Re: not font designers?

From: Mark E. Shoulson (mark@kli.org)
Date: Sun Nov 07 2004 - 22:45:48 CST

  • Next message: Peter Constable: "RE: not font designers?"

    Doug Ewell wrote:

    >Michael Everson <everson at evertype dot com> wrote:
    >
    >
    >
    >>>But didn't someone already point out that with OpenType tables, it
    >>>would be relatively easy to map "alternate" Phoenician glyphs to the
    >>>existing Hebrew code points?
    >>>
    >>>
    >>You're not helping, Doug.
    >>
    >>
    >
    >Apparently my post was badly misunderstood.
    >
    >Michael said he believes that Elaine attributes his support for separate
    >encoding of Phoenician to his role as a font designer, and not a Semitic
    >scholar.
    >
    >I replied, in essence, that a font designer per se would have no
    >particular stake in seeing Phoenician separately encoded, as opposed to
    >being considered a font variant of Hebrew (as some Semitic scholars
    >apparently want), because OpenType tables provide a perfectly good
    >mechanism for implementing font variants.
    >
    >Therefore, since there is no font-design limitation, Michael's desire to
    >encode Phoenician separately from Hebrew must be based on something
    >else.
    >
    >Like the fact that they are different scripts.
    >
    >
    That's the point. One's facility as a font-designer or lack of same
    does not bear on one's ability to understand and make sense of encoding
    decisions. I suppose what's being claimed here is that Elaine's
    question was more about what people are not than what people are: who
    here is *just* a font-designer, as opposed to a scholar in whatever
    particular historical or literary field (never mind the fact that it's
    possible to be both). Of course, this is putting words into Elaine's
    mouth, and she can perfectly well speak for herself and clarify what she
    was really trying to find out.

    (Do we have to fight out Phoenician vs Hebrew *again*???)

    ~mark



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