[weilawei]

"You're right. Man should not be a slave to technology. The 'tail shouldn't wag the dog'. But that's idealistic and unreal. Technology always has its own limitations and parameters. It's not the first time technology has shaped the alphabet. The same story has been repeating itself since the origin of the alphabet. Greek and Latin were clearly determined by the hammer and chisel against marble - it's easier to carve straight lines in stone than rounded ones. That's why so many of our capitals are based on straight lines. The cursive Arabic was influenced by pen; cuneiform, by clay and sharp stick. Other alphabets were created by carving on bamboo. Simply today, the determining tools are fonts, computer keyboards, and satellite transmissions - the only difference being that they're a bit new and unfamiliar in the alphabet designers' hands."

[__david__]

I'm reminded of the English language and the "thorn" character (Þ). It used to be the character for the sound "th" but it fell out of favor and the final nail in its coffin happened when the printing press came into play--the typefaces were imported from Germany and Italy and they didn't have thorn. The printers substituted "y" for a while (hence "Ye olde shoppe"--It's actually pronounced "The", not "yee").

So I would say it's not unheard of for an alphabet to be shaped by technology. We English speakers are not the worse for wear.

[gcb]

then on the next § she just contradicts this one.

Also it's from 2002 and now i'm curious how it ended.