Re: THEORY Ideal system of writing
From: | John Cowan <jcowan@...> |
Date: | Monday, August 9, 2004, 22:21 |
Dirk Elzinga scripsit:
> What about a demisyllabic system which has one set of characters for
> syllable onsets, and another for syllable rhymes? You'd need fewer
> characters than for a fully fledged syllabary, but more than for an
> alphabet. Hmong has such a system with 60 onsets and 104 rhymes
> (including tonal information); at 164 symbols that is squarely within
> Y. R. Chao's preferred range.
The bopomofo system of writing Mandarin uses an initial and 1-2
characters for each final, plus a tone diacritic.
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"By Elbereth and Luthien the Fair, you shall jcowan@reutershealth.com
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