How come China did not evolve to use phonetic writing systems like most other languages?
Mistaken* premise. Chinese writing *IS* phonetic (mostly), but on a syllabic level: each character simultaneously stands for an entire syllable and a complete morpheme (minimal unit of meaning). Most characters include a phonetic element, some more accurate than others but still useful: entire syllable or rhyme only. [Most characters combine a signific 父,革,竹… with a phonetic such … Read more