IPA and writing
Saul Epstein 
Mon, 6 Jul 1998 15:13:30 -0500

Let's see...

First, I do not in any way feel that Vulcan should -- even CAN -- be
practically represented through a PHONETIC transcription using the
International Phonetic Alphabet, or any other phonetic alphabet.
Nearly all the points Steven raised in his post about the problems
with using that kind of representation in "non-technical" contexts are
valid and I agree with them. ( Which is why I didn't quote them. ;-) )

Second, I will, at the drop of the proverbial hat, revert to the
transcription originally laid out in the ZC if that is what people
(especially Marketa) would rather use. I'll be happy just to have it
settled, because the longer it remains unsettled, the more trouble of
various kinds it causes, as Steven also pointed out.

I didn't formulate my proposed changes as an ego-expansion exercise,
so no one should be concerned with how I feel about it. I did it in an
attempt to serve the long-term viability of the ZC project, because I
see serious problems with the original transcription in terms of its
accessibility to the non-linguist.

The only reason I haven't gone into an explanation of these problems
is that I have an acute sense that I tend to go into more detail than
a lot of people want as it is. My proposed changes don't, in any case,
solve the problems entirely, without the inclusion of some extra
signs. These could be IPA signs, because some people ARE familiar with
them, and they are mostly not so strange as to be too off-putting. But
I don't mean to suggest that the ZC transcription be replaced
wholesale with IPA signs.

And, to be sure, if no one is ever concerned with how to pronounce
anything, none of this matters. That wouldn't bother me either, as it
would save us a lot of work and allow us to move on to other things.
But some of our most-frequently-asked questions revolve around
pronunciation, so I assume that it does matter.

So, please, let's get this worked out. If people are interested in
what motivated the changes/additions I've proposed and been using,
I'll try to explain. If people just want to go with the system
originally laid out, let's do it!

--
from Saul Epstein
locus*planetkc,com - www,planetkc,com/locus
"Surak ow'phaaper thes'hi thes'tca'; thes'phaadjar thes'hi
     suraketca'."
                                        -- K'dvarin Urswhl'at