Re: [OT] ANN: Site about scripts

From: Lars Marius Garshol (larsga@garshol.priv.no)
Date: Thu Oct 11 2001 - 18:36:49 EDT


* Michael Everson
|
| Hangul is an alphabet. It organizes its letters into syllable
| clusters, but it is an alphabet.

This is what Kenneth Whistler also says, and I agree that it makes
sense. Peter T. Daniels, on the other hand, says that it is a featural
script[1], while Ross King says that it is a "phonemically based
alphabet"[2].

From this it seems possible to draw three possible conclusions:

  1. Hangul is a featural script, which is means a script where
     the shapes of the basic symbols are organized by phonetic
     principles.

  2. Hangul is a featural script, and featural scripts are a subclass
     of alphabets, distinguished by the fact that the shapes of the
     basic symbols are organized by phonetic principles.

  3. The whole idea of the type of featural scripts is bogus and
     invented only to deal with the troublesome Hangul, who are
     clearly unlike any other known script. Jamo is an alphabet, and
     that's all there is to it.

So, which is it? To me 2. seems like the answer, but I am certainly
open to argument.

This page, BTW,

  <URL: http://gurpsnet.sjgames.com/Archive/AdsDisSkills/Languages/languages.writing >

describes Pahawh Hmong as featural, though I am not sure how well
justified that claim is.

--Lars M.

[1] The World's Writing Systems, page 4.
[2] Ditto, page 219.



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