Michael Everson wrote:

>
> At 13:38 -0400 2005-08-22, Peter T. Daniels wrote:
>
> > > In any case, I didn't say that anyone "has to" do romanization. All
> >> Vai speakers will have had access to the Latin script, however, so
> >> it's not so bizarre to suggest that many of them might prefer a
> >> QWERTY-based keyboard.
> >
> >Yup, cultural imperialism.
>
> Working to encode an unencoded script (that you didn't think there
> was any need to use on computers anyway) and working to make a
> keyboard layout that is practical and useful is in no way cultural
> imperialism.

Making them think in roman alphabet is.

> > > Nor is it obvious as to what a non-QWERTY Vai keyboard might look like.
> >
> >Maybe like what Suzanne would like to have available for her Tamil and
> >Chinese (and Cree!) children.
>
> Take a piece of paper. Draw your 48 keys. Assume you can use 4
> shift/option states and deadkeys. Then come back to us with your
> beautiful keyboard and we'll see how many of the 284 Vai characters +
> digits + ASCII and typographic punctuation you can allow your users
> to type.

Why are you unable to imagine a keyboard with other than 48 (or 47)
keys?

> >As I said, I've seen a kana keyboard, with 50 + 10 + a few keys; a
> >Vai keyboard might need 200 or whatever keys, or there might be some
> >principle for doubling up.
>
> Specifying a Vai hardware keyboard with 200 keys will guaratee that
> the 105,000 Vai speakers will never, ever, get to be able to use
> their language on computers.
>
> When I have finished making my Vai keyboard specification, I shall
> show it to Vais, of course. Of course.

You do know that Liberia has been in the throes of a civil war, under
complete anarchy, for quite a while now? With child soldiers? Whose
hands are cut off as a warning to others?
--
Peter T. Daniels grammatim@...