> -----Original Message----- > From: Dr. Elmo [mailto:dr.elmo at whiterose.org] > Sent: Wednesday, March 05, 2003 10:02 AM > To: dragaera at dragaera.info > Subject: RE: Question about Devera > > The diversity of English spelling is sometimes a weakness and > sometimes a > strength; but discussions of spelling or writing systems in > general have > little to do with spoken language. > > [1] Japanese has the same reason not to switch, but > amplified: Japanese > syllable structure is far simpler than English and there are > fewer sounds, > so there are many more homonyms in Japanese. The Without homonyms we wouldn't have puns. I'm not sure if that's a good or a bad thing. Out of curiousity, has anyone read anything by Merritt Ruhlen? I don't know if he's a relative (although it's likely) but I know he has a couple linguistics books out and I've read mixed reviews about them. Rachel