suzmccarth wrote:

> > The learning of alphabetic script, however, is a long and
> > arduous process, especially for those already literate
> in a syllabic script
>
> I have my doubts that it is ever done. I undersand that Chinese
> simply memorize how English words are spelled.

That may be true for *English* words.

But I doubt that it is true for *Chinese* words spelled in pinyin,
especially for people raised in the People Republic of China. AFAIK(*), PRC
children first get fully literate in pinyin (i.e., Chinese in latin
letters), then they start learning Chinese characters. Of course, for some
people, familiarity with pinyin may be partially lost once they become
adult, but I doubt that they'd be unable.

(* J. De Francis, "Chinese Language, Fact and Fantasy")

--
Marco