> > At 02:56 PM 12/13/2003, Peter Daniels wrote:
> > >Bill Bright claims that the famous three-syllable character for
> > >'library' (transcribed tushuguan in Hockett 2003 and Mair, WWS) exists
> > >almost exclusively to demonstrate that at least one three-syllable
> > >character exists. Can you confirm or deny?

At 03:46 PM 12/13/2003, Peter Daniels wrote:

>So what is the character illustrated by Hockett and Mair, chopped liver?
>
>Or are you actually confirming Bill's statement, by implying that you've
>never seen it used in text?

I've never seen the characters used in text... and, I'd also make
a comment that these three characters are actually relatively recent
additions to the logogram inventory. For one, traditional "libraries" were
called 'book rooms'; "kilowatt" is recent; and the obvious use of
latin/english "T" for <wenti> 'question' shows the obvious source for its use.
I would submit that while there is probably areas of currency for
these characters, they're definitely recent and are extremely limited. The
majority of logogram users/writers would most definitely not use these
"abbreviated" forms.

Contrary to Professor Mair's claims of primacy - sound over
symbol, word over graph - I would still have to say/maintain that the
monosyllabic tradition it still prime, especially given the trends and
patterns in loan phenomena, where loans (intra-Sinitic, that is) are
quickly nativized by association with singular graphemes.
Moreover, residual conservative phonological features, such as
sesquisyllabic holdovers, are still either represented with two logograms
or not written at all...

-Patrick