ʻAlafapeti Faka-Teseletí

ʻI he 1850 naʻe kole ʻe Pilikihami ʻIongi ki he poate pule ʻo e ʻUnivēsiti ʻo Teseletí ʻi Sōleki Sití ke nau fakakaukau ki ha ngaahi founga ke fakaleleiʻi ai ʻa e ʻalafapeti faka-Pilitāniá. Ne fuoloa e fekumi ʻa e kau fakalelei ʻo e lea fakafonua kehe ʻo hangē ko Penisimani Felengikilini, Noa Uepisitā, mo ʻAisake Pitimeni ki ha ngaahi founga ke fakafaingofuaʻi mo ʻai ke faitatau ʻa e sipela faka-Pilitāniá.¹ Naʻe pehē pe e fakaʻamu ʻa Pilikihami ʻIongi ke fakafeʻiloaki ha ʻalafapeti ʻe lava ke fakaikiiki faitatau pea faingofua ange hono akoʻi ʻo e lea faka-Pilitāniá ki he fānaú mo e kau hikifonua ne toki ului maí ne ʻikai poto he lea faka-Pilitāniá.² Ko e ngaahi ʻalafapeti ko ʻeni naʻe fokotuʻú ko ha konga ia ʻo e ngaahi ngāue ʻa Pilikihami ʻIongi ke fakatahatahaʻi e Kāingalotú pea fokotuʻu ha sōsaieti ʻo Saione ʻaki hono ʻai ke faingofua ange kiate kinautolu ke ikunaʻi ʻa e ngaahi faikehekehe ʻi he lea fakafonuá.

Hili hono fakakaukauʻi ha ngaahi fokotuʻu lahi, naʻe fakangofua ʻe Palesiteni ʻIongi mo e kau pulé ke akoʻi ʻi he ngaahi akó ha ʻalafapeti ne fakatefito ʻi he ongo (phonetics) ʻo e ʻalafapetí. Naʻe fakatefito ʻa e ʻalafapeti ko ʻení ʻi he ngaahi ongo ʻe 38 ʻo ha ʻalafapeti naʻe fokotuʻutuʻu ʻe ʻAisake Pitimeni. Naʻe ui ia ko e ʻAlafapeti Faka-Teseleti, pea naʻe fekauʻaki ʻa e ngaahi mataʻitohí mo e ngaahi ongo takitaha ko ʻení. Naʻe ako ʻa Siaosi D. Uati, ko ha mēmipa ʻo e Siasí pea ko ha tokotaha tohinima nounou ne hikifonua mai mei Pilitānia Lahi, ki he founga tohinima nounou ʻa Pitimení pea naʻá ne fatongia lahi ʻaki hono tā ʻo e ngaahi mataʻitohi foʻoú. Hangē naʻá ne fakatefito ia ʻi he ngaahi mataʻitohi ʻa Pitimení, ʻa e ʻalafapeti faka-Latiná, pea mahalo mo ha ngaahi ʻalafapeti kehe pe ngaahi founga ongo ʻo e leá.

Naʻe fakataumuʻa ʻa Pilikihami ʻIongi ke vakai ʻoku mafola hono ngāue lahi ʻaki ʻo e ʻAlafapeti Faka-Teseletí. Naʻe ngāue lahi e kau taki ʻo e Siasí ki hono fokotuʻu ha faʻahinga mīsini paaki foʻou koeʻuhí ke nau lava ʻo paaki ha ngaahi naunau ʻi he ʻalafapeti foʻoú. Naʻa nau toe tokangaʻi foki hono paaki ʻo e ngaahi fakamatala ʻaki e ʻalafapeti foʻoú ʻi he Deseret News he vahaʻa ʻo e taʻu 1859 mo e 1864. Naʻe paaki ʻe he Siasí ha ngaahi tohi maʻá e fānau ako ʻoku kamakamata laukongá ʻi he 1868. ʻI he taʻu hono hokó, naʻe paaki ai ʻa e Tohi ʻa Molomoná ʻi he ʻAlafapeti Faka-Teseletí.³

Ko e Tohi ʻa Molomoná ʻi hono paaki ʻi he ʻAlafapeti Faka-Teseletí.

Naʻe fakaʻaongaʻi ʻa e ngaahi tohi laukongá [ki he fānau ako kamakamata laukongá] ʻi he ngaahi ako ʻe niʻihi ʻi ʻIutaá, ka naʻe ʻikai mafola hono fakaʻaongaʻi ʻo e ngaahi ʻalafapetí.⁴ Ne ʻikai fuʻu fie maʻu ʻe kinautolu ne nau ʻosi lava ʻo laukonga ʻi he lea faka-Pilitāniá ʻa e ʻalafapetí. Naʻe ʻikai maʻu ʻe kinautolu ne ako e lea faka-Pilitāniá ha naunau laukonga lahi ʻi he ʻAlafapeti faka-Teseletí ʻo fakafehoanaki atu ki he naunau laukonga lahi ʻaupito kuo ʻosi lava ke maʻu ʻi he ʻalafapeti faka-Latiná, tautautefito ki he taimi ne ʻosi aʻu atu ai ʻa e halanga lēlué ki ʻIutā ʻi he 1869.⁵ Fakatatau ki he fakamatala ʻa Siaosi Q. Kenoní, naʻe pehē ʻe Pilikihami ʻIongi fekauʻaki mo e ʻalafapetí naʻe “ʻikai ke fuʻu lelei hono liliu ki he ʻuhinga naʻe fakataumuʻa ki aí ʻo hangē ko e fakaʻamú,” ka naʻá ne fakatokangaʻi naʻe ʻikai ke ngata pē ʻi he ʻikai ke nau anga ki he ngaahi mataʻitohí ka naʻe faingataʻa ke lau ia.⁶ Hili ‘a e pekia ʻa Pilikihami ʻIongi ʻi he 1877, naʻe ʻikai ke toe fuʻu lahi hono ngāue ʻaki ʻa e ʻalafapetí.

Ngaahi Maʻuʻanga Tokoni ʻa e Siasí

Glenn Rowe, “Can You Read Deseret?” Ensign, Mar. 1978, 60–61.

Maʻuʻanga Fakamatalá

ʻOku ʻomai ʻe he pulusinga ko ʻení ha toe fakamatala lahi ange fekauʻaki mo e tefito ko ʻení. ʻI hono tuku atu pe fakafehokotaki kimoutolu ki he ngaahi maʻuʻanga tokoni ko ʻení, ʻoku ʻikai ke mau fakamoʻoniʻi pe fakapapauʻi atu e kanotohí pe ngaahi fakakaukau ʻa e kau faʻu tohí.

Douglas D. Alder, Paula J. Goodfellow, and Ronald G. Watt, “Creating a New Alphabet for Zion: The Origin of the Deseret Alphabet,” Utah Historical Quarterly, vol. 52, no. 3 (Summer 1984), 275–86.

Ronald G. Watt, The Mormon Passage of George D. Watt, First British Convert, Scribe for Zion (Logan: Utah State University Press, 2009), 141–59.

Ngaahi Fakamatalá

1. Vakai, Douglas D. Alder, Paula J. Goodfellow, mo Ronald G. Watt, “Creating a New Alphabet for Zion: The Origin of the Deseret Alphabet,” Utah Historical Quarterly, vol. 52, no. 3 (Summer 1984), 276–77.

2. Vakai, Brigham Young, ʻi he Journal of Discourses, 12:298; Alder, Goodfellow, mo Watt, “Creating a New Alphabet for Zion,” 278–79, 285. Ko e vave ʻo e fakafoʻou leá ne ngalingali tupu mei he meʻa naʻe manako ai ʻa e kau taki ʻo e Siasí ʻi he teuteu ki he lea haohaoa ʻa ia ne akoʻi ʻe Siosefa Sāmitá. Vakai, “Deseret Typographical Association,” Deseret News, Aug. 15, 1855, 8.

3. Vakai, Samuel C. Monson, “Deseret Alphabet,” ʻi he Daniel H. Ludlow, ed., Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 4 vols. (New York: Macmillan, 1992), 1:373–74.

4. Ne ʻi ai ha vahaʻataimi nounou ne tohi ha kakai tokosiʻi, kau ai ʻa Uilifooti Utalafi ha ngaahi meʻa ʻi he tohinoá pe lekooti ha ngaahi tohi fakataautaha kehe ʻi he ʻAlafapeti Faka-Teseletí.

5. Vakai, Tefitó: Halanga Lēlué.

6. George Q. Cannon, “Editorial Thoughts,” Juvenile Instructor, vol. 10, no. 20 (Oct. 2, 1875), 234.