Developing a unified orthography for Berawan: An endangered Bornean language

Berawan is a small ethnic community, numbering fewer than 4,000 members, in the Malaysian state of Sarawak on Borneo Island. There are four language varieties; namely, Long Jegan (LJG), Batu Belah (BB), Long Teru (LTU) and Long Terawan (LTN). This paper describes the development of the preliminary u...

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Main Authors: Burkhardt, Jey Lingam *, Burkhardt, Jurgen Martin
Format: Article
Published: John Benjamins Publishing 2020
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Online Access:http://eprints.sunway.edu.my/1269/
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author Burkhardt, Jey Lingam *
Burkhardt, Jurgen Martin
author_facet Burkhardt, Jey Lingam *
Burkhardt, Jurgen Martin
author_sort Burkhardt, Jey Lingam *
building SU Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Berawan is a small ethnic community, numbering fewer than 4,000 members, in the Malaysian state of Sarawak on Borneo Island. There are four language varieties; namely, Long Jegan (LJG), Batu Belah (BB), Long Teru (LTU) and Long Terawan (LTN). This paper describes the development of the preliminary unified Berawan orthography by the authors, in collaboration with representatives from three Berawan communities (BB, LTU and LJG). Smalley’s ( 1959 , 1965 ) criteria for orthography development are discussed in relation to the authors’ stage framework for orthographic development, which has been adapted from Rempel (1995) within the context of developing the Berawan orthography and the orthographic decisions made by the Berawan. Two additional factors for orthography implementation are proposed. The first stresses the importance of adequate testing, which is essential for both obtaining objective measurements to inform decision making and establishing a well-designed and effective orthography. The second new factor emphasizes the importance of having sufficient time available to learn the developed orthography.
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spelling sunway-12692020-04-02T05:26:03Z http://eprints.sunway.edu.my/1269/ Developing a unified orthography for Berawan: An endangered Bornean language Burkhardt, Jey Lingam * Burkhardt, Jurgen Martin P Philology. Linguistics Berawan is a small ethnic community, numbering fewer than 4,000 members, in the Malaysian state of Sarawak on Borneo Island. There are four language varieties; namely, Long Jegan (LJG), Batu Belah (BB), Long Teru (LTU) and Long Terawan (LTN). This paper describes the development of the preliminary unified Berawan orthography by the authors, in collaboration with representatives from three Berawan communities (BB, LTU and LJG). Smalley’s ( 1959 , 1965 ) criteria for orthography development are discussed in relation to the authors’ stage framework for orthographic development, which has been adapted from Rempel (1995) within the context of developing the Berawan orthography and the orthographic decisions made by the Berawan. Two additional factors for orthography implementation are proposed. The first stresses the importance of adequate testing, which is essential for both obtaining objective measurements to inform decision making and establishing a well-designed and effective orthography. The second new factor emphasizes the importance of having sufficient time available to learn the developed orthography. John Benjamins Publishing 2020 Article PeerReviewed Burkhardt, Jey Lingam * and Burkhardt, Jurgen Martin (2020) Developing a unified orthography for Berawan: An endangered Bornean language. Written Language & Literacy, 22 (2). pp. 280-306. ISSN 1387-6732 http://doi.org/10.1075/wll.00029.bur doi:10.1075/wll.00029.bur
spellingShingle P Philology. Linguistics
Burkhardt, Jey Lingam *
Burkhardt, Jurgen Martin
Developing a unified orthography for Berawan: An endangered Bornean language
title Developing a unified orthography for Berawan: An endangered Bornean language
title_full Developing a unified orthography for Berawan: An endangered Bornean language
title_fullStr Developing a unified orthography for Berawan: An endangered Bornean language
title_full_unstemmed Developing a unified orthography for Berawan: An endangered Bornean language
title_short Developing a unified orthography for Berawan: An endangered Bornean language
title_sort developing a unified orthography for berawan: an endangered bornean language
topic P Philology. Linguistics
url http://eprints.sunway.edu.my/1269/
http://eprints.sunway.edu.my/1269/
http://eprints.sunway.edu.my/1269/