Michael Everson wrote:

>
> At 20:26 -0400 2004-08-01, Peter T. Daniels wrote:
>
> > >So you think that a Hebrew Genesis when unpointed is an abjad, but
> > >that a Hebrew Genesis pointed is no longer an abjad, but has become
> > >an alphabet?
> >
> >No, a text isn't any sort of writing system.
>
> You're being obtuse; please don't be.
>
> "So you think that a Hebrew Genesis when unpointed is written with an
> abjad, but that a Hebrew Genesis pointed is no longer written with an
> abjad, but has become an alphabet?"
>
> >The former is written with an abjad, the latter with an alphabet.
>
> That's one way of putting it. I tend to prefer saying that the Hebrew
> script is an abjad, though it is used as an alphabet when used for
> Yiddish. I am not sure the Hebrew points count as "letters", though
> -- in which case it may not be appropriate to say that the Hebrew
> script is used as an alphabet when pointed.
>
> > >>and when they get matres, they cease to be true or "pure" abjads.
> > >
> >> Well. the proposed text states specifically that Arabic isn't "pure".
> >
> >So it's not good as the sole example.
>
> Perhaps both could be mentioned.
>
> > > Well, the glossary is not all about the study of writing systems.
> >
> >So why include a term used only in the study of writing systems?
>
> Because the term isn't used only in the study of writing systems. The
> term is also used in descriptions of writing systems as used in
> implementations for computers.
>
> > > So... is there any serious objection to the definition,
> > > aimed not at linguists, but at people interested at understanding
> > > writing systems with regard to their implementation?
> >
> >Surely it isn't a place such people would think of going for help?
>
> I will take that non sequitur as an indication that you do not have
> serious objections to the definition. Revised as per your Phoenician
> comment:
>
> Abjad. A writing system in which only consonants are indicated. The
> Phoenician script is a prototypical abjad; a better-known example is
> the Arabic writing system, though it is not a "pure" abjad because
> consonant letters like /w/ and /y/ are used to mark long vowels /o/
> or /u/ or /i/. In some abjads, vowels can also be indicated by the
> use of secondary marks on the consonants. The term "abjad" is derived
> from the first four letters of the traditional order of the Arabic
> script.

Scripts are no longer abjads when used with "pointing" systems that
denote all the vowels, as in the cases of Syriac, Arabic, and Hebrew.
--
Peter T. Daniels grammatim@...