Writing systems come into being and change because of a mix of cultural,
technological, and practical forces. People who have learned to read and write in a
certain way, no matter how inconvenient or hard it is, are usually not ready to
change their habits. Most writers don't like writing changes. In all countries where
people can read and write, there is a strong social and political mainstream that
tries to force writing to be the same (for example, by making sure students learn
the difference between "right" and "wrong" spelling). But there are also groups of
writers who try to get away with as much as they can in their writing.
For example, tone diacritics are often said to be the correct way to write in
Yoruba, even though many people who use Yoruba spelling seem to be fine
without them. There are some homographs when the tone diacritics are taken out
(Olmyw 2013: 44), as the people who want the rules to be official have pointed
out. But writing systems and the languages they represent are usually full of
homographs and homophones, which are not a problem at all for people who
speak the language. Even more important, writing is not just a tool for getting
things done; it is also a way to show social affiliation. People will be more likely to
accept you as a valuable member of their group if you know the rules for writing.
This is true whether you are writing a job application or a text message. Even after
more than a century of trying to standardize the writing systems, there are still a
lot of different ways to write in everyday life (Olmyw, 2013). This is a good
example.
