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From: franka@mmintl.UUCP (Frank Adams)
Newsgroups: comp.std.internat,sci.lang
Subject: Re: Computers and human languages (was Re: What is a byte)
Message-ID: <2401@mmintl.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 21-Sep-87 19:42:31 EDT
Article-I.D.: mmintl.2401
Posted: Mon Sep 21 19:42:31 1987
Date-Received: Fri, 25-Sep-87 06:12:06 EDT
References: <218@astra.necisa.oz> <142700010@tiger.UUCP> <2792@phri.UUCP> <2351@mmintl.UUCP> <141@minya.UUCP> <2541@aw.sei.cmu.edu>
Reply-To: franka@mmintl.UUCP (Frank Adams)
Organization: Multimate International, E. Hartford, CT.
Lines: 15
Xref: mnetor comp.std.internat:260 sci.lang:1450

In article <2541@aw.sei.cmu.edu> firth@bd.sei.cmu.edu.UUCP (PUT YOUR NAME HERE) writes:
>We've beaten Russian to death, but did anyone point out that English also
>requires diacritical marks above, beside, and below letters?  They are
>fast being dumped into the can~on of history due to the uncoo"perative
>ro^le of ASCII terminals, but even a soupc,on of an acquaintance with
>the real language should convince you they are not just mediaeval relics!

It is my impression that these marks were very rarely used even before the
advent of ASCII terminals.  Further, of the four examples here, I would only
classify one (uncooperative) as genuinely English; the others are
unanglicized foreign words, complete with foreign marks.
-- 

Frank Adams                           ihnp4!philabs!pwa-b!mmintl!franka
Ashton-Tate          52 Oakland Ave North         E. Hartford, CT 06108