Frontmatter -- Contents -- Preface: Advances in the Creation and Revision of Writing Systems -- Section One: Theoretical Overviews -- 1. 'The Making of Alphabets' Revisited -- 2. Speech and Spelling -- 3. Principles for the Design of Practical Writing Systems -- 4. The West African Autochthonous Alphabets: An Exercise in Comparative Palaeography -- Section Two: The Creation of Writing Systems -- 5. A Western Apache Writing System: The Symbols of Silas John -- 6. Ayn Plotdiytshet Obaytsay: A Practical Alphabet for Plattdeutsch in Spanish-Speaking Areas -- Section Three: The Revision of Classical Writing Systems -- 7. Language and Script Reform in China -- 8. Spelling Reform - Israel 1968 -- Section Four: The Revision of Modern Writing Systems associated with National Political Establishments -- 9. Successes and Failures in Dutch Spelling Reform -- 10. Successes and Failures in the Reformation of Norwegian Orthography -- 11. Successes and Failures in the Modernization of Irish Spelling -- Section Five: The Revision of Modern Writing Systems not associated with National Political Establishments -- 12. The Phenomenological and Linguistic Pilgrimage of Yiddish : Some Examples of Functional and Structural Pidginization and Depidginization -- 13. Successes and Failures in the Standardization and Implementation of Yiddish Spelling and Romanization -- 14. Politics and Alphabets in Inner Asia -- 15. Successes and Failures in the Modernization of Hausa Spelling -- 16. The Spelling of New Guinea Pidgin (Neo-Melanesian) -- 17. Written Navajo : A Brief History -- Addendum: A Graduate Program in the Sociology of Language -- Index of Names -- Index of Subjects -- Backmatter