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From: edwards@uwmacc.UUCP (mark edwards)
Newsgroups: comp.std.internat,sci.lang
Subject: Re: Change the software or the alphabet?
Message-ID: <1913@uwmacc.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 27-Oct-87 09:17:52 EST
Article-I.D.: uwmacc.1913
Posted: Tue Oct 27 09:17:52 1987
Date-Received: Thu, 29-Oct-87 22:11:37 EST
References: <1446@haddock.ISC.COM> <365@zuring.cwi.nl> <1890@frog.UUCP>
Reply-To: edwards@unix.macc.wisc.edu (mark edwards)
Organization: UW-Madison Academic Computer Center
Lines: 52
Keywords: Why stop there?
Xref: mnetor comp.std.internat:300 sci.lang:1620

In article <1890@frog.UUCP> john@frog.UUCP (John Woods, Software) writes:
>In article <365@zuring.cwi.nl>, dik@cwi.nl (Dik T. Winter) writes:
>>In article <1446@haddock.ISC.COM> karl@haddock.isc.com (Karl Heuer) writes:
>>>                                         The alphabet is the servant of Man,
>>>not the other way around; thus it is appropriate to suggest that it should
>>>evolve to meet Man's changing needs.

>Fie on you.  Languages are constantly evolving to meet the needs of those
>using them (except, perhaps, for CERTAIN languages with governmental bodies
>created to ensure permanent ossification... :-).  
[...]
>(Note, I don't necessarily feel that alphabets must, or even should, change
>because of inadequacies of computers.  It's still an idea worth contemplating,
>however.)

 Well time for my two cents. There have been histories of countries
 changing other countries alphabets. Consider the countries of 
 IndoChina. They use to use Chinese characters. After France had its 
 way the connection between China and the countries of Indochina
 became historical. Imagine having to learn a different language just
 inorder to read your countries history book in Original form.

 Now to take the argument of changing alphabets to meet the needs of
 computers.

 If people think that is a reasonable argument then I suggest we go
 further and change natural language to meet the needs of the computer.
 After all the benefits of having 100% computer understanding of every
 thing we say and write and do is just astronomical. We would have to
 mold our speaking to speak in simple, very distinct, and very unambiguous
 words and sentences. The sentences we would speak would be precise and
 very logical. Each sentence would have a determinable boolean qualifier.
 It would be either true or false, "maybe" causes to many problems.

 Words like cute or pretty, or hot, and cold would disappear because
 what is cute to one person may not be to another. That is what us
 computer people call inconsistent. A computer can not have inconsistent
 rules. Language would become boring, life would become dull.

 Well unfortunately, or should I say fortunately computer people will
 not get there way in this one. There are domains where the methods
 must change to meet the needs of the computer. Language is not one
 of these domains. The computer/programs will have to change to
 meet the needs of the humans. And that includes characters in alphabets
 also.

 mark

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