Re: German Spelling Reform (fwd)

R. Nierse wrote:
>
> ----------
> > Van: Barry Garcia <Barry_Garcia@...>
> > Aan: Multiple recipients of list CONLANG <CONLANG@...>
> > Onderwerp: Re(2): German Spelling Reform (fwd)
> > Datum: maandag 9 augustus 1999 14:58
> >
> > Just one of the reasons i gravitated towards Spanish instead of French
> > (not to mention i have a better shot of finding a job being bilingual in
> > Spanish around here). Since it's fairly regular in spelling, it's much
> > easier to remember the rules :).  I'm always amazed at how many silent
> > letters there are in French, so much so that i cant even begin to know
> how
> > to pronounce the words (no, i have not studied French one bit, not even
> > the phonology).
> >
> How about Irish? I was told that it has a lot of silent letters as well.
> Since we have a lot of Celtic enthousiast on the list, can you give me
> examples of Irish with silent letters?
>
> Rob
        I cannot give you examples of Irish, but I remember that I studied it a
little before a journey in Ireland (not to speak it, only because I had
heard of it). I borrowed a small book in my high school's library and
tried to see what was interested in it. The thing I most remember is
that I found the spelling even more difficult than French! There were as
many sounds in Irish as in French, but fewer letters to represent them!
And the silent letters were numerous in words. It impressed me so much
that as soon as possible I created a language with an alphabet like the
one used in Irish, and with a spelling as inconsistent as I could do. It
worked in fact. It worked so well that I couldn't continue this
language. It was to difficult, even for me. When I'm back to France, I
will try and find my notes about this language. To give you an idea, as
far as I remember, this language is a mix of Celtic langs and English
grammar. If you are interested, just tell me.

--
        Christophe Grandsire

        Philips Research Laboratories --  Building WB 145
        Prof. Holstlaan 4
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        The Netherlands

        Phone:  +31-40-27-45006
        E-mail: grandsir@natlab.research.philips.com