From: Mark E. Shoulson (mark@kli.org)
Date: Thu May 13 2004 - 19:26:21 CDT
Peter Constable wrote:
>>In addition, traditional Chinese zither notation (qin pu) is also laid
>>
>>
>out in
>
>
>>ideographic-like square blocks. However, as this is a notational
>>
>>
>system rather
>
>
>>than a script, the constituent elements of each block represent
>>
>>
>string, finger
>
>
>>and plucking technique rather than phonetic values.
>>
>>
>
>I was already after the first paragraph going to mention another writing
>system, and I'm even more strongly reminded of it by this second
>paragraph: Sign Writing, a writing system used for writing signed
>languages, first developed for transcription, though a number of
>language communities have started using it orthographically. In sign
>writing, the representation for a typical sign (I think I've heard that
>syllable might be applicable here) consists of an iconic representation
>of the head with various satellite symbols mostly representing the hands
>and hand movement, the whole being organized into a square space. It's
>even written vertically (at least by some user communities).
>
And there's also Visible Speech, by Alexander Melville Bell (and
improved by Henry Sweet), which is definitely an alphabet (a phonetic
one), but also very decidedly featural: different shapes represent
different articulators or features.
And tengwar is featural, at least in some modes (doubled bow=voicing,
raised stem=fricative, etc). And Herman Miller has a phonetic alphabet
called Lhoerr (I think) which is also based on having each piece of a
symbol represent some feature of the phone(me).
~mark
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