Ideology and Orthography

This paper surveys the history of dictionary construction and orthographic choice in the Comoros with special reference to issues of literacy, identity, politics and linguistic ideology. From sixteenth century word lists to contemporary bilingual bidirectional dictionaries, colonial, missionary, and scholarly approaches to lexicography and orthography in the Comoros are examined and compared. While Arabic-influenced writing systems have a long history in the Comoros, the experiences of colonialism and independence in the twentieth century introduced French and phonemically influenced systems. As the Comoros move into the 21st century, linguists and ethnographers are well-positioned to assist with questions of standardization, literacy, and dictionary construction. The situation remains fluid, with considerations of tradition, modernity, nationalism, and representation to be taken into account. This paper seeks to address the complex interrelationships between orthographic choice and ethnic identity in the Comoros, with special reference to the development of the first bilingual, bidirectional Comorian-English Dictionary.I begin with a brief survey of attempts to collect word lists and to compile dictionaries of Comorian in general and Shinzwani in particular from the 1600s to the present from explorers, missionaries, and colonists to linguists, ethnographers, and linguistic anthropologists, focusing on orthographic choice across the centuries. I then present an analysis of recent orthographic systems used and/or proposed by Comorians, including Arabic, French, English, and phonemic-style orthographies. I explore the linguistic and ideological advantages, disadvantages and implications of each and assess their impact on recent attempts to standardize Comorian orthography. Finally, I present the results of my own linguistic work in the Comoros, which began the 1960s, setting it into this larger context and discussing the role of the linguistic anthropologist in matters of orthographic choice, language documentation, and dictionary construction.The complex interplay of orthography, identity, ideology and choice in this small African nation has wider implications for scholarship. Understanding the dynamics involved can provide us with a model for understanding similar choices on a broader scale as well as for contributing to the design of successful orthographic systems and literacy programs. The decisions we make, as linguists and linguistic anthropologists, in representing individuals and their languages, must take these dynamics of ideology, identity, and orthography into account.