DICTIONARY (restricted)
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Paiute Writing Systems
In this dictionary we use two writing systems for Northern Paiute; you can choose the one you prefer. The two writing systems are the same for consonants; they use somewhat different symbols for the vowels.
The Bridgeport system is the one used in the Bridgeport Indian Colony and by the Yerington Paiute Tribe and other Paiute-speaking communities in Nevada. It is probably the writing system used most widely in what linguists sometimes call the "Southern Nevada Northern Paiute" dialect area. (This variety is very similar to one spoken around Mono Lake, Bridgeport, Coleville, and Sweetwater.)
The Owens Valley system is the one used by Owens Valley Paiute communities for their language. (Linguists sometimes refer to this language as "Eastern Mono".) We include this writing system in our dictionary for several reasons: Northern Paiute speakers who live in the Owens Valley area may be more familiar with this system; its vowel symbols are closer to the phonetic alphabet used by linguists world-wide, so linguists from elsewhere will find it easier to read; and it is what linguists call "phonemic" (it represents all the contrasts of sound in the language with distinct symbols).
Whatever writing system you prefer to use, it is important to keep in mind that a writing system is just a way of representing speech and that different writing systems can be used for the same language. If you are learning a language, what is most important is to learn to speak it well. Written material can help, but nothing is better than listening to fluent elder speakers and trying to imitate the way they talk.
