Richard Wordingham wrote:

>
> --- In qalam@yahoogroups.com, "Peter T. Daniels" <grammatim@...> wrote:
> > Richard Wordingham wrote:
>
> > > I think the point is that in most syllabaries it may take more than
> > > symbol to write a syllable.
>
> > > For Akkadian Cuneiform, it generally takes 2 symbols for a closed or
> > > explicitly long syllable begining with a consonant (3 for a closed
> > > syllable with an explicitly long vowel).
>
> > What does the number of symbols involved in notating a syllable have
> > to do with whether a phonological system is organized moraically?
>
> > Can only written language have moras?
>
> A moraic writing system does not have to apply to a language with a
> moraic phonological system. Japanese is the point of departure for
> transferring the term from the phonology to the writing.

Then what does "moraic writing system" tell us that "syllabic writing
system" doesn't?

> > There are in Mesoptamian cuneiform plenty of CVC signs.
>
> Nevertheless, CVC syllables are often written as CV-VC. Are you
> saying that the scribe would normally find a CVC symbol rather than
> having to resort to a CV-VC pair?

I don't think anyone has discovered any principles for choosing between
CV-VC and CVC when the latter is available. Choice of orthography often
depends on the space available, since the lines should be
right-justified but there shouldn't be any gaps in the line.
--
Peter T. Daniels grammatim@...