Guest Post by Dr. Mary Morgan

An orthography is defined by Google as “the conventional spelling system of a language.”

But what do you do if you want materials in a language that does not yet have a conventional spelling system? Well, you have to create one. Although I’ve had several decades of language experience in Mexico and Niger, a few years ago I found myself in just this situation when I was asked to facilitate an orthography workshop in a small Asian country.

Due to cultural sensitivities about my work in this region and the fact that the exact location is not germane to the story, I have chosen to maintain geographical anonymity. But I will use this workshop to highlight ten essential elements in a workshop dedicated to developing an effective and acceptable way to write a language that has not been used in writing for very long…