--- In qalam@yahoogroups.com, "Peter T. Daniels" <grammatim@...>
wrote:

> Why do you want Evans to have seen Tamil in particular? because

Cree and

> Tamil are the two scripts you happen to be interested in?
>

About 15 years ago I read that Evans had possibly been exposed to
South Asian scripts. I wasn't interested at the time. Usually
Pitman and Frere are mentioned as influences.

Prof. Gleason put emphasis on Evans' Methodist background and the
associated belief in the importance of literacy. I recalled this
when I was reading recently about how 4 vowels were added to Tamil
in the 18th century and about the Methodists were working on a Bible
translation for Tamil in the early 1800's.

>
> > Just because he was young - he left for Canada with his family at
> > age 22 or 23 doesn't mean that he hadn't seen Tamil. When did

the

> > average qalam member become interested in writing systems - age

12 -

> > 14?
>
> Then all you have to do is put him in a library that held such a

book.

> Could a Methodist access university libraries in England at that

time?

But what if the books were in the possesion of Methodist training
centres?

On the other matter of Kharoshthi, I do have to admit that Brahmi
looks like Kharoshthi - it does look like a good candidtae as
precursor of Brahmi.

Suzanne