3 ms·
French was at some point written more akin to spoken, with variations in-between writers (and sometimes in text too). Now the orthography is hard mainly due to
by tasogare 6y ago
French was at some point written more akin to spoken, with variations in-between writers (and sometimes in text too).
Now the orthography is hard mainly due to: (1) change in the language not reflected in the writing, (2) etymological speeling choices made on standardization and (3) latent phonological information.
Instances of (1) include graphemes likes "au" [o].
Example of (2) is "pied" with final letter here to refer to Greek "podo".
Point (3) is more complex. Take "parent" were final t is mute. Its presence makes is clear it’s related to "parental". Some with pairs like "grand" / "grande" were in the feminine form the final d is pronounced.
Edit: Tibetan alphabet is notoriously difficult, and Thai alphabet is quite hard too, so the problem exists elsewhere as well even when staying in the realm of alphabets.
- boudewijnrempt 6y agoThe Tibetan script isn't difficult at all. You just need to learn the sound changes for the past five, six hundred years and apply them to logically arrive at "tro" for something written "bsgribs" -- but it's all very logical and clear. As my teachers made clear at university, using the Grundriss der Klassischen Tibetischen Schriftsprache and books of a similar age.
- tasogare 6y agoHaving to learn a significant portion of the phonological/phonetic history of a language to read it is exactly something that can be considered difficult. In fact, most people don’t even know what a phonological or phonetic change is, and can’t give an example.
- boudewijnrempt 6y agoYou might need to work on your reading comprehension. Particularly when it comes to sarcasm, or irony. I did quote my teacher verbatim, and he wasn't using neither irony nor sarcasm when calling this tour de force "easy". But I was...