On Fri, 22 Apr 2005 01:58:43 -0400, suzmccarth <suzmccarth@...>
wrote:

> Here is a paragraph from Fevrier on Cree and Cherokee.

> [...] because the decomposition into vowels and consonants demands an
> effort of abstraction,

Suffice it to say that I find it unexpected and quite interesting to learn
about the greater difficulty (at least sometimes) of learning about vowels
and consonants as separate categories. Messages over the past few months
or so have made this clear; Marco C.'s description of learning by
syllables instead of individual letters was quite interesting.

If a personal note is not impolite:

I learned the written/printed language with particular ease; whether my
mother instinctively knew how to teach, or whether she simply passed on
how she learned, I don't know. She was born in 1904, well before "whole
word". Only recently have I come to realize that I apparently have a
"photographic memory" for the appearances of words; misspelled words look
strange in the same general way that a sketch of a human face with, say,
misplaced features, or the wrong number of them, would look to other
people.

Best regards,

--
Nicholas Bodley /*|*\ Waltham, Mass. (Not "MA")
The curious hermit -- autodidact and polymath
If you're determined to be afraid, choose wisely
what to be afraid of.