Re: Optimum number of symbols

Christophe Grandsire scripsit:

> True, but I also think that spelling needs to be tailored for the needs of the
> ones who make the most distinctions, because it's better for recognisability
> that distinctions are marked even when they are not made by everyone, rather
> than distinctions not to be made while many people make them.
Indeed.  To take an anglophone example, it is better that some writers
must wonder "Hmm, is the word spelled |theft| or |feft|?", than that
many readers must wonder "Hmm, is this word 'lord' or 'laud'?"
It may actually be rational to recognize *more* distinctions than any
one dialect makes for this reason.

--
John Cowan <jcowan@...>     http://www.reutershealth.com
I amar prestar aen, han mathon ne nen,    http://www.ccil.org/~cowan
han mathon ne chae, a han noston ne 'wilith.  --Galadriel, _LOTR:FOTR_

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