Deseret

The Deseret alphabet (/dɛz.əˈrɛt./) is a phonemic English spelling reform developed in the mid-19th century by the board of regents of the University of Deseret (later the University of Utah) under the direction of Brigham Young, second president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

In public statements, Young claimed the alphabet was intended to replace the traditional Latin alphabet with an alternative, more phonetically accurate alphabet for the English language. This would offer immigrants an opportunity to learn to read and write English, he said, the orthography of which is often less phonetically consistent than those of many other languages. Similar experiments were not uncommon during the period, the most well-known of which is the Shavian alphabet. Young was the one who prescribed the learning of Deseret to the school system, stating ‘It will be the means of introducing uniformity in our orthography, and the years that are now required to learn to read and spell can be devoted to other studies’.

What happened after? The alphabet became a failure. Although some books were printed with the new letters, the alphabet never survived. However, I do enjoy a couple of their symbols. If you are as creative as I am, you will like them too:

𐐤 — lightning bolt-shaped scar from Harry Potter 𐐝 — dancing snowman 𐐦 — snake with a cross