret alphabet. He named the state desereta word from the book of mormon. Jul 21, 2014 you can browse the whole deseret alphabet book of mormon, 1869 edition, on the internet archive. Using this book the student needs to narrow down his goals prior to using this book. A bit of history of the mormon deseret alphabet follows. A committee from the university of deseret now the university of utah organized the effort. Jan 02, 2020 the one would be the deseret alphabet version, and the other would be the latin script version.
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