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From: root@uwai.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.nlang
Subject: Re: Phonetic spelling isn't practical
Message-ID: <151@uwai.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 8-Nov-84 16:15:09 EST
Article-I.D.: uwai.151
Posted: Thu Nov  8 16:15:09 1984
Date-Received: Sat, 10-Nov-84 03:54:06 EST
References: <4147@decwrl.UUCP>
Organization: U of Wisconsin CS Dept
Lines: 13

> Perhaps conditions are different for "small" languages (I understand that
> Hungarian is actually written phonetically), but it seems unlikely to me that
> any old, widespread,culturally diverse language like English, Spanish, French,
> Chinese,Portuguese or Russian can possibly be accurately described in a static
> form.  
> 
Excuse me, but Spanish and Portuguese are written is as close to 
a phonetic spelling as you're apt to find, thus proving that it 
certainly can work.  Not that I am advocating changing things, since
it would never be accepted, but God knows that French and English
could use some help.  Chinese we'll not even mention, since it doesn't
even have an alphabet.  As for Russian, didn't I once read that it's
spelled phonetically as well?