[WMASTERS] Ostrich Methodology?

["Harold F. Schiffman" <haroldfs@ccat.sas.upenn.edu>]

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Sorry, Selvaa:

>Even modern linguists will agree, I hope, that not all phonems are given
>separate  representation. If modern lignuist differ, let them.

What is this statement supposed to mean?  Modern linguists do *NOT* agree
that some phonemes don't need to be represented in an efficient writing
system.  I have taught linguistics for 33 years, and I teach phonemic
representation as being the ideal way to write a language; any contrasts
that do not need to be represented as *predictible* by the environment.

The voiced sounds /b, d, g, etc./ are predictible after nasals /n, m,
etc./ in Tamil so we do not need to write them there.  They are *NOT*
predictible in initial position, so we do need to represent them there.

And what about the statement 

>If modern lignuist differ, let them.

Shall we stick our heads in the sand like ostriches?

Selvaa, you have criticized my contributions to this discussion as lacking
in methodology, by which I think you mean, "not using the methodology you
use".  What methodology is this ostrich methodology?

H. Schiffman 



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