Transcript Participatory Approaches in Orthography Development for

PARTICIPATORY APPROACHES IN
ORTHOGRAPHY DEVELOPMENT
FOR MOTHER TONGUE-BASED
MULTILINGUAL EDUCATION:
INSIGHTS FROM NON-DOMINANT
LANGUAGE COMMUNITIES
Mansueto Casquite
The Philippines
4th International Conference on Language and Education
6-8 November 2013; Bangkok, Thailand
COMPONENTS OF A STRONG AND SUSTAINED MTB-MLE
A Strong and
Sustained
MTB-MLE
COMPONENTS OF A STRONG AND SUSTAINED MTB-MLE
Accepted
Orthography
Secured
Funding
Training Staff
Graded
Reading
Materials
Approved
Curriculum
Information
for Decision
Making
A Strong and
Sustained
MTB-MLE
Supportive
Political
Environment
Community
Ownership
Informed
and Engaged
Partners
Ongoing
Evaluations
Adapted from the Concept Chart by
Dr. Susan Malone, SIL International
COMPONENTS OF A STRONG AND SUSTAINED MTB-MLE
Accepted
Orthography
Secured
Funding
Training Staff
Graded
Reading
Materials
Approved
Curriculum
Information
for Decision
Making
A Strong and
Sustained
MTB-MLE
Supportive
Political
Environment
Community
Ownership
Informed
and Engaged
Partners
Ongoing
Evaluations
Adapted from the Concept Chart by
Dr. Susan Malone, SIL International
ORTHOGRAPHY

A thoughtful
choice of
symbols to
represent the
written form
of a language.
KEY ELEMENTS IN DEVELOPING A WRITING SYSTEM
Factors
Social Relations
within the group
with other groups
Processes
Outcomes
dialogue &
negotiate
debate,
Political Context
government policies
competing interests
Cultural Heritage
history, oral literature,
local knowledge
Language
Structure
sound system,
grammar
lobby, negotiate,
compromise
consensus
- building,
recognise &
validate,
raise awareness
decisionmaking
writing
system
as much a
social
convention
as a
linguistic
reality
analyse &
compare
Source: http://portal.unesco.org/education
LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT AND EDUCATION

Non-dominant languages

Language in education

Language of instruction

Language of learning
ORTHOGRAPHY DEVELOPMENT FOR
LITERACY AND EDUCATION

Symbols and spelling system
one symbol, one sound
 one sound, one symbol


Stakeholders’ collaboration
community participation
 technical expertise and experience
 supportive institutions & policies


Sustainability

materials production for beginner learners,
for fluency, and for other media.
SMALLEY’S MAXIMUM
 Maximum

acceptability
A majority of MT speakers agree that the
orthography represents their language.
SMALLEY’S MAXIMUM
 Maximum

representation
The important parts of the language are
clearly and consistently represented.
SMALLEY’S MAXIMUM
 Maximum

ease of learning
People are learning to read and write their
language as easy as possible.
SMALLEY’S MAXIMUM
 Maximum

ease of transfer
MT speakers find it easy as possible to
transfer literacy skills from their first
language to other related languages that they
speak and want also to read and write.
pen
pin.to
pen
SMALLEY’S MAXIMUM
 Maximum

ease of reproduction
Community members find it easy to produce
reading materials in their language using
available technology.
ñæǿŋ
‫ج؁مؔغ‬
INNOVATIONS IN ORTHOGRAPHY
DEVELOPMENT

Participatory approaches
ADW: alphabet design workshop
 Participatory orthography development workshop
 appreciation of local voices / community
participation
 technical considerations
 guided activities
 consultative discussions
 collaborative decisions
 negotiations
 community validation and field testing

TOOLS, TRADE AND TECHNIQUES
Planning and selection of participants
 Mapping and geographical survey

TOOLS, TRADE AND TECHNIQUES

T – chart: what’s good and useful in a related
language or in another language.
English
Like
Dislike
Short, easy words
Ex: bag, dog, cat
Same spelling,
different meaning
Ex: nail
Specific spelling
rules
Ex: plural, with ‘s’
past tense, ‘ed’
Silent letters:
Ex: bombing
calm
island
One sound,
different symbol
Ex: graph
calf
cough
TOOLS, TRADE AND TECHNIQUES

Story writing & reading of stories
TOOLS, TRADE AND TECHNIQUES

Directed wordlist
TOOLS, TRADE AND TECHNIQUES

Review and analysis of ambiguous segments
TOOLS, TRADE AND TECHNIQUES

Discussions, debates and decisions
TOOLS, TRADE AND TECHNIQUES

Technical analysis & validation
TOOLS, TRADE AND TECHNIQUES

Community field-testing
Spelling Rules – for adults
 Illustrations – for children

TOOLS, TRADE AND TECHNIQUES
Write /
Read
Language
Test
Decisions
Make
Decisions
Identify
Problem
Areas
Discuss
Options
for
Problem
Areas
Easton, C. 2002
TOOLS, TRADE AND TECHNIQUES
Creation of spelling guide
 Review and Editing
 Field Testing
 Reproduction

IMPLICATIONS
Appreciation of heritage language and culture
 Appreciation of local voices & identity
 Giving premium to community participation
 Open discussions, debates and negotiations
 Guided organic decision making
 Interagency collaboration
 Sustainability

CONCLUSION
Borrowing from the famous quote, orthography
development should be of the people, by the
people, and for the people.