Re: Biblical Hebrew (Was: Major Defect in Combining Classes of Tibetan Vowels)

From: Peter_Constable@sil.org
Date: Thu Jun 26 2003 - 03:43:09 EDT

  • Next message: Peter_Constable@sil.org: "Re: Major Defect in Combining Classes of Tibetan Vowels"

    Ken Whistler wrote on 06/25/2003 06:57:56 PM:

    > People could consider, for example, representation
    > of the required sequence:
    >
    > <lamed, qamets, hiriq, final mem>
    >
    > as:
    >
    > <lamed, qamets, ZWJ, hiriq, final mem>

    So, we want to introduce yet *another* distinct semantic for ZWJ? We've
    got one for Indic, another for Arabic, another for ligatures (similar to
    that for Arabic, but slightly different). Now another that is "don't
    affect any visual change, just be there to inhibit reordering under
    canonical ordering / normalization"?

    > The presence of a ZWJ (cc=0) in the sequence would block
    > the canonical reordering of the sequence to hiriq before
    > qamets. If that is the essence of the problem needing to
    > be addressed, then this is a much simpler solution which would
    > impact neither the stability of normalization nor require
    > mass cloning of vowels in order to give them new combining
    > classes.

    Yes, it would accomplish all that; and is groanable kludge. At least with
    having distinct vowel characters for Biblical Hebrew, we'd come to a point
    we could forget about it, and wouldn't be wincing every time we considered
    it.

     
    > The problem of combinations of vowels with meteg could be
    > amenable to a similar approach. OR, one could propose just
    > one additional meteq/silluq character, to make it possible
    > to distinguish (in plain text) instances of left-side and
    > right-side meteq placement, for example.

    And the third position of meteg with hataf vowels? Introduce *two*
    additional meteg/silluq characters?

    - Peter

    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Peter Constable

    Non-Roman Script Initiative, SIL International
    7500 W. Camp Wisdom Rd., Dallas, TX 75236, USA
    Tel: +1 972 708 7485



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