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From: deb5@midway.uchicago.edu (Daniel von Brighoff)
Subject: Re: Pinyin
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References: <59sqso$n2e@reader.seed.net.tw> <7fu3oxuqrj.fsf@phoenix.cs.hku.hk> <E3Jx6M.FLn@midway.uchicago.edu> <7fenfzvf5s.fsf@phoenix.cs.hku.hk>
Date: Mon, 6 Jan 1997 17:05:18 GMT
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In article <7fenfzvf5s.fsf@phoenix.cs.hku.hk>,
Lee Sau Dan ~{@nJX6X~} <sdlee@cs.hku.hk> wrote:
>>>>>> "Daniel" == Daniel von Brighoff <deb5@midway.uchicago.edu> writes:
>
>    Daniel> 	You know that.  I know that.  With the exception of a
>    Daniel> handful of Chinese-speakers, none of my friends (most of
>    Daniel> whom are university- educated) know that.  
>
>Ignorance cannot deny existence.

	But where is the practical value of something the vast majority of
people are ignorant of?  It would be like translating all European
loanwords in Chinese into Esperanto(*). 

	Ignorance can't deny existence, but it can make existence
irrelevant.	

>    Daniel> In fact, even
>    Daniel> some of the Chinese-speakers (both learners and
>    Daniel> native-speakers) don't seem to be familiar with Bopomofo!
>
>That shows that the Chinese  needn't an alphabet.  The characters work
>well for them.

	I also know Chinese speakers who are not literate in Chinese.
Does that mean that the Chinese needn't characters because speech alone
works well for them?

_________-____
(*) DISCLAMERO:  I have nothing against Esperanto on ideological grounds.
It's just that it isn't yet an international standard and, therefore, its
practical value is very limited.
-- 
	 Daniel "Da" von Brighoff    /\          Dilettanten
	(deb5@midway.uchicago.edu)  /__\         erhebt Euch
				   /____\      gegen die Kunst!
