Challenges in Enggano Orthography Development

Abstract

This paper details three challenges encountered in developing an orthography for Enggano (ISO 639-3 Code eno), an endangered Austronesian language of Indonesia. Enggano, as spoken in the 1930s, was documented by Hans Kähler in a grammar, text collection, and dictionary (Kähler 1940, 1975, 1987). However, Kähler used different orthographic conventions in each publication. Moreover, the language has undergone significant sound changes since Kähler’s time (see Yoder 2011). Hence, developing a standard orthography for contemporary Enggano is an important goal of our ongoing documentation project. Following Seifart (2006), we want the orthography to reflect the structure of the language, and also to be practical and easy to use for speakers who are familiar with Indonesian. We report on our progress in developing a phonemic orthography while also adopting the conventions of Indonesian as far as possible. In this paper, we discuss how Enggano central vowels, nasal vowels, and glides present a challenge to this endeavor, and outline the collaborative approach adopted to choose between different orthographic options. Show more