Peter T. Daniels wrote:

>
>
> And you stubbornly refuse to believe that for people who are only
> syllabic-literate, dividing those syllables into consonants and vowels
> is a totally new intellectual skill that needs to be learned anew as
> from First Grade.

So what? I went through the same experience of learning the skills
native children learn as an adult when I began to study Japanese
seriously. I managed. Why can't anyone else?

>
> And you're going to "engrave" all 340 symbols on the keycaps?

Have you actually *read* anything anyone here has written, with the
intent of *comprehending* it? I find it hard to believe that you ever
read anything with the intent of understanding what the author's intent
was, although you are quick to assign outrageous attempts to control the
world in the most mundane of posts.

He explained how the system works, involving dead keys and the likes.

Even my (and yours too) Qwerty KB does not have all the characters it
can type on the keycaps. If that was a requirement then we would have
keyboards with thousands of keys like Japanese and Chinese used to have.
Luckily the "cultural imperialists" such as those on this list have
moved us away form that first generation technology attempt.

>
> I mean someone who thinks the way he does something is the best way for
> everyone else to do that something.

I think I will keep you in mind with that nice principle. Just precisely
how would you like me to think of you?

>
> Especially if he's a First World technocrat telling a Third World person
> how to do that thing.

I don't see anyone *telling* anyone else how to do something. He is
talking about making something available. If it doesn't work, it won't
work. So what? decisions are made limiting features in production all
the time.

Even your book, comprehensive as it is, had to make the decision about
what language to use to describe the other writing systems. Did you
consider that you were telling all the third worlders that they couldn't
use your book unless they know English? I doubt you did lose sleep over
it, nor should you.

> If they are told that it's the only way, then they have nothing to
> measure it against.

Then build another one, or teach them to build it themselves. The tools
are there, and considering your past concerns about the cost of
anything, you will be happy to know that the tools are *FREE*! That you
lack the engineering skills is no matter - without a doubt you know
enough about the subject matter to work with someone who does have those
skills in a team to get it done. That person might be anywhere on earth
- local to you, on this list, or wherever you want - but you *can* get
it done using *FREE* tools. I look forward to hearing about how *your*
project is going as much as I am looking forward to hearing more about
Michael's!

>
>
> Not for the Nisus user. You click the big arrow at the top, and you're
> ready to type Hebrew or Arabic. I had to abandon it years ago because
> their Tables tool was lousy, but for typing Hebrew and Arabic within an
> English text, and vice versa, it was excellent.

I think a lot of people abandoned Nisus for various reasons. I used to
work for one of their Japanese distributors, but I haven't heard of the
company lately - do they still exist? That was ~ 1993.

>
> > And only useful if Arabic hardware is more
> > readily available in Liberia than English
> > hardware, which is unlikely.
>
> Why? Because Arab entrepreneurs haven't noticed the market yet? Or
> because Arabic computing is controlled from the US or Europe?

Possibly entrepreneurs haven't noticed, but more likely, the structure
of the market is such that it is not profitable to make special
keyboards. You'd have to provide educational services either way (which
also might not be profitable) so why take on the extra expense of
special keyboards?

Fact is, low-run keyboard manufacturing is expensive relative to the
ability of that market to pay right now. Maybe the market will be more
able to pay in the future, but for now, like much other technology, it
is plainly put, out of reach. Entrepreneurs consider this sort of thing
as a matter of course. Academics in linguistics usually don't. Which is
OK - they are different roles.

Why are you postulating expertise in an area you have no professional
reputation instead of seeing how other's related skills can complement
and enhance your own set of skills? Or maybe you have all the skills
that could ever exist and the ability to apply them in the perfect way
at will? If so, you are my hero indeed!

Best,

Barry