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 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.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 1.1The Berawan language family
- 1.2Background to orthography development for Berawan
- 1.3Aims and objectives
- 2.Conceptual framework
- 2.1Design criteria
- 2.2Implementation criteria
- 2.3Development stages
- 3.Results and discussion
- 3.1Design criteria
- 3.1.1Criterion 1: Maximum motivation for the learner
- 3.1.2Criterion 2: Maximum representation of speech
- 3.1.3Criterion 3: Maximum ease of learning
- 3.1.4Criterion 4: Maximum transfer
- 3.1.5Criterion 5: Maximum ease of reproduction
- 3.2Implementation criteria
- 3.2.1Adequate testing
- 3.2.2Sufficient time
- 3.3Development stages
- 4.Conclusion
- Notes
-
References
References (21)
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Cited by (2)
Cited by two other publications
Beguš, Gašper & Maksymilian Dąbkowski
2024.
The blurring history of intervocalic devoicing.
Journal of Linguistics ► pp. 1 ff.

Burkhardt, Jürgen Martin , Jey Lingam Burkhardt & Ang Lay Hoon
2020.
One Orthography, Four Lects: The Unified Berawan Orthography.
Journal of Borneo-Kalimantan 6:1

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