Would you be so kind as to indicate what sources you are consulting that
allowed you to arrive at your conclusion regarding the writing systems
below? I frankly am content with referring to them simply as writing
systems, and let it go at that, but Walker refers to them as syllabaries.
Still, in accordance with The World's Writing Systems, the term syllabary
would be not correctly describe the Fox,Kickapoo, Potawatomi, or Hocak
scripts, as there ARE "systematic graphic similarit(ies) between the
characters of phonetically similar syllables." So from this definition
Mr.Daniels is correct, and as a result, does this make Willard Walker's use
of the term Syllabary incorrect?

In the Blowsnake manuscript, /a/ is inherent, and marks indicating other
vowels are appended to the consonant, so further to WWS, would such a script
fit closer to an abugida? Prof. Daniels, can you enlighten me further?

b.regs.
Jason Glavy

-----Original Message-----
From: qalam@yahoogroups.com [mailto:qalam@yahoogroups.com]On Behalf Of
Richard Wordingham
Sent: Saturday, April 30, 2005 4:43 AM
To: qalam@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Alleged Syllabaries from Alphabets (was: Neosyllabaries)

--- In qalam@yahoogroups.com, "Jason Glavy" <jglavy@...> wrote:
>
> What about the Hocak (Winnebago) syllabary? Does that count as a
syllabary?
> Seems to have evolved from Roman script handwriting. The one used by
> Blowsnake in Susmans analysis. (see Willard Walker "Anthropological
> Linguistics, Vol.16 No.8). Or the Masquakie syllabary reproduced in the
> same volume.
>
> Please confirm that the Potawatomi syllabary at this URL is in error
as you
> say.

I think greater heed should have been paid to Suzanne's smilie. They
look like PR jobs to me:

'You can't handle a paleface alphabet? OK, try a syllabary. That's
the Native American thing!'

Perhaps the word alphabet is also avoided because of the elimination
of phonetic information, most obviously the removal of voicing
contrast from the script.

Nothing I can find about them (including the Fox syllabary) persuades
me we are actually dealing with a syllabary of any sort. Perhaps
someone can find handwriting that makes them into syllabaries. Some
of the stuff is distinctly alphabetic - CVC!

Richard.






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