phonetic alphabet

It is evident that the use of a phonetic alphabet will make havoc of the ordinary spelling to be learnt subsequently.

The use of a phonetic alphabet is the only way to perform this double work rapidly, rationally, and with the minimum of confusion.

But how was this to be effected with a language which, like Chinese, had no phonetic alphabet?

They gave the phonetic alphabet to mankind and it seems not unlikely the knowledge of iron as well.

It is interesting as one of the stages of an art which culminated in the invention of a phonetic alphabet.