Re: Invention of the Alphabet

Lee Sau Dan wrote:
>>>>>>"Harlan" == Harlan Messinger <hmessinger.removethis@xxxxxxxxxxx> writes:
>
>
> Harlan> That's a misconception. Many words in Chinese consist of
> Harlan> multiple syllables/characters, such as Chong1guo2, the
> Harlan> name for China,
> >> Aren't Chong1 and guo2 themselves root-words?
>
> Harlan> Yes.
>
> Harlan> It's comparable to
> >> "United Kingdom". Two words used together to refer to
> >> something specific. Is "United Kingdom" one word? 2 words?
>
> Harlan> Which proves that not every pair of words in English
> Harlan> collapses into a single word. Which isn't saying much.
>
> If you consider "United Kingdom" to be "2 words NOT collapsed into a
> single word", then why would you consider "Zhong1 guo2" to be "2 words
> COLLAPSED into a single word"?
>
> You're so inconsistent, and mislead by the spacing.
>
>
> Harlan> or ci2dian3, a word for "dictionary",
> >> Isn't <ci2> a word? Isn't <dian3> a word? <ci2dian3> is just
> >> a compound. Comparable to English "word list". Is "word list"
> >> one word, or two?
>
> Harlan> Your English is good enough that your oversight of terms
> Harlan> like "vineyard", "cupboard", etc., must be intentional.
>
> You're simply evading to answer my question: Is "word list" one word?

I'm not evading anything. You asked basically the same question with
several different examples. I answered it once for "United Kingdom", and
I told you why your question was beside the point. I didn't see any
point in answering the same question over and over, so I directed your
attention to what you were willfully overlooking.
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Does Japanese have suffixes or postpositions?
    ... Harlan> the rules *call* for the diaresis to be used to represent ... English spelling is largely inconsistent and confusing. ... the diaresis in these cases leaves the word in question misspelled. ...
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  • Re: Does Japanese have suffixes or postpositions?
    ... Harlan> that fact ... ... English spelling is largely inconsistent and confusing. ... the diaresis in these cases leaves the word in question misspelled. ... The use of the diaresis is an arbitrary affectation that someone at some point applied to a very few words and a few other people followed suit, leaving the vast majority of spelling inconsistencies uncovered. ...
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  • Re: Invention of the Alphabet
    ... Harlan> That's a misconception. ... Harlan> Which proves that not every pair of words in English ... Harlan> collapses into a single word. ...
    (sci.lang)
  • Re: Invention of the Alphabet
    ... > Harlan> That's a misconception. ... > Harlan> Which proves that not every pair of words in English ... > Harlan> collapses into a single word. ...
    (sci.lang)
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