Lars Marius Garshol scripsit:

> | Not really; the pointings merely changed from optional to
> | obligatory.
>
> They did, and to me that means that it became an alphabet. If a script
> consistently denotes the vowels, how can be it said to be an abjad? I
> realize that the vowels are written with diacritical marks, but even
> so.

Well, that's an issue. What is Tengwar? Structurally, it is an abjad,
but in most modes, vowel points are mandatory not optional. In standard
Quenya orthography, you can omit the a-diacritic, which makes it look like
an abugida (as JRRT notes, "clm" = "calma", because "cl-" is impossible
and "-m" is impossible; "calama" is a possible but nonexistent reading).
There are also plene modes that are fully alphabetic.

Returning to the Real World, is Yiddish orthography still an abjad,
or has it too become alphabetic?

--
John Cowan jcowan@...
http://www.ccil.org/~cowan http://www.reutershealth.com
Thor Heyerdahl recounts his attempt to prove Rudyard Kipling's theory
that the mongoose first came to India on a raft from Polynesia.
--blurb for _Rikki-Kon-Tiki-Tavi_