Re: Un-neccesary letters (was: Re: New/revised language: Phonology)

Andrew Chaney wrote:
> ObConlang: If your language has a native alphabet, does it include archaic
> spellings and such like -ough, kn-, etc?
Not currently, but before tiNlasta (the Prophet), there were about 50%
more characters than necessary in the syllabry, due to the fact that the
archaic i/e and u/o distinctions were preserved.  Common Kassi had six
vowels, i, e, a, ë (schwa), o, and u.  I and E merged as /i/, U and O
merged as /u/, Ë was usually lost, except where its loss would create an
unacceptable cluster, in which case it merged with A.  The schwa series
has been preserved in ligatures and coda diacritics.  Anyhoo, tiNlasta,
among many other reforms, eliminated those redundant characters.  She
also eliminated the logographic characters that had been in use, much
like kanji in Japanese.  Except that unlike kanji and kana, there's no
historical connection between the Kassi syllabry and the logographs.

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