From: vunzndi@vfemail.net
Date: Sat Feb 10 2007 - 19:48:25 CST
My apologies
below for" Quite the reverse is true" -- read "Quite the reverse is also true"
Quoting vunzndi@vfemail.net:
>
> Yes, inpratice one canuse the script of any language to write another
> language it is just a question of how big an adaption. Quite the
> reverse is true a writing system is designed not to use certain
> letters/ideogrammes so as to be different but at the same time is
> related in some way. Having one's own writing system is often seen as
> a matter of pride for many nations/ethnic-groups. I can think of few
> cases where the primary reason for choosing a writing system was
> praticality.
>
> Quoting Peter Constable <petercon@microsoft.com>:
>
>> Actually, I think actual adaptation of a script for use in other
>> languages has less to do with its adaptability and more to do with
>> things like prestige or regional importance by virtue of its use
>> for some major language(s). E.g. Arabic script wasn't adopted for
>> writing Turkish because the script was particularly adaptable for
>> that language.
>>
>> Peter
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: unicode-bounce@unicode.org
>> [mailto:unicode-bounce@unicode.org] On Behalf Of John Hudson
>> Sent: Friday, February 09, 2007 10:06 AM
>> To: Eric Muller
>> Cc: Lokesh Joshi; Richard Wordingham; unicode@unicode.org
>> Subject: Re: Query for Validity of Thai Sequence
>>
>> Eric Muller wrote:
>>
>>>> Successful writing systems tend to get adapted for multiple languages,
>>
>>> The term "successful writing systems" makes me nervous, especially with
>>> the "tend to get adapted" part. Unless you define "successful" by "get
>>> adapted" (in which case you have a tautology), the value judgment is at
>>> best dubious. And anyway, your argument works equally well without
>>> "Successful", so why go there?
>>
>> That's an entirely fair comment. I was writing quickly, but I
>> suppose I was thinking of
>> 'successful' in terms of demonstrated adaptability. Thinking of a
>> script like Thai: this
>> is a writing system that has already been adapted to a number of
>> minority languages, ergo
>> 'successful' in this sense, and it is reasonable to think that it
>> might be adapted to
>> others. In any case, the basic point is that one shouldn't make
>> assumptions about how
>> characters will be used in such adaptations.
>>
>> JH
>>
>> --
>>
>> Tiro Typeworks www.tiro.com
>> Vancouver, BC john@tiro.ca
>>
>> Marie Antoinette was a woman whose core values were chocolate,
>> sex, love, nature and Japanese ceramics. Frankly, there are
>> worse principles of government than that. - Karen Burshtein
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
>
>
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