Re: Malayalam vowel sign AU (was Re: Representative glyphs for combining kannada sign)

From: James Kass (jameskass@worldnet.att.net)
Date: Thu Mar 30 2006 - 02:59:57 CST

  • Next message: Vinod Kumar: "Re: Representative glyphs for combining kannada signs"

    Kent Karlsson wrote,

    > James Kass wrote:
    >> Kenneth Whistler quoted from 5.0 draft and wrote,
    >>
    >> > 0D4C MALAYALAM VOWEL SIGN AU
    >> > * archaic form of the /au/ dependent vowel
    >> > x (malayalam au length mark - 0D57)
    >> >
    >> > 0D57 MALAYALAM AU LENGTH MARK
    >> > * used alone to write the /au/ dependent vowel in modern texts
    >> > x (malayalam vowel sign au - 0D4C)
    >> >
    >> > That names list has not yet finished QA to be pushed up
    >> > into the Unicode 5.0 beta directory, but will be soon.
    >> >
    >> > At that point, I hope we can quit flogging *this* particular
    >> > dead horse and move on to lengthy disquisitions on other
    >> > equally disturbing issues. ;-)
    >>
    >>
    >> The text is informative about the chart glyphs shown for the
    >
    > No, it is not about the chart glyphs per se. Whatever makes you
    > think that?
    >
    >> two characters but does not clearly state how the Malayalam
    >> vowel sign AU should be encoded in text. Do both reform and
    >> traditional Malayalam texts use U+0D4C?
    >
    > No.
    >
    >> The descriptive text under U+0D57 suggests otherwise.
    >
    > Yes, that is what has really been quite clear all along, now further
    > clarified by the new remarks for these characters.
    >
    > How clear does a clear thing have to be made?

    Chrystal, of course.

    What has been clear all along is that both traditional and reformed
    Malayalam are supposed to use the same encoding. Text display differs
    only if the font gets switched. What has been clear all along is that
    U+0D57 should never be included in running text, and that U+0D4C
    should be used in running text regardless of whether the text is
    traditional or reformed.

    U+0D15 plus U+0D4C
    versus
    U+0D15 plus U+0D57

    The first displays KA plus the right side of the chart glyph
    at U+0D4C. The second displays KA plus the dotted circle plus
    the right side of the chart glyph at U+0D4C. (On Windows XP SP2
    using Thoolika Traditional Unicode font, an OpenType font
    supporting Malayalam.)

    Apparently the good folks at Microsoft who design the shaping
    engine saw things with the same clarity. Because the dotted circle
    *always* appears before U+0D57, whether it is isolated or in running
    Malayalam text. (On Windows platform, the dotted circle appearing
    in Indic text indicates a spelling error.)

    Has the standard been changed for Malayalam encoding with
    respect to U+0D4C and U+0D57 ?

    Best regards,

    James Kass

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