Richard Wordingham wrote:

>
> --- In qalam@yahoogroups.com, "suzmccarth" <suzmccarth@...> wrote:
> > '...Finally, because a syllable is easier to isolate as a
> > unit than a phoneme, in the development of writing systems a syllabary
> > begat an alphabet, not the other way around (chap. 1).'
>
> And did she actually provide an example?

It's an uncomprehending repetition of Gelbism.

Gelb invented the "Principle of Unidirectional Development" out of whole
cloth -- and had to rename the Phoenician "alphabet" as "syllabary" in
order to fit the invention of the alphabet into the scheme.

In truth, no other kind of writing system has ever developed out of a
syllabary.

(Which is why it's so important to recognize that abugidas are not
syllabaries -- not that anything has developed out of them either except
in very rare circumstances, viz., apparently, Lao and a couple of
abortive experiments in southern India mentioned by Salomon.)
--
Peter T. Daniels grammatim@...