From nobody@digitalkingdom.org Fri Jun 30 09:14:11 2006 Received: with ECARTIS (v1.0.0; list lojban-list); Fri, 30 Jun 2006 09:14:11 -0700 (PDT) Received: from nobody by chain.digitalkingdom.org with local (Exim 4.62) (envelope-from ) id 1FwLcu-0006PQ-DA for lojban-list-real@lojban.org; Fri, 30 Jun 2006 09:13:52 -0700 Received: from rlpowell by chain.digitalkingdom.org with local (Exim 4.62) (envelope-from ) id 1FwLcu-0006PJ-4v for lojban-list@lojban.org; Fri, 30 Jun 2006 09:13:52 -0700 Date: Fri, 30 Jun 2006 09:13:52 -0700 To: lojban-list@lojban.org Subject: [lojban] [hobyrne@gmail.com: Alphabet] Message-ID: <20060630161352.GG11235@chain.digitalkingdom.org> Mail-Followup-To: lojban-list@lojban.org MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Disposition: inline User-Agent: Mutt/1.5.11+cvs20060403 From: Robin Lee Powell X-archive-position: 11855 X-ecartis-version: Ecartis v1.0.0 Sender: lojban-list-bounce@lojban.org Errors-to: lojban-list-bounce@lojban.org X-original-sender: rlpowell@digitalkingdom.org Precedence: bulk Reply-to: lojban-list@lojban.org X-list: lojban-list User is not on the list, so include him in replies, please. -robin ----- Forwarded message from Hugh O'Byrne ----- Subject: Alphabet From: Hugh O'Byrne To: lojban@lojban.org Date: Fri, 30 Jun 2006 11:30:31 -0400 To whom it may concern, I adore Lojban. The biggest weakness it has, IMHO, is its alphabet. Recently, I came across "Visible Speech". The symbols of this alphabet indicate the sound they represent by their shape. For example, 'b', 'd', and 'g' (as in bay, day, gay) are represented by the same symbol in three different orientations, because the sounds are so similar. 'm' is a nasal 'b' sound, so its symbol is similar to 'b', with a small modification. 'n' is a nasal 'd', so it's the 'd' symbol with the same modification. 'ng' is a nasal 'g', so it's the 'g' symbol with the same modification. It seems to be perfectly in harmony with the philosophy of Lojban. It is more than phonetic; is a logical, pictorial, categorical ordering of sounds. It should be just about as easy for anyone in the world, no matter what their primary language is, to learn. If you know most of the alphabet, and come across a symbol you haven't seen before, there's a good chance you could pronounce it anyway - which you cannot say about *any* other alphabet that I know of. It is an extensive alphabet, so perhaps just a subset of it is all that's necessary (or even wanted). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visible_Speech http://www.omniglot.com/writing/visiblespeech.htm I would love to know what the LLG thinks of Visual Speech. Hugh. -- Hugh O'Byrne 1115 Vassar Ave. South Bend IN 46616 +1 574 234 5527 ----- End forwarded message ----- -- http://www.digitalkingdom.org/~rlpowell/ *** http://www.lojban.org/ Reason #237 To Learn Lojban: "Homonyms: Their Grate!" Proud Supporter of the Singularity Institute - http://singinst.org/ To unsubscribe from this list, send mail to lojban-list-request@lojban.org with the subject unsubscribe, or go to http://www.lojban.org/lsg2/, or if you're really stuck, send mail to secretary@lojban.org for help.