Vol.3,No.2(December2009),pp.PDF

Vol. 3, No. 2 (December 2009), pp. 247-252 /ldc/ /10125/4443 Mark Sebba . 2007. Spelling and society: The culture and politics of orthog- raphy around the world. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press. xix + 189pp.: ill, maps, glossary. ISBN 978-0-521-84845-9, cloth. Reviewed by Harriet JoSepH ottenHeiMer , Kansas State University Spelling and society is a very important book, making a very important point. Orthog- raphy is more than simply technology. It is fraught with social and cultural implications and is used in social and cultural contexts. Sebba explores these contexts thoroughly, mak- ing a strong case for the development of a sociolinguistics of orthography, and developing a coherent theoretical framework for such a field. Highly engaging and exceptionally well- written, Sebba’s exploration of “spelling matters” should be at the top of every linguist’s reading list. It would also be an outstanding text for classes in language documentation. The book is organized into an introduction and seven chapters. Well-structured and reader-friendly, each chapter is subdivided into sections with headings and sub-headings, and the flow from chapter to chapter is clearly and logically explained. Two maps show the locations of languages discussed in the book. A table of International Phonetic Alphabet symbols gives typical orthographic representations in a variety of languages, a separate chart shows the IPA vowel symbols used in the book, and a transcription note explains phonetic, phonemic, and orthographic bracketing. These aids, plus the presence of a glos- sary at the end, and Sebba’s reader-friendly writing style, suggest its use not only as a focal text in advanced classes but also as an a