Peter T. Daniels wrote:
> Doug Ewell wrote:
> > Uh, Peter... you may not remember this, but one of your main
objections
> > to my invented script, back in November 2000, was that it would
be
> > difficult for readers with dyslexia.
> >
> > >From http://groups.yahoo.com/group/qalam/message/130:
> >
> > > Rotations and reflections are a Bad Thing. We've got p b d q ,
which
> > > are problematic enough for learners and dyslexics. You (and
Shaw) have
> > > lots more sets like that. (I shudder to think of the amount of
> > > dyxlexia in Cree-script societies!)
> >
Ø > Same "dyxlexia" spelling, BTW.
I quite like the chiastic arrangement! However, I feel the need to
comment on dyslexia in Cree script societes. I refer you to this
text.
John W Berry. 1991. Cree syllabic literacy: Cultural context and
psychological consequences. Tilburg University Press
In fact, when John and his coresearcher J.A. Bennett assessed
syllabic literacy in 4 communities they could find no one over 40
who could not read syllabics. Syllabic literacy had spread to all
members of the Cree society without formal schooling. On other tests
the Cree scored higher than average on spatial and related tasks,
(and there was no male/female split as some would have us expect.)
However, it could not be shown whether this was a consequence of
Cree syllabic literacy or whether this was a characteristic of a
hunter-gatherer society. (I met with John in 1991 and had some very
interesting discussions about all this.)
In any case I don't think that there is a literature on being
dyslexic in the Cree script since no Cree speaker has ever been
shown to be dyslexic in Cree.
However, C.K. Leung has contributed to a literature on dyslexia in
Han script societies. He has a thick stack of writing samples from
Chinese dyslexic students. (I don't know where they are published.)
In any case, it is the phonemically segmental alphabet which really
creates problems.
I've had a peek at Ewellic, BTW, and although I can admire it's
style, I would find other problems with it specifically that it
does not create distinctive word shapes since there is no
differential height for the letters. Also I personally have trouble
with reflections although I am not considered dyslexic.
For those font enthusiasts, comic sans is considered the font for
visual dyslexics since b, d, p, q, are not exact reflections. For
the purists there is a font designed specifically for visual
dyslexics called "read regular". I personally prefer comic sans.
Suzanne