At 23:26 +0000 2005-08-30, suzmccarth wrote:

>The point is that reading a syllabic script can be learned outside
>of school without learning alphabetic literacy.

Orthogonal to the question of keyboard solutions.

>Now that these syllabic systems require alphabetic literacy for
>computer input, the nature of that writing system, on the computer,
>at any rate,
>will shift significantly.

Not at all. The writing system is what it is. If you had
voice-activated input, the "nature of the writing system" would not
change. If you click a glyph palette with a mouse, the "nature of the
writing system" would not change. If you type using a series of keys
relating to an initial consonant and a final vowel, the "nature of
the writing system" would not change.

Note that charts of the Vai syllabary usually have Latin letters
along the x and y axes. Even charts printed in books for children.
--
Michael Everson * http://www.evertype.com