Re: intrinsic advantage of Latin alphabet over bopomofo (for Chinese)??

On Mar 26, 12:39 pm, LEE Sau Dan <dan...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
"Peter" == Peter T Daniels <gramma...@xxxxxxxxxxx> writes:

>> >> >> If you think that's a deficiency, then you have the same
>> >> >> deficiency in your native language, too: You call both
>> >> >> your father's elder brother's wife and your mother's
>> >> >> younger brother "uncle". Does that mean you're not
>> >> >> intelligent enough to distinguish these 2 relatives?

Peter> Actually, I called my Uncle John's wife "Aunt Connie," and
Peter> my Uncle Norman "Uncle Norman" (respectively).

>> >> I mean your father's elder brother.

Peter> See above: Uncle John.
>> So, both are Uncles. How do you distinguish them?

Peter> Umm, all white people don't look alike?

I see. So, that deficiency of English has forced you to resort to
distinguishing the two Uncles by their faces (i.e. non-linguistic
means), instead of using more specific terms.

Nothing can be more specific than names!

If for some bizarre reason it was necessary to make a distinction, we
have "uncle on my father's side" and "uncle on my mother's side."

>> If you can tell "Uncle John" from "Uncle Norman", how come you
>> can't understand the difference between "America <yuan2>",
>> "European <yuan2>", "Japanese <yuan2>" and "Chinese <yuan2>"?

Peter> Now you've invented a whole new set of terms. Until this
Peter> very moment, you insisted that the word for 'dollar' was
Peter> _yuan2_,

I said it was translated as <yuan2>.

Peter> and the word for 'yen' was _yuan2_,

It's translated as <yuan2>.

Peter> and the word for 'euro' was _yuan2_,

It's so translated.

Peter> and the word for 'lira' was _yuan2_, and the word for
Peter> 'yuan' was _yuan2_.

Yes. All are represented by <yuan2>, which is a *generic* currency
unit.

Peter> But now you say different. Were you lying before?

So, you said both of those 2 uncles are "Uncles". But you say they're
different. Were you lying before?

No. I was not concealing phrases, as you were.

Peter> /nihon/ ~ /nippon/ is quite clearly a single word in
Peter> Japanese.
>> >> >> Why?

Peter> How is it not?????
>> >> How can it be, when they're written differently using
>> >> Hiragana?

Peter> Are <color> and <colour> different words?
>> Bad example, as these are pronounced the same.

Peter> Are /iyk@namiks/ and /ek@namiks/ different words?

Are they spelt differently?

Peter> Are <carburetor> and <carburettor> different words?

My Oxford dictionary doesn't have the second one. Is it a misspelt
word?

It is, or was, the British spelling. If they've switched to the
American spelling, good for them!

BTW, you'd better try <aluminium> vs. <aluminum>. Are they the same
word? What is "a word"?

Something that proved years ago to be beyond your understanding.

.

Relevant Pages