Associative experiment as a method of studying writing systems (a case study of the Plautdietsch language of German Mennonites)

Plautdietsch, the language of German Mennonites in Siberia, is currently categorized as an unwritten language. Developing a standardized orthography for such a language is a complex, multi-stage process that must account for diverse linguistic and sociocultural factors. This article analyzes the results of two associative experiments conducted with Plautdietsch native speakers to investigate the intuitive writing forms currently used by the Siberian Mennonite community. For the purpose of analysis, an experimental writing system was developed in collaboration with a native speaker. This hybrid system utilizes the Cyrillic alphabet, employing diacritical marks for specific consonant features and German-derived umlauts to represent vowel phonemes. The study findings indicate that Cyrillic is the preferred script for Plautdietsch speakers in Siberia, primarily due to the dominant role of Russian as a contact language. However, a significant challenge remains: inconsistent phoneme representation across respondents. The impossibility of reaching the respondents leaves it ambiguous whether these writing conventions represent mere spelling differences or actual phonemic distinctions, owing to the dialectal variations present in Plautdietsch. This underscores the necessity for further sociolinguistic investigation, encompassing subsequent fieldwork with indigenous speakers and communityled linguistic documentation. The article concludes by proposing a provisional writing system accessible to both researchers and speakers. While a fully independent alphabet remains a long-term goal, its realization is contingent upon a more exhaustive phonetic and phonological description of the Siberian Plautdietsch variety.

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