Re: Phags-pa Re: Unicode and Mandombe

At 00:04 +0000 2005-10-13, suzmccarth wrote:

>What is more interesting is the use of orientation as a device in
>Phags-pa and Mandombe. In Phags-pa, there are 6 reversed consonants
>which are separate letters with separate sound values. But, when
>vowels are subjoined below a reversed consonant, the vowel reverses
>without causing a change in sound value. The reversed vowels are
>contextual variants.

Orientation in this sense is not a feature of Phags-pa except insofar
as it was derived from Tibetan, and even there it has nothing to do
with orientation in Canadian Syllabics or Mandombe.

>While this is only a minor device in Phags-pa, since there are not
>that many reversed consonants, it is a major device in Mandombe, and
>one which I find esthetically attractive,

I cannot see "attractiveness" as an attribute of Mandombe.

>in contrast to say klingon.

Will you please give Klingon a rest? Sheesh.
--
Michael Everson * http://www.evertype.com