The 'Chinese' Theory: For and Against

[oshfdk]

Are there any Asian languages (or any languages in general) that can't be captured in the Latin alphabet with a few modifications, like diacritics or use of punctuation symbols, to show elements like tone or non-European phonemes? I.E has a native Latin writer (for want of a better phrase) ever been forced to create a whole new alphabet in other circumstances?

I am slightly familiar with Chinese. I used to be at HSK3, which is B1 in CEFR or lower intermediate level, but it was decades ago, nowadays I just find it funny when I see a familiar character or overhear a familiar word, I can't really read or speak. So if it was year 14XX (but somehow the language sounded like modern spoken Chinese) and I had to invent a way to write phonetically, it's quite possible I wouldn't use Latin letters, because I would struggle to find a good enough mapping for many popular sounds. I certainly wouldn't consider using Q and X (and maybe a few others) the way they are used in Pinyin. It's possible I would take some existing local phonetic representation and adapt it for the European way of writing. Something like cursive You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. as used in Taiwan. Alternatively, for complex or logographic scripts, I could use the most common syllables or logograms (greatly simplified) to represent the sounds that they usually invoke or associate with.

So, I don't find it totally implausible that a person would invent a new alphabet, or more likely repurpose parts of a local alphabet, and it would be more convenient than using Latin letters.