Re: Optimum number of symbols

Christophe Grandsire wrote:
> So where is the supposed superiority of the alphabet? That it can do
> that with a minimum of characters? True, but often at the expense of
> readability, compared to other systems (especially if you make it featural). In
> short, the alphabet is no more universal than any other system.
I have to disagree with you.  An alphabet can be adapted to a new
language with a minimum of change, adding a couple letters and/or
diacritics.  A syllabry lacks that ability.  You'd have to either add
thousands of characters to kana, or create some kind of "vowel-killer"
mark (plus extra characters) to adapt it to English, for example.  And
in doing so, you'd be stretching the definition of syllabry.

> That's where I disagree. What did the vowel improve?
Writing.  Greek (and most European languages) would be a nightmare to
read without vowels.

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