Writing things the way they sound The standard system used to write a language is called its orthography(from Greek stems: ortho- correct graphy'writing). Even for languages whose writing systems are based on alphabets, the standard"correct" spellings often have little to do with how the words are pronounced. Phonetic alphabets are designed (and necessary) for writing down utterances in a way that records how they sounded. Ideally, someone who never heard the original utterance should be able to recreate it simply by reading the written transcription out loudWriting things the way they sound • The standard system used to write a language is called its orthography (from Greek stems: ortho- 'correct', graphy 'writing'). Even for languages whose writing systems are based on alphabets, the standard "correct" spellings often have little to do with how the words are pronounced. Phonetic alphabets are designed (and necessary) for writing down utterances in a way that records how they sounded. Ideally, someone who never heard the original utterance should be able to recreate it simply by reading the written transcription out loud