Re: German question

--- In conlang@yahoogroups.com, Carsten Becker <naranoieati@B...>
wrote:

>Why do those anglophones always have to omit diacritics? If you
want >to have it without the dots, it's _Peenemuende_, since ä=ae,
ö=oe, >ü=ue and ß=ss in German unfriendly environments.

Off the top of my head I'd say it's because umlauts have no meaning
for most Anglophones. The particular rounded vowel in question is
not a part of our phonemic inventory.  We are quickly abandoning the
use of other diacritics as well.  You seldom see examples such as
_fiancée_ or _coöperate_ anymore. I'd be really surprised to
see
someone write _naïveté_!!!  Lord, it's got TWO of them!  With
all
the spelling "problems" in English as it is, what's the loss of a
few diacritical marks?

Please note that I'm answering the question posed above.  I'm not
arguing for or against the practice.

Charlie
http://wiki.frath.net/user:caeruleancentaur