Arno Schmitt wrote:
> 2.) Modifier Letter left/right half Ring 02BE and 02BF are
> described as transcript of Arabic hamzah and ain.
> BUT hamzah and ain are letters, not Modifier letters.
"Modifier letter" is a vaguely defined concept.
> There are normal letters, can be the first or the last letter of a
> word, or stand in between. They can be doubled and you can
> hyphenate before and after it (depending on the other letters of
> the word).
Most modifier letters (including these two) are alphabetic: they can
appear at beginnings of words, be doubled, and in general behave
like ordinary alphabetic characters.
The main point about modifier letters is negative: they are not
non-spacing diacritics, nor are they symbols, despite often having
counterparts that are either non-spacing diacritics or symbols.
-- John Cowan http://www.ccil.org/~cowan cowan@ccil.org You tollerday donsk? N. You tolkatiff scowegian? Nn. You spigotty anglease? Nnn. You phonio saxo? Nnnn. Clear all so! 'Tis a Jute.... (Finnegans Wake 16.5)
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