Re: Optimum number of symbols

From: "Wesley Parish" <wes.parish@...>
> Any point in asking if there are any conlangers who have built scripts
> similar to the Indian systems?  Monophonemic syllabary, representing
> [character] + /a/, with subscripted or superscripted marking for the other
> vowels, and including a postscripted letter to indicate /aa/?
My Ardan delelang Henaudute has such a system (they're called abugida, I think).
The inherent vowel is /a/.  (Er, actually I think it's /A/.)

I don't think I have any examples online at the moment, but I derived it from an
alphabetic script so it has (I think) a few peculiarities.. such as, say, it
does not so much represent syllables as morae, after the manner of (actually
very like) the Japanese kana.

Er, for example, a sentence like

     Dlaitarte   madii      hautha phigla     Teechthe.
     live.nar.3p woman.nmpf two.f  river.aesw frigid.w
     "Two women lived by the Frigid River."

would be represented thus: ("X" meaning no-vowel sign. "_" meaning a small
space, "." a word-space marker, and "-" junction or ligature.)

     dX-lai_ta_rX-te.ma_dii.hau_tha.phi-gX_la.tee_chX-the

[Well.. written from top to bottom.]

I do not remember whether "ai" and "au" have their own vowel marks.  I think
they did... but if they didnt, then the relevant words should be <dX-la-?i ta-rX
te> and <ha-?u tha>.

It may be noticeable that..  Um... Oh, right.  That the spacing does not exactly
follow syllabification ("dlai ta rte", "phig la"..).  This is a bit of morphemic
action walking in, allowing roots to be more identifiable: root of "river" is
<phig>, which is easy, but the root of "to live" is <dlair>.. and the <r> is
more recognizable attached to the top of the person marker <te> than to the end
of the tense infix <ta>.

    *Muke!
--
http://www.frath.net/

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