Book contents
- The Cambridge Handbook of Historical Orthography
- cambridge handbooks in language and linguistics
- The Cambridge Handbook of Historical Orthography
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Abbreviations
- Part I Introduction
- Part II Structures and Theories
- Part III Organization and Development
- 8 Comparative Historical Perspectives
- 9 Systems and Idiosyncrasies
- 10 Multilayeredness and Multiaspectuality
- 11 Adapting Alphabetic Writing Systems
- 12 Variation and Change
- 13 What Is Spelling Standardization?
- Part IV Empirical Approaches
- Part V Explanatory Discussions
- Bibliography
- Name Index
- Subject Index
9 - Systems and Idiosyncrasies
from Part III - Organization and Development
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 September 2023
- The Cambridge Handbook of Historical Orthography
- cambridge handbooks in language and linguistics
- The Cambridge Handbook of Historical Orthography
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Abbreviations
- Part I Introduction
- Part II Structures and Theories
- Part III Organization and Development
- 8 Comparative Historical Perspectives
- 9 Systems and Idiosyncrasies
- 10 Multilayeredness and Multiaspectuality
- 11 Adapting Alphabetic Writing Systems
- 12 Variation and Change
- 13 What Is Spelling Standardization?
- Part IV Empirical Approaches
- Part V Explanatory Discussions
- Bibliography
- Name Index
- Subject Index
Summary
This chapter focuses on the relationship between writing systems and language, which is never perfect, with the result that irregularities and idiosyncrasies arise even in writing systems that ostensibly have a one-to-one correspondence between grapheme and speech sound (or other unit of language). On the basis of a diverse assortment of examples drawn from around the world, this chapter outlines the ways in which writing systems are and are not systematic and discusses various avenues by which idiosyncrasies arise. The survey begins with a consideration of systematicity at the level of individual graphemes, where both aesthetic and functional aspects are discussed, and follows this with an exploration of the various degrees to which phonetic writing systems cover a language’s phonemic and subphonemic distinctions and where irregularities can arise. Issues of spelling and orthography, already interspersed in the first two parts, are the dedicated topic of the last section. At various points the chapter showcases the tension between desire for economy and efficiency and desire for regularity.
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- The Cambridge Handbook of Historical Orthography , pp. 183 - 203Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2023