Spelling Identities - Individual Orthographic Usages in English, Nordic and Constructed Languages

Dieser Band enthält eine Auswahl von Vorträgen, die auf dem zweiten Symposium on Linguistic Identities: Spelling, Writing and Identity gehalten wurden, das am 29. und 30. November 2021 an der Universität Stavanger, Norwegen, stattfand. Er enthält auch zwei speziell verfasste Beiträge. Die Artikel zeigen, wie Identität mit sprachlichen Mitteln ausgedrückt wird, unter besonderer Berücksichtigung orthografischer Konventionen. Der Schwerpunkt liegt auf Englisch, Isländisch und Norwegisch sowie konstruierten Sprachen, und die Zeitspanne reicht vom frühen Mittelalter bis in die Gegenwart. Zu den untersuchten Aspekten gehören unter anderem die Schreibweise von Namen, die Verwendung von Archaismen und die Rolle des Zielpublikums.

This volume contains a selection of papers given at the 2nd Symposium on Linguistic Identities: Spelling, Writing and Identity, held on 29 and 30 November 2021 at the University of Stavanger, Norway. It also features two specifically commissioned contributions. The articles show how identity is expressed by linguistic means with particular regard to orthographic conventions. The focus is on English, Icelandic and Norwegian as well as constructed languages, and the time periods range from the early Middle Ages up to the present day. Some aspects covered include the spelling of names, the use of archaisms and the role of the intended audience.

This book, which is based on a symposium held at the University of Stavanger in November 2021, explores how orthographic conventions reflect identity across certain languages and historical periods, from the early Middle Ages up to the present day. It contains ten contributions, which are divided into three sections, covering English, Nordic languages (Icelandic and Norwegian), and constructed languages respectively.
The English section contains four articles ranging from eighth-century runic inscriptions on the Ruthwell Cross to fifteenth-century manuscripts that showcase distinctive regional spellings. These studies reveal how unique orthographic choices reflect the linguistic identities of communities and individuals, particularly in terms of geography and social factors. A final English-focused study examines the evolution of name spellings over centuries, tying orthographic changes to broader concepts of identity.
The five studies in the Nordic section cover Icelandic a nd Norwegian language history, with attention to onomastics and orthographic conventions as markers of cultural identity. Medieval Icelandic and Norwegian manuscripts reveal two separate writing traditions, despite minimal linguistic differences between the regions. The papers in this section also highlight Icelandic Enlightenment efforts to modernize spelling while retaining medieval elements, contrasting this with Norwegian naming trends in the nineteenth century, when names were increasingly adapted to align with national identity. The section closes by examining Norwegians' attachment to placename spellings, reflecting cultural and personal identity ties to family heritage and linguistic history.
There is one article in the final section that delves into constructed languages in fiction, particularly Klingon, Elvish, and imagined forms of English. It discusses orthographic representations in these languages in the Latin script, helping an English-speaking audience understan d how the creators intended them to sound and function as unique linguistic identities within fictional contexts.
Through its detailed historical and cultural analyses, the book highlights how spelling choices serve as expressions of identity across diverse languages and periods. This work contributes to the fields of historical linguistics, orthography and sociolinguistics, with a primary audience of linguists, language historians, and scholars of cultural studies interested in the intersections of language, identity, and orthography.