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Deseret alphabet
Deseret Alphabet.svg
Type Alphabet
Spoken languages English, Native American languages (Hopi language)
Created by George D. Watt, under the direction of the Board of Regents led by Brigham Young
Time period Mainly 1854–1869; some use in modern era
Parent systems
Isaac Pitman phonotypy
  • English Phonotypic Alphabet
    • Deseret alphabet
Unicode range U+10400–U+1044F
ISO 15924 Dsrt
Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode.
Deseret.svg
 This article contains Deseret alphabet characters. Without the correct software, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Deseret letters.

The Deseret alphabet is a special writing system created in the 1800s in America. It was invented by a group of leaders from the Mormon Church. This group was called the Board of Regents.

Brigham Young, a leader of the church, wanted to make reading and writing easier. He thought that if each letter always made the same sound, it would help immigrants learn English more quickly. Teachers even taught this new alphabet in schools for a while.

The Deseret alphabet was used for a short time, from 1854 to 1869. You could find it in books, newspapers, on street signs, and even on mail. Even though the church tried hard to make it popular, the alphabet was not used for very long.

How the Deseret Alphabet Was Created

Early Deseret alphabet chart found in Jules Remy and Julius Brenchley's A Journey to Great-Salt-Lake City (1855)
An early chart of the Deseret alphabet from a book published in 1855.

Planning the New Alphabet (1847–1854)

Important church leaders like Brigham Young, Parley P. Pratt, and Heber C. Kimball were part of the Board of Regents. This group was in charge of creating the Deseret alphabet. Other key people involved were George D. Watt and William W. Phelps.

Before they decided on the Deseret alphabet, the Board of Regents considered using other alphabets. They looked at ones similar to Pitman style alphabets. These alphabets also tried to match letters to sounds.

On November 29, 1853, the Board of Regents met to vote on an alphabet. However, Willard Richards, who was sick earlier, saw the Pitman-style alphabet. He felt it looked too much like the regular English alphabet. He wanted something completely new.

His words convinced Brigham Young and the rest of the Board of Regents to start fresh. They decided to create the Deseret alphabet. Less than two months later, the Board of Regents approved the first version. It had 38 letters.

English Phonotypic Alphabet 1847
The Deseret alphabet was based on Isaac Pitman's English Phonotypic Alphabet. The Board of Regents almost chose Pitman's alphabet instead.
1860 Utah $10 gold piece
This 1860 $5 gold coin has the words "Holiness to the Lord" written in the Deseret alphabet.

Learning the Alphabet

In the Deseret alphabet, capital letters look very similar to small letters. The only difference is that capital letters are larger. The chart below shows each letter's shape (Glyph) and its name. The name tells you how the letter sounds.

Glyph Name   Glyph Name   Glyph Name   Glyph Name
𐐀 𐐨 Deseret capital long I.svgDeseret small long I.svg Long I 𐐁 𐐩 Deseret capital long E.svgDeseret small long E.svg Long E 𐐂 𐐪 Deseret capital long A.svgDeseret small long A.svg Long A 𐐃 𐐫 Deseret capital long Ah.svgDeseret small long Ah.svg Long Ah
𐐄 𐐬 Deseret capital long O.svgDeseret small long O.svg Long O 𐐅 𐐭 Deseret capital long Oo.svgDeseret small long Oo.svg Long Oo 𐐆 𐐮 Deseret capital short I.svgDeseret small short I.svg Short I 𐐇 𐐯 Deseret capital short E.svgDeseret small short E.svg Short E
𐐈 𐐰 Deseret capital short A.svgDeseret small short A.svg Short A 𐐉 𐐱 Deseret capital short Ah.svgDeseret small short Ah.svg Short Ah 𐐊 𐐲 Deseret capital short O.svgDeseret small short O.svg Short O 𐐋 𐐳 Deseret capital short Oo.svgDeseret small short Oo.svg Short Oo
𐐌 𐐴 Deseret capital Ay.svgDeseret small Ay.svg Ay 𐐍 𐐵 Deseret capital Ow.svgDeseret small Ow.svg Ow 𐐎 𐐶 Deseret capital Wu.svgDeseret small Wu.svg Wu 𐐏 𐐷 Deseret capital Yee.svgDeseret small Yee.svg Yee
𐐐 𐐸 Deseret capital H.svgDeseret small H.svg H 𐐑 𐐹 Deseret capital Pee.svgDeseret small Pee.svg Pee 𐐒 𐐺 Deseret capital Bee.svgDeseret small Bee.svg Bee 𐐓 𐐻 Deseret capital Tee.svgDeseret small Tee.svg Tee
𐐔 𐐼 Deseret capital Dee.svgDeseret small Dee.svg Dee 𐐕 𐐽 Deseret capital Chee.svgDeseret small Chee.svg Chee 𐐖 𐐾 Deseret capital Jee.svgDeseret small Jee.svg Jee 𐐗 𐐿 Deseret capital Kay.svgDeseret small Kay.svg Kay
𐐘 𐑀 Deseret capital Gay.svgDeseret small Gay.svg Gay 𐐙 𐑁 Deseret capital Ef.svgDeseret small Ef.svg Ef 𐐚 𐑂 Deseret capital Vee.svgDeseret small Vee.svg Vee 𐐛 𐑃 Deseret capital Eth.svgDeseret small Eth.svg Eth
𐐜 𐑄 Deseret capital Thee.svgDeseret small Thee.svg Thee 𐐝 𐑅 Deseret capital Es.svgDeseret small Es.svg Es 𐐞 𐑆 Deseret capital Zee.svgDeseret small Zee.svg Zee 𐐟 𐑇 Deseret capital Esh.svgDeseret small Esh.svg Esh
𐐠 𐑈 Deseret capital Zhee.svgDeseret small Zhee.svg Zhee 𐐡 𐑉 Deseret capital Er.svgDeseret small Er.svg Er 𐐢 𐑊 Deseret capital El.svgDeseret small El.svg El 𐐣 𐑋 Deseret capital Em.svgDeseret small Em.svg Em
𐐤 𐑌 Deseret capital En.svgDeseret small En.svg En 𐐥 𐑍 Deseret capital Eng.svgDeseret small Eng.svg Eng 𐐦 𐑎 Deseret capital Oi.svgDeseret small Oi.svg Oi* 𐐧 𐑏 Deseret capital Ew.svgDeseret small Ew.svg Ew*
  *Not part of original alphabet

See also

Images for kids

  • Sermon on the Mount 16 Feb 1859 Deseret News

    The Sermon on the Mount as it appeared in the 1859 Deseret News.

  • Peoples Ticket, Salt Lake City, circa 1876, Mormons, front of

    An 1876 campaign ticket for the People's Party of Utah. The Deseret type was used to make a border. The "words" in the border are just gibberish.

  • Fragment of Marion Shelton's Hopi dictionary

    A small piece of Marion Shelton's Hopi dictionary. This part shows words translated into the Hopi language (from the Orayvi dialect).

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