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FURTHER-INDIAN BRANCH
439 Vozel-signs
The vowel-signs or korlit, which in the old scripts had the form of dots or commas, are dashes (-) in the Mangyan scripts, and a kind of V turned sidewards (>) in the Tagbanua. The Mangyan dashes or commas may be either vertical or horizontal or slanting. The korlits are always placed above or to the left of the consonant when they indicate e or i, and below or to the right, when o or u.
Punctuation
Dr. Gardner distinguishes three types of punctuation in the contemporary Philippine scripts: (1) A small cross, like a plus mark, indicates frequently the beginning of a written document. This mark is separated from the text in order to distinguish it from the letter ka. (2) A vertical line is used in the Mangyan characters to separate words. (3) Also in the Mangyan characters alone, two vertical lines separate sentences. These rules, however, are not followed constantly. The end of the writing has no mark at all.
Peculiar Postal Service
According to the majority of scholars, there are not many Mangyans who can read or write; it is therefore astonishing to hear of the interesting postal service which exists among the southern Mangyans: "A bamboo letter is fastened in a cleft stick and placed by the trailside. The first passerby, who is going in the direction of the addressee, carries it as far as his plans allow and leaves it again by the trail, to be carried on by some other person. Perhaps half a dozen volunteers may assist in conveying the letter to its designation" (Fletcher Gardner). Would such a postal service be possible if really only few people could writeI do not think so.
Direction of Writing
The direction of writing in the T'agbanua and Mangyan scripts has been a matter of much controversy. According to Professor Erceber (Peoples of the Philippines, 1928, p. 216), the Mangyans write horizontally from left to right, while the Tagbanua write in vertical columns from top to bottom, the columns following in order from right to left. Other scholars stated that the Tagbanuas write from below upwards, beginning at the left hand side, and adding additional columns to the right. According to Dr. Fletcher Gardner, there is no difference in the direction of writing between the Tagbanua and the Mangyan scripts, and there has never been any difference in the direction of writing of the Philippine writings. "All ideas of this kind have arisen from misinterpretation or misquotation of the earliest writers on the subject."
