Peter_Constable@sil.org scripsit:
> Are there, then, two different writing systems (based on the same script)
> for the same langauge? What determines when a given language is written in
> one mode or the other?
Writerly convenience. Vowel-final/CV languages like Quenya and Italian
tend to be written using the preceding-consonant convention, whereas
consonant-final/CVC languages like English and Sindarin tend to be
written using the following-consonant convention. To do otherwise
is to wind up with lots of extra alefs ("short carriers"), but certainly
acceptable.
Sindarin in particular is known to have used three different "modes",
as the conventions are collectively called: abjad with vowels on
following consonants, fully alphabetic, abjad with vowels on
preceding consonants. (The alphabetic mode is analogous to the
alphabetic mode of the Hebrew script used by Yiddish.)
--
John Cowan http://www.ccil.org/~cowan cowan@ccil.org
Please leave your values | Check your assumptions. In fact,
at the front desk. | check your assumptions at the door.
--sign in Paris hotel | --Miles Vorkosigan
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