Peter T. Daniels wrote:

>
> ??????????????? So anthropology is another area you know nothing about.

Maybe I am going to start collecting statistics on your simple rhetoric.
My hypothesis is that a majority of it used here is either asking
someone to define a term, or to cast direct aspersions on them, or to
pout that someone hasn't read your material. And most of those are
simple one sentence claims that do nothing to advance a discussion.

At this point, everything that you write here that falls into those
categories, I just ignore. But sometimes I find myself laughing first,
then ignoring :)

>
> Perhaps you should consult those who know what actually _does_ happen,
> rather than speculating.

Perhaps I already have by participating in this discussion. If you were
one of those people, I am sure you would actually participate too
instead of insulting people.

Not everyone on earth communicates only in simple declarative sentences
as you seem to prefer. Smile, and go with the flow a little bit and you
might learn something new yourself each day.

>
> When has a syllabary ever evolved from an alphabet?

Can't say myself if it has or hasn't.

>
> When has the introduction of writing ever brought more phonemes into a
> language?

But has modification of a writing system led to or been concurrent with
the reduction or change of phonemes in a language?

(see my next posting for more on Japanese).

Has the complexity of a writing system or other functional aspects of
using it been a factor, direct or indirect, in the political extinction
or suppression of a language?


Best,

Barry