Brigham Young
Category=CFF
Category=NHK
Category=QRMB5
culture
divine words
eq_bestseller
eq_dictionaries-language-reference
eq_history
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
forthcoming
frontier
George D. Watt
identity
Isaac Pitman's English phonotypic alphabet
Joseph Smith
linguistic function
living artifact
New Alphabet
nineteenth-century
religion
theology
Utah
Product details
- ISBN 9780252089428
- Weight: 454g
- Dimensions: 152 x 229mm
- Publication Date: 30 Jun 2026
- Publisher: University of Illinois Press
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Paperback
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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Shosted and Davis draw on a wide range of sources, including previously unpublished archival material, to trace the alphabet's roots in Joseph Smith's esoteric translations and its role in shaping Latter-day Saint identity.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.
Shosted and Davis draw on a wide range of sources, including previously unpublished archival material, to trace the alphabet's roots in Joseph Smith's esoteric translations and its role in shaping Latter-day Saint identity.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.
