The status of the word in selected conventional writing systems — the case of disjunctive writing

In this article, the issue of the status or nature of the word is revisited with specific reference to languages which employ the disjunctive system of writing. Although it is generally assumed that the ‘word' represents the basic unit of language, it is shown that the factors underlying the delimitation of this unit remain a debatable issue. Traditional tests in determining word boundaries are shown to be inconsistent in their application and such shortcomings have not only hampered a clear understanding of the nature of the word in languages which employ the disjunctive system of writing, but have also blurred a more universal approach to the definition of the ‘word' vis-a-vis other languages within the same family, which employ the conjunctive system of writing. Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies 2006, 24(3): 389–401