This led to the work of and other local intellectuals. They recognized that Richards' work, while brilliant, used a spelling system that was becoming outdated. The orthography (spelling rules) needed to be standardized so that children in Kuching could learn the language in schools.
Search for “Ngajat” (Iban dance). Most pocket dictionaries fail. The Iban Dictionary provides:
The most significant early effort came from , a colonial administrator and linguist. He realized that Iban was distinct from Malay, despite the trade influence. Perham and his contemporaries were the first to struggle with the "ghost sounds" of the language—the glottal stops and the shifting vowels that made the language difficult for European ears to transcribe.
This led to the work of and other local intellectuals. They recognized that Richards' work, while brilliant, used a spelling system that was becoming outdated. The orthography (spelling rules) needed to be standardized so that children in Kuching could learn the language in schools.
Search for “Ngajat” (Iban dance). Most pocket dictionaries fail. The Iban Dictionary provides:
The most significant early effort came from , a colonial administrator and linguist. He realized that Iban was distinct from Malay, despite the trade influence. Perham and his contemporaries were the first to struggle with the "ghost sounds" of the language—the glottal stops and the shifting vowels that made the language difficult for European ears to transcribe.
