Testing African Orthographies

Name: Testing African Orthographies
Price: 53.30 AUD
Availability: OutOfStock
ISBN: 9781556715730

Leila Schroeder, Cathryn Bartram

$62.95 $53.30

Paperback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

Availability Information

We source books from suppliers in Australia and overseas. For books we don't currently have in stock, the time it takes to get them from our suppliers can vary widely - from a few days to a few months - so we check each book with each supplier to determine the expected time it will take to be supplied to us.

We will update you on expected arrival time to us. If this delay is too long, please let us know within 2 business days and we can give you options regarding cancelling or adjusting your order. More details on cancelling your order can be found in our Terms of Trade.

To find out the anticipated arrival time for specific items prior to ordering, please contact us by phone or email:

Phone +61 2 9264 3111, or 1800 4 BOOKS (1800 4 26657) if outside Sydney:
option 1 Abbey's Bookshop (Crime, History, Science, Kids & more) • info@abbeys.com.au
option 2 Language Book Centre (ESL & Foreign Languages) • language@abbeys.com.au
option 3 Galaxy Bookshop (Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novels) • sf@galaxybooks.com.au

QTY:

English

Sil International, Global Publishing
30 January 2026

Writing systems, alphabets; Reading skills

Series: Publications in Language Use and Education

Effective orthographies which represent speech maximally yet efficiently are pivotal in giving literacy to millions of people. Testing their effectiveness can inform users, literacy personnel, and linguists of the relative importance of certain features, and any difficulties readers may face with comprehension, spelling or reading fluency.

The case studies address topics such as

under- and overrepresentation of a language's phonology developing decoding skills and whole word recognition choosing optimal orthographic depth diagnosing problems in comprehension, oral reading accuracy, and spelling strategies to achieve maximum visual simplicity yet maximal comprehension of text

Testing African Orthographies will be of practical value for linguists and literacy specialists as they seek to strengthen orthography development.

Edited by: Leila Schroeder, Cathryn Bartram
Imprint: Sil International, Global Publishing
Volume: 9
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm, Spine: 13mm
Weight: 336g
ISBN: 9781556715730
ISBN 10: 1556715730
Series: Publications in Language Use and Education
Pages: 246
Publication Date: 30 January 2026
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Reviews for Testing African Orthographies

Providing a minority language with a reliable, user-friendly writing system is like planting a seed that can grow into new possibilities for its speakers. An orthography does far more than supply graphic symbols for writing. It safeguards a people's ancestral knowledge, ensures the survival of their language, and opens doors to the wider world of human learning. In this sense, a writing system becomes both a shield against extinction and a bridge to dignity. It affirms the worth of a community by giving lasting shape to the language that most fully expresses its identity. I therefore warmly welcome the publication of this book. Through their quiet but significant labor, its contributors affirm a powerful truth: speakers of minority languages are not lesser beings but full human persons whose voices deserve to be heard and preserved. Michel Kenmogne, PhD SIL Global Executive Director emeritus