Independent Vowel Conjuncts (was: 28th IUC paper - Tamil Unicode New)

From: Richard Wordingham (richard.wordingham@ntlworld.com)
Date: Mon Aug 22 2005 - 18:12:43 CDT

  • Next message: John Hudson: "Re: 28th IUC paper - Tamil Unicode New"

    John Hudson wrote:

    > Richard Wordingham wrote:

    >> For example, Microsoft has little incentive to modify Uniscribe to treat
    >> independent Devanagari vowels as consonants (or, to be pedantic,
    >> consonant-vowel ligatures).
    >
    > If you want something supported, you have to take it through the standards
    > process and get it approved as part of Unicode or another standard that
    > the software company in question is committed to supporting. If the
    > behaviour you want to see for Devanagari becomes part of Unicode's
    > processing requirements for that script, then you can expect Microsoft to
    > support it.

    I presume the part that needs changing is Section 9.1, which in Version
    4.0.0 reads,

    'Independent Vowel Letters. The independent vowels in Devanagari are letters
    that stand on their own. The writing system treats independent vowels as
    orthographic CV syllables in which the consonant is null. The independent
    vowel letters are used to write syllables that start with a vowel.'

    What should it be changed to? Perhaps:

    'Independent Vowel Letters. The independent vowels in Devanagari are letters
    that stand on their own. The writing system treats independent vowels as
    orthographic CV syllables. Syllables that start with a vowel are written
    with an independent vowel letter. In certain rare cases, they may form the
    CV core of a CCV syllable.'

    Possibly an example (rr.) should also be given. Subscript independent
    vowels get their own section in the Khmer chapter. Are there any Devanagari
    examples other than the standard independent vowels of VOWEL LETTER A being
    used with a dependent vowel?

    Richard.



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