[Spellyans] Front unrounded vowels, was: The quantity system

[nicholas williams]

The suggestion is that we write either dëdh or dÿdh to write our  
preferred form. The dewboynt is there
to indicate that the other pronunciation is permissible. I write dëdh  
but ÿs. Others can write dÿdh but ës if they wish.
Surely this means that the variation dedh/dydh, es/ys, gwedh/gwydh is  
already present in what we recommend,
but the reader and learner are made aware by the dewboynt that the  
alternative pronunciation is possible.
To say that "the diaeresis looks awful" is purely subjective. It's on  
a par with the KKers on the AHG saying that hw
looked right (i.e. familiar). Such "judgements" can be disregarded.  
Diacritics have this merit: they don't actually interfere with
the letters. They are an adjunct to it, not a respelling.

To me an acute means either length (Irish) or stress (Spanish).  
Diaeresis is clearly not related either to length or to stress.
That is why it is preferable to any other diacritic in the case of  
bës, bëdh, gwëdh, prëv, adrëv or bÿs, bÿdh, gwÿdh, prÿv, adrÿv, etc.

What any computer or keyboard can do is also largely irrelevant.

Nicholas
------------

On 25 Jun 2008, at 10:50, Michael Everson wrote:

> At 10:51 +0200 2008-06-25, Daniel Prohaska wrote:
>
>> "I'm sorry people, but y-acute is not an option. Only y-diaeresis  
>> is."
>>
>> Michael, I can write ý
>
> I received a double-dagger.
>
>> without even having to install a new keyboard
>> driver or fix up a special font. It's as easy as
>> writing é.
>
> That's fine. You're not a typical user by any means.
>
>> Ad it even comes through on Yahoogroups! So,
>> quite frankly, I'm a little disappointed that
>> you dismiss ý because of what your computer can
>> or cannot do.
>
> It's not only MY computer. MY computer is an
> example. I am concerned about EVERYONE. The
> computer illiterate. Those who will attack us and
> attack us and attack us for using diacritics AT
> ALL, never mind using characters which ARE NOT
> AVAILABLE in many fonts.
>
>> I've got much more difficulties writing
>> y-diaeresis, about as much as y-circumflex.
>
> What problems? And what does it mean "more
> problems with X, about as much as Y"? I type
> y-diaeresis on Irish keyboard and the British
> keyboard quite easily.
>
>> So were at square one. This is a software problem and one that can  
>> be solved.
>
> Large Unicode fonts may have many characters. BUT
> MOST FONTS in the world are limited to Windows
> 1252 and Mac Roman, and the only SAFE characters
> to use re the ones found in BOTH character sets.
> -- 
> Michael Everson * http://www.evertype.com
>
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