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[jess tauber]

Sort order is another issue Yahgan documents will have to address- this had slipped my mind. Missionary Thomas Bridges' used modifications of a mid-19th century phonetic alphabet created by Alexander Ellis (who eventually became president of the British Phonetic Society). This system puts vowels first, then consonants. Within the vowels are secondary sorts by "length" (i.e. tenseness/laxness), front to back, and simple versus diphthong. Within consonants digraphs follow simples, mostly following English spelling order, with notable exceptions.

The original Ellis system was never meant to be used on languages other than English (which caused this consonantal mis-ordering), and Ellis himself eventually threw it over (also decrying, in his Phonetic Society Presidential adress, Bridges' use and modifications of it, I guess much to the chagrin of the missionary).

For me personally, the ordering used by languages in SEAsia, based on Indian alphabets, seems much more rational, as it is based on unit type and articulatory order, manner, etc. I've seen a number of Native American language dictionaries based on this type of ordering principle. It is very easy to get used to. The Chilean Standard alphabetization uses a conventional ordering, as do all the other systems used on Yahgan.

Given the systemic layout differences, does anyone know if there are any "smart keyboards" in the works, where the actual graphy on the key itself can be changed at the touch of a button (versus just the layout on the screen)? Something akin to electronic paper? I just saw in Popular Science a laser projected "virtual" keyboard- where the feedback sensors keep track of your fingers on a flat surface- that obviously could be programmed for different systems. Alternatives such as these might prevent people being forced to have keyboard ordering choices fixed in stone.

Jess Tauber
phonosemantics at earthlink.net