from Anthologia Hibernic, July 1793, page 14
“An expressive character, capable of representing the articulate sounds of every language, has long been a desideratum in the republic of letters; and although every one is ready to acknowledge the advantages to be derived from such an UNIVERSAL ALPHABET, yet, I believe, nothing of this kind has hitherto been made public; at least nothing that merited attention. . . But to render such an alphabet universal, it would be necessary to comprehend all the different sounds existing in every living language, which would require a knowledge of languages impossible to be attained by any individual.” — E.W., Dublin, June 20, 1793
Ben Katchor: 