Why is alphabetical writing very hard to create?
1
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Once one has a spoken language, the concept of phonemes, and somehow makes the jump to associating symbols with the phonemes, alphabetical writing is not hard to create. HOWEVER, those first three steps are pretty big ones. -1- First, someone has to develop a consistent lexicon of words associated with actions and objects. Then, one has to get others to adopt that lexicon. -2- Next one has to identify distinctions between the different sounds in the language. Consider that the vast majority of oral/face-to-face communication is nonverbal. This means that the invention of a phonetic alphabet depends on a counterintuitive mental leap that focuses on the verbal communication. -3- Then one has to come up with the COMPLETELY NEW idea to associate sounds with symbols in a consistent way. It is amazing that it happened. When people listen to receive speech, they are just listening and receiving sounds, and then they match meanings to the sounds. When people speak (emitting speech), they match sounds to meanings and then give out sounds. They should and must be able to distinguish sounds to do these. They should have the concept of phoneme. 1
point
They should and must be able to distinguish sounds to do these. They should have the concept of phoneme. I don't think so. Consider, hearing sound does not automatically imply recognizing notes at the distinct intervals that define them. I do not hear somebody whistling, and think that series of notes was a progression of minor thirds (or whatever.) I just hear the sounds undifferentiated by any understanding of the construction. The concept of notes had to be invented. For exactly the same reason, having experience of the reality of sound is not the same as categorizing them into phonemes. Do you think a parrot has the concept of phoneme when it imitates someone saying "Polly wants a cracker"? When people listen to receive speech, they are just listening and receiving sounds, and then they match meanings to the sounds. When people speak (emitting speech), they match sounds to meanings and then give out sounds. They should and must be able to distinguish sounds to do these. They should have the concept of phoneme. |