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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0pc 0pc 10pt"><FONT face=Gentium size=3>I know
that we have covered this topic previously but some further discussion is
required.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0pc 0pc 10pt"><FONT face=Gentium size=3>I
assume that we want to write <B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">bÿs</B>/<B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">bës</B> & <B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">bys</B> in KS because the SWF has <B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">bys</B>/<B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">bes</B> & <B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">bys</B>, and we consider that to be
“broken”, i.e. a poor feature of the SWF.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0pc 0pc 10pt"><FONT face=Gentium
size=3>Firstly, this is because <B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">bys</B>
[bi:z]~[be:z] “world” or “finger” could also mean [biz] “until”, so we should
like to spell them differently from each other.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0pc 0pc 10pt"><FONT face=Gentium
size=3>However, Mary said, “I don't think I've ever muddled up these words, I
don't know the clever way to say it, but they're just not words you confuse,
they don't come in the same places if you follow me.”</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0pc 0pc 10pt"><FONT face=Gentium size=3>I
think that Mary is correct. It’s “world” and “finger” that is the more likely
pair of meanings to get confused. We have many words in English that could be
confused but somehow people don’t confuse them very often. For example, “dear”
can mean <U>cherished</U> or it can mean <U>expensive</U>. Then we have “deer”
which means <U>kind of beast, often with antlers</U>. I do not believe that the
stated reason holds. How many other <B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">bÿs</B>/<B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">bës</B> type words have another meaning
with a different pronunciation?</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0pc 0pc 10pt"><o:p><FONT face=Gentium
size=3> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0pc 0pc 10pt"><FONT face=Gentium
size=3>Secondly, if you were to use ether one of these two spellings (i.e. <B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">bys</B> or <B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">bes</B>), you couldn’t see that the
alternative form also exists, whereas if the choice is <B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">bÿs</B> or <B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">bës</B>, you can.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0pc 0pc 10pt"><FONT face=Gentium size=3>The
graphs <<B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">ÿ</B>> & <<B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">ë</B>> help the reader to understand and
to pronounce text that has been written in the alternative dialect.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0pc 0pc 10pt"><FONT face=Gentium
size=3>Unfortunately, this benefit is at the expense of making Cornish of either
dialect (Middle or Late) more difficult to spell correctly, and more difficult
to type.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0pc 0pc 10pt"><FONT face=Gentium size=3>The
measure of a good “spell-as-you-say-it” orthography is that you don’t need the
dictionary to spell words that you know how to say.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0pc 0pc 10pt"><FONT face=Gentium size=3>In
this case, however, some of the expected <<B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">i</B>> become <<B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">ÿ</B>>, and some of the expected <<B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">e</B>> become <<B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">ë</B>>. We shall all be left to wonder
which do, and which don’t.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0pc 0pc 10pt"><FONT face=Gentium size=3>The
forms <B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">bïs</B>/<B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">bës </B>&<B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"> bys</B> would be more logical as <<B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">ï</B>> is long but the problem of
knowing which <<B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">i</B>> or <<B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">e</B>> have diereses and which don’t
would be the same.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0pc 0pc 10pt"><o:p><FONT face=Gentium
size=3> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0pc 0pc 10pt"><FONT face=Gentium size=3>I’m
not saying that diacritical marks should not be used in Cornish, only that their
use should be minimised. The dieresis, as proposed for <B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">bÿs</B>/<B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">bës</B> words, could be avoided through the
use of <<B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">ei</B>>. This would give
us the choice <B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">beis</B> & <B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">bys</B>. That would be simpler but the
spelling problem would remain.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0pc 0pc 10pt"><FONT face=Gentium size=3>The
SWF designers objected to diacritical marks of any kind, and they rejected <B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">beis</B> but they failed to give good
reasons.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0pc 0pc 10pt"><FONT face=Gentium size=3>In
view of this, perhaps it would be best for KS to adopt <B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">beis</B>, regardless of the current
SWF.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0pc 0pc 10pt"><FONT face=Gentium size=3>The
spelling <<B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">ei</B>> should become
more acceptable within the next five years because, by then, the reason for its
rejection will have faded, and it would already be in use, at least to some
extent.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0pc 0pc 10pt"><FONT face=Gentium
size=3>Opposition to diacritical marks could increase within the next five
years. This is because (hopefully) more people will be using Cornish, and they
will have got used to writing Cornish without writing any diacritical marks.
This is because they will be using the current SWF or continuing to use KK, UC
or UCR, none of which uses diacritical marks. (Perhaps some people will be using
KS & LRC too but they would be a small proportion only.)</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0pc 0pc 10pt"><FONT face=Gentium size=3>Also,
the use of electronic mobile devices as an important means of communication is
likely to increase over the next five years. These devices tend to cater poorly
for accented characters. Perhaps this is because you type with one finger or a
stylus. Perhaps the producers assume a USA market (where diacritical marks
aren’t used much.) <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Either way,
those who might otherwise write diacritical marks will tend to leave them off
when using these devices. I believe that those habits will soon invade the
language as a whole.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0pc 0pc 10pt"><FONT face=Gentium size=3>We
already see a parallel effect with text messaging abbreviations being used in
company e-mails. A full keyboard is available for the e-mails, so it is a habit
that has migrated from the mobile phone.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0pc 0pc 10pt"><FONT face=Gentium size=3>I
think that we shall see this effect with the partial loss of diacritical
marks.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0pc 0pc 10pt"><FONT face=Gentium size=3>By the
way, and I don't know whether this is related but I heard that France has
considered reducing use of the circumflex, Germany is losing its
double-s <<STRONG>ss</STRONG>> (<SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Gentium; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Gentium; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"><STRONG>ß</STRONG></SPAN>), and
Scottish Gaelic appears to be losing its acute accents.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0pc 0pc 10pt"><FONT face=Gentium
size=3></FONT> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0pc 0pc 10pt"><FONT face=Gentium
size=3>Regards,</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0pc 0pc 10pt"><FONT face=Gentium size=3>Andrew
J. Trim</FONT></P></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>