Re: numbers as letters

Mark J. Reed wrote:
> Odd that De Kolovrat didn't include a pronunciation key.   According
> to the normal French rules, 05, 08, and 09  would sound the same as
> 35, 38, and 39, while 06 and 07 would sound the same as 66 and 67.
Oh yes, clearly normal French would be no good - and 25, 26, 27, 28 and
29 would be the same as 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 - not a good idea! De Kolovrat may
well having given a pronunciation guide in his "Les cent syllabes" -
it's just that I do not know it. I have never seen a copy of the
pamphlet or article, not have I found any reference to the pronunciation
- just second-hand reports of his system. But I carry on looking    :)

> Any chance he was using IPA values?  Did the IPA even exist in 1927?
> :)
Certainly it did! The International Phonetic Association was founded in
1886, and the first  official version of IPA was issued in 1888. So,
yes, De Kolovrat could have used IPA values. But Esperanto and Ido were
also around well before 1927; my _guess_ is that |c| = [ts] and |j| =
[Z], and that |x| is plain ol' [ks] - but 'twould be interesting to see
a copy of his 1927 publication.

--
Ray
==================================
ray@carolandray.plus.com
http://www.carolandray.plus.com
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Nid rhy hen neb i ddysgu.
There's none too old to learn.
[WELSH PROVERB}

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