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

> >account
> > for the similarities to Kharoshthi? Or have "they" perhaps never
> heard
> > of Kharoshthi?
>
> I certainly do see similarities in form to Kharoshthi but the idea
> is different, four sets of matched pairs of long and short vowels
> represented by adding marks to the consonant *and* long vowels
> differentiated from short by a very short horizontal line or
> overdot.
>
> How do you account for this similarity to Cree? I mean if Cree was
> invented out of thin air - why not Tamil?

What is the similarity of Cree and Tamil that is not shared by Cree
and pointed Hebrew? I would have thought Hebrew would have greater
influence, plus being a far more likely (certain?) language to have
been looked at. As a very minor point, Hebrew pointing does not
distinguish /i/ and /i:/ or /u/ and /u:/. If the mater lectionis is
missing, the pointing does not recover the situation in these cases.

Richard.