Re: Multiple Directions (was: Re: Coptic/Greek (Re: Phoenician))

From: John Cowan (cowan@ccil.org)
Date: Sat May 15 2004 - 09:00:48 CDT

  • Next message: Chris Jacobs: "Re: Multiple Directions (was: Re: Coptic/Greek (Re: Phoenician))"

    Jony Rosenne scripsit:

    > However, in Hebrew and Arabic, numbers are written left to right and so are
    > Latin and other LTR script quotations. So RTL really means mixed direction,
    > and the bidi algorithm is there to handle it automatically with little user
    > intervention.

    BTW, Peter Daniels told me viva voce that arabophones, like persophones and
    hebraeophones, do (hand)write numbers LTR starting with the most significant
    digit. But we still have no confirmation from a native arabophone.

    And if someone could explain the full significance of the Arabic-Indic
    vs. the Eastern Arabic-Indic digits (other than glyph shape), I'd
    appreciate it. I know that the EAI digits work just like the European ones,
    whereas the AI digits work differently, but what is the effective difference?

    > All of this is completely irrelevant to boustraphedon and vertical scripts.
    > These are presentation issues that have not need for Unicode support.

    Vertical Ogham does, but forced override is sufficient -- it doesn't need
    an *implicit* bidi algorithm.

    -- 
    John Cowan                              jcowan@reutershealth.com
    http://www.reutershealth.com            http://www.ccil.org/~cowan
    Humpty Dump Dublin squeaks through his norse
                    Humpty Dump Dublin hath a horrible vorse
    But for all his kinks English / And his irismanx brogues
                    Humpty Dump Dublin's grandada of all rogues.  --Cousin James
    


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