Deseret alphabet

Deseret alphabet
Script type	Alphabet
Creator	George D. Watt, under the direction of the Board of Regents led by Brigham Young
Published	1854
Time period	Mainly 1854–1869; some use in modern era
Direction	left-to-right
Languages	English, Native American languages (Hopi language)
Related scripts
Parent systems	Isaac Pitman phonotypy English Phonotypic Alphabet Deseret alphabet
ISO 15924
ISO 15924	Dsrt (250), ​Deseret (Mormon)
Unicode
Unicode alias	Deseret
Unicode range	U+10400–U+1044F
This article contains phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA. For the distinction between [ ], / / and ⟨ ⟩, see IPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters.

This article contains Deseret alphabet characters. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Deseret letters.

The Deseret alphabet (/dɛzəˈrɛt/ (listen)^[1]) is a writing system invented in the 19th Century in America by the Mormon Church. A group of leaders called the Board of Regents created it. They were from Brigham Young University.^[2]

Brigham Young wanted all letters to match sounds, to make reading and writing easier for immigrants. Teachers taught the alphabet in the school system at the time.^{[2]: 65–66  [3]}

Between 1854 and 1869, books, newspapers, street signs and mail used the new alphabet. Even though the LDS church tried very hard to support the alphabet, it wasn't continued for very long.^{[2][4][5][6][7]}

1. ↑ LDS.org: "Book of Mormon Pronunciation Guide" (retrieved 2012-02-25), IPA-ified from "dĕz-a-rĕt'"
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} Moore, Richard G. (2006). "The Deseret Alphabet Experiment" (PDF). Religious Studies Center. Brigham Young University. Retrieved 2017-01-06.
3. ↑ Young, Brigham (8 October 1868). Journal of Discourses. Vol. 12. delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, UT. p. 289.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
4. ↑ Beesley, Kenneth R. (2004). "Typesetting the Deseret Alphabet with LATEX and METAFONT" (PDF). Presented at the 25th Annual Meeting and Conference of TeX Users Group. Berlin: Springer-Verlag GmbH – via CiteSeerX.
5. ↑ Zobell, Jr., Albert L. (1967). The Improvement Era. Vol. 70. Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. pp. 10–11.
6. ↑ Simmonds, A. J. (1968). "Utah's Strange Alphabet" (PDF). Sparta, Illinois: Major Magazines, Inc. Retrieved 2017-01-10.
7. ↑ Spendlove, Loren Blake (2015-01-01). "Say Now Shibboleth, or Maybe Cumorah". Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture. 15. Archived from the original on 2015-07-09. Retrieved 2018-01-24.