Considers opinions about how the alphabet might have been invented. Concludes that it probably occurred in a single "giant leap" taken by one man. Reviews the inventor's necessary background, creation of letter shapes, the writing medium, and direction of script. Postulates possibilities for initial acceptance and diffusion. Encapsulates the whole…

This Italian alphabet book designed for kindergarten and first grade students presents each letter in upper and lower case form accompanied by an illustration and a single sentence caption. The sentence contains two or more words that begin with the letter in question. The book has a teacher's introduction and is illustrated by pen-and-ink…

Mildred Milliea has researched and developed the only Micmac language program in the Maritimes. The Micmac alphabet with equivalent sounds, the numerical system, and examples of new Micmac words are given. (NQ)

Chronicles the history of text conventions (punctuation, capitalization, and typefaces) both by discussing and using them. (MS)

Describes the difficulty in reading and writing Persian script which may contribute to illiteracy in Iran and notes the political and religious considerations which make change difficult. (MKM)

Describes a technique for helping children learn the names of the letters of the alphabet. In the Alphabet Mnemonic System, each alphabet letter is assigned a phrase that will cue the learner to recall the name of the letter. A table is provided of the mnemonic alphabet cues. (CR)

Presenting activities, facts, and illustrations, this book takes learning the alphabet to a new level. After an introduction and a brief cartoon look at the history of the alphabet, the book presents 26 four-page mini-chapters (1 for each letter) that include a brief visual history of the letter; trivia tidbits; project ideas; a list of people,…

This dictionary is divided into two main sections, each containing approximately 9,000 entries. In the first section, English to Cherokee, the information is organized in 3 columns. In column 1 are found English words in standard English orthography and in alphabetical order, in column 2 the romanized representation of the Cherokee translation and…

Discusses an art project in which sixth grade students design alphabets by transforming the shapes of the letters into new designs that are still recognizable. Explains that students brainstorm ideas for their own lettering style. (CMK)

Examines two versions of the alphabet to show how psychological evidence indicates that grammar is best which best approximates the system people have in their heads. (RB)

Materials for teaching the Lakhota language, developed by the University of Colorado Lakhota Project, are written in a special new orthography. A careful description of and uses for this orthography are presented in this article. (Author/AH)

A laboratory and a classroom study were conducted to determine if verbal association learning would be facilitated by visual discrimination training. Kindergarten children who could not recognize the letters used were the subjects for both studies. In the laboratory study, 90 subjects were randomly assigned to the experimental group (E) which got…

The Uniform Slavic Transliteration Alphabet (USTA) was designed primarily with the following objectives: to aid librarians (catalogers and bibliographers), information scientists, transliterators, and editors of bibliographic works of the many Slavic tongues; and to serve as original research for the further development of a machine-readable…

This report presents a history of the Deseret alphabet, beginning with a chapter on English orthography in general and the various attempts that have been made in orthographic reform. The second chapter examines the motives behind the creation of the Deseret alphabet, including the possibilities of a secret Mormon code, a protection from…

Most early childhood teachers support breaking away from the letter-a-week method of teaching the alphabet but question how to achieve that goal. Concepts related to how young children learn the alphabetic principle are reviewed and successful strategies for teaching the principle are presented. (LB)