--- suzmccarth <suzmccarth@...> wrote: > --- In
qalam@yahoogroups.com, Andrew Dunbar

> <hippietrail@...> wrote:
>
> > Perhaps the English word "letter" doesn't map well
> > to Indic scripts. Maybe they have words which mean
> > "visual letter including a vowel-part", "whole
> > letter including the parts to the left and to the
> > right", "audible letter","visible letter",
>
> I believe these are all the akshara but I have read
> of some other terms. I don't have any reference
> material with me.
>
> "vowel letter",
>
> matra a vowel dependent on the consonant
>
> "consonant letter"
>
> varna
>
> > "syllable letter"
>
> akshara
>
> > I have a feeling these words will be much more
> > useful for the purposes of training Tamil-speaking
> > kids.
>
> I am not training Tamil kids to do anything in
> Tamil.

Really? I got the distinct impression you were helping
them to learn how to type their own language! Sorry
for
jumping to this conclusion.

> I teach them English. I firmly believe that when an
> appropriate input method has been developed the
> Tamil kids will be able to use their knowledge of
> their own language to learn this application
> themselves. Of course, it helps if I can demonstrate
> a little but I don't ever *teach* Tamil.

I didn't think you taught Tamil, I just thought you
were teaching them how to use the computer in Tamil.

> > > > If you're interrupted while writing Tamil,
> > > > would you leave off with just a left-hand

vowel

> > > > piece and not finish the akshara by writing

the

> > > > consonant?
> > >
> > > Children certainly hesitates between letters,
> > > they write one letter, check the syllable chart
> > > and continue to compose the syllable sometimes
> > > letter by letter, but in visual order not
> > > phonetic order. The syllable knowledge has to
> > > become secure before this stage passes. It does
> > > not compare to putting together two strokes in a
> > > letter of the Roman alphabet. It involves
> > > another level of stroke memorization and visual
> > > synthesis on the part of the learner.
> >
> > My guess is that it compares to putting together
> > the two strokes of a digraph like "ch", "sh",
> > "th". In fact, in some European languages like
> > Spanish and Czech, certain digraphs are or were
> > considered "letters".
>
> Yes in a way these can be compared. However, there
> are about 12 common digraphs in English and 247
> aksharas in Tamil.

Okay. I think I've forgotten what the point was now...

Andrew Dunbar.

> Suzanne McCarthy
>
>

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