Editing Shoshoni language (section)

==Writing system==
Shoshoni lacks a single agreed-upon writing system. Multiple orthographies exist, with differing levels of acceptance among Shoshoni speakers. Among the Shoshone, there are conflicting views on whether Shoshoni should be written at all.

Traditionalists advocate to keep Shoshoni an oral language, better protected from outsiders who might exploit the language. Meanwhile, progressives argue that writing the language down will better preserve it and make it useful today.<ref name=":9">{{Cite web|url=https://www.britishcouncil.org/voices-magazine/how-do-you-learn-language-isnt-written-down|title=How do you learn a language that isn't written down?|last=Broncho|first=Samuel|date=2016-12-16|website=British Council|language=en|access-date=2018-04-19}}</ref>

The older Crum-Miller system and the Idaho State University system (or Gould system) are the two main Shoshoni writing systems in use.<ref>{{Cite book | title=Newe Natekwinappeh: Shoshoni Stories and Dictionary |last=Miller|first=Wick R.| year=1972 | publisher=University of Utah Press | location=Salt Lake City | series=University of Utah Anthropological Papers 94}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Western Shoshoni Grammar|last1=Crum|first1=Beverly|last2=Dayley|first2=Jon P.|year=1993 | publisher=Department of Anthropology, Boise State University | location=Boise, Idaho | series=Boise State University Occasional Papers and Monographs in Cultural Anthropology and Linguistics Volume No. 1|isbn=978-0-9639749-0-7}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Shoshoni Texts|last1=Crum|first1=Beverly|last2=Dayley|first2=Jon P.|year=1997 | publisher=Department of Anthropology, Boise State University | location=Boise, Idaho | series=Occasional Papers and Monographs in Cultural Anthropology and Linguistics Volume No. 2}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Newe Hupia: Shoshoni Poetry Songs|last1=Crum|first1=Beverly|last2=Crum|first2=Earl|last3=Dayley|first3=Jon P.|year=2001 | publisher=Utah State University Press| location=Logan, Utah}}</ref>

The Crum-Miller orthography was developed in the 1960s by Beverly Crum, a Shoshone elder and linguist, and [[Wick R. Miller|Wick Miller]], a non-Native anthropologist and linguist. The system is largely phonemic, with specific symbols mapping to specific [[phoneme]]s, which reflects the underlying sounds but not necessarily surface pronunciations.<ref name=":9" /><ref name=":8" />{{Rp|10}}
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
|+Crum-Miller Orthography<ref name=":0" />
!Letter
!IPA
|-
|aa
|ɑː
|-
|a
|ɑ
|-
|a̲i̲
|e
|-
|ai
|a͡ɪ
|-
|e
|ɨ
|-
|ee
|ɨː
|-
|h
|h
|-
|k
|k~ɣ~g
|-
|kk
|kː
|-
|hk
|x
|-
|kw
|kʷ~ɣʷ~gʷ
|-
|kkw
|kːʷ
|-
|hkw
|xʷ
|-
|m
|m
|-
|mm
|mː
|-
|n
|n
|-
|nn
|nː
|-
|o
|o
|-
|oo
|oː
|-
|p
|p~β~b
|-
|pp
|pː
|-
|hp
|ɸ
|-
|s
|s
|-
|is
|ʃ
|-
|t
|t~d~ɾ
|-
|it
|ð
|-
|tt
|tː
|-
|iht
|θ
|-
|ts
|t͡s~z
|-
|its
|ʒ
|-
|tts
|tt͡s
|-
|itts
|t͡ʃ
|-
|u
|u
|-
|uu
|uː
|-
|w
|w
|-
|y
|j
|-
|'
|ʔ
|}
The newer Idaho State system was developed by the Shoshone elder Drusilla Gould and the non-Native linguist Christopher Loether and is used more commonly in southern Idaho.<ref name=":9" /> Compared to the Crum-Miller system, the Idaho State system is more phonetic, with spellings more closely reflecting the surface pronunciations of words, but it lacks the deeper phonemic information that the Crum-Miller system provides.<ref name=":8" />{{Rp|10}}

Online Shoshoni dictionaries are available for everyday use.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://shoshoniproject.utah.edu/shoshoni-dictionary/ |title=Shoshoni Dictionary &#124; Shoshoni Language Project |access-date=2014-05-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140508030510/http://shoshoniproject.utah.edu/shoshoni-dictionary/ |archive-date=2014-05-08 |url-status=dead}}</ref>