Newsgroups: sci.lang
Path: cantaloupe.srv.cs.cmu.edu!bb3.andrew.cmu.edu!newsfeed.pitt.edu!gatech!ncar!uchinews!not-for-mail
From: deb5@midway.uchicago.edu (Daniel von Brighoff)
Subject: Re: Pinyin
X-Nntp-Posting-Host: ellis-nfs.uchicago.edu
Message-ID: <E3Jx6M.FLn@midway.uchicago.edu>
Sender: news@midway.uchicago.edu (News Administrator)
Organization: The University of Chicago
References: <59sqso$n2e@reader.seed.net.tw> <7fn2v1wgzj.fsf@phoenix.cs.hku.hk> <E3GxLt.216@midway.uchicago.edu> <7fu3oxuqrj.fsf@phoenix.cs.hku.hk>
Date: Sun, 5 Jan 1997 20:06:21 GMT
Lines: 22

In article <7fu3oxuqrj.fsf@phoenix.cs.hku.hk>,
Lee Sau Dan ~{@nJX6X~} <sdlee@cs.hku.hk> wrote:
>>>>>> "Daniel" == Daniel von Brighoff <deb5@midway.uchicago.edu> writes:
>
>    Daniel> 	By contrast, the vast majority of readers couldn't in
>    Daniel> a million years make heads of tails of "Mapodoufu".  They
>    Daniel> would simply assume there had been some kind of screw-up
>    Daniel> in printing and ignore them.  After all, everyone knows
>    Daniel> that the Chinese don't have any kind of alphabet--they
>    Daniel> communicate by drawing little pictures for each other.
>
>They do have an alphabet.  Early in this century, the Chinese invented
>the Bopomofo alphabet for transcribing Mandarin sounds.

	You know that.  I know that.  With the exception of a handful of
Chinese-speakers, none of my friends (most of whom are university-
educated) know that.  In fact, even some of the Chinese-speakers (both
learners and native-speakers) don't seem to be familiar with Bopomofo!
-- 
	 Daniel "Da" von Brighoff    /\          Dilettanten
	(deb5@midway.uchicago.edu)  /__\         erhebt Euch
				   /____\      gegen die Kunst!
