Re: Pinyin tone indication method.

"LEE Sau Dan" <danlee@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Why mix tone marking with vowel marking? They ARE orthogonal features
of the language.


And then, why not also mix vowel marking with consonant marking?

For which the Khmer writing system is a good example. It also happens in Mon.

And
why not blend tone marking into the system of consonant symbol
(c. f. the Thai script)?

However, both examples may be viewed as historically being examples of vowel register being marked on the consonant. The synchronic effect is to create pairs of vowels and pairs of tones, one for each of the two registers. However, deliberate Cham spoonerisms sugest that the register may actually inhere in the consonant rather than the vowel!

Richard.

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