L2/26-097
Source: Editorial Working Group
Date: April 9, 2026
In preparation for the release of Unicode 18.0.0 on September 15, 2026, the Editorial Working Group reviewed and revised the following sections of the core specification:
Section 6.1 (Writing Systems): editorial improvements on the presentation of abugidas, including added Devanagari examples
Chapter 7: IPA updates covering Latin Extended-G, tone diacritics, and generic click consonants; correction to tone letter numbering; stem-struck and bowl-struck allographs of letters with strokes; glyph update for U+01E4; prototype of block listing; and addition of a column to Figure 7-8
Chapter 8: reorganization of the Anatolian Hieroglyphs block listing
Chapter 9: updated the Hebrew section regarding Sheva and Sheva Na Mudgash
Chapter 11: added text for the Archaic Cuneiform Numerals block (per L2/24-210R)
Chapter 15: removed examples of Kaithi conjuncts; replaced with statement about Devanagari behavior
Chapter 18: added new sections for the Jurchen and Seal scripts; headings and block tables restructuring
Chapter 22: added new subsections for Leibnizian Mathematical Notation character additions
Chapters 8–19, 21: comprehensive restructuring of headings and block tables across all block description chapters (see Section C2)
Cross-chapter: renamed "Middle Eastern" to "West Asian" across the core specification; added links to section introductions across Part 1 chapters and appendices; patched terminology regarding mentions of "book"
There is also ongoing work to do routine upkeep of the core specification and to stay current with bug reports and other small tweaks to core specification content mandated by the UTC.
Our release schedule can be consulted in this earlier report.
The Unicode 18.0.0 alpha review is currently underway under PRI #536. The Editorial Working Group's core specification work is progressing on schedule.
The Editorial Working Group continues its periodical review and general maintenance of Unicode web pages, both out of its own initiative and public feedback.
FYI: Public-facing information about the Editorial Working Group and its work is maintained on the Unicode Editorial Working Group Page on the website. The Editorial Working Group also maintains an internal subsite for use by the committee. People who would like to find out more about the work of the Editorial Working Group or contribute to that work should contact the Chair, Louka Ménard Blondin (louka@unicode.org).
The Editorial Working Group continues to meet regularly. Our meetings are generally held on a biweekly schedule, except when holidays or other events coincides, such as UTC meetings. This report to the UTC includes feedback from the Editorial Working Group meetings held on January 29, February 12, February 26, March 12, March 26, and April 9, 2026.
The introduction of blocks covered by sections in the text has been restructured for a better and easier to understand presentation. Previously, blocks were introduced in the headers of subsections (as known as "block intros"). Now, covered blocks are listed in a table at the beginning of each section. This keeps the subsection header usage cleaner and improves the table of contents.
The password protection for the core specification's archival PDF has been removed. The Charts WG is investigating the same thing.
We investigated and no longer plan to use the PDF/A profile. However, we plan to limit the use of advanced PDF features to the same level of what's specified in the PDF/A profile.
We're still waiting for the Consortium's decision about accessibility requirements.
We propose to transfer the ownership of the names list (which is published as UCD files NamesList.txt and its associated syntax definition, NamesList.html) to the Charts WG. The Charts WG is the natural owner of not only the editorial aspects of the names list but also the technical aspects. Also, the names list editor already accepts feedback from all the WGs regarding the names list.
We expect the Charts WG to consult the Editorial WG on editorial issues.
FYI: During this cycle, the Editorial Working Group has been lightly reviewing UAXes and UTSes.
Date/Time: Sun Jan 04 11:57:58 PT 2026 ReportID: ID20260104115758 Name: Michel Mariani Report Type: Report Error in Publication/Data Opt Subject: Error in Core Spec - Tangut Components
x• In: "Chapter 18" of the "Unicode Core Spec", in: "18.11.2 Tangut Components: U+18800–U+18AFF", under: "Repertoire",it is written: "In some cases, these single strokes are encoded as components (U+18900..U+18909, U+18D82..U+18D83)",but the first code point range is incorrect, "U+18900..U+18909" should be "U+18800..U+18809"https://www.unicode.org/versions/Unicode17.0.0/core-spec/chapter-18/#G43765• See: "The Unicode Standard, Version 17.0 - CodeCharts.pdf"Tangut ComponentsOne-stroke components18800 TANGUT COMPONENT-00118801 TANGUT COMPONENT-00218802 TANGUT COMPONENT-00318803 TANGUT COMPONENT-00418804 TANGUT COMPONENT-00518805 TANGUT COMPONENT-00618806 TANGUT COMPONENT-00718807 TANGUT COMPONENT-00818808 TANGUT COMPONENT-00918809 TANGUT COMPONENT-010Tangut Components SupplementOne-stroke components18D82 TANGUT COMPONENT-77118D83 TANGUT COMPONENT-772
Comments
Fixed for beta.
Date/Time: Sat April 04 10:48:07 PT 2026 ReportID: ID20260404104807 Name: Zhongyu Chen Report Type: Report Error in Publication/Data Opt Subject: Grammatical Error at Section 2.8.1
xxxxxxxxxxThere is an unnecessary "an" at Section 2.8.1, Planes. The incorrect text is as follows:Additional Ideographic Planes. The Supplementary Ideographic Plane (SIP, or Plane 2) and Tertiary Ideographic Plane(TIP, or Plane 3) are intended as an additional allocation areas for those...The correct text is as follows:Additional Ideographic Planes. The Supplementary Ideographic Plane (SIP, or Plane 2) and Tertiary Ideographic Plane(TIP, or Plane 3) are intended as additional allocation areas for those...Here's the link to the paragraph: https://www.unicode.org/versions/Unicode17.0.0/core-spec/chapter-2/#G285877
Comments
Fixed for beta.
Date/Time: Sun April 05 07:08:34 PT 2026 ReportID: ID20260405070834 Name: Zhongyu Chen Report Type: Report Error in Publication/Data Opt Subject: Incorrect description regarding combining marks
xxxxxxxxxxSection 2.11.1 of the Core Specification contains the following incorrect description:Properties. A sequence of a base character plus one or more combining characters generally has the same properties asthe base character. For example, “A” followed by “ˆ” has the same properties as “”."Â" is not the base character of the specified sequence. The correct description should be the following:Properties. A sequence of a base character plus one or more combining characters generally has the same properties asthe base character. For example, “A” followed by “ˆ” has the same properties as “A”.
Comments
Fixed for beta.
Date/Time: Wed April 08 09:30:22 PT 2026 ReportID: ID20260408093022 Name: Zhongyu Chen Report Type: Report Error in Publication/Data Opt Subject: Character name alias isn't italicized
xxxxxxxxxxSection 2.13.2 of the Core Specification contains a paragraph that reads:"Data streams (or files) that begin with a byte sequence for U+FEFF byte order mark for a given encoding form are likely to contain Unicode characters in that encoding form."The name alias "byte order mark" should be italicized, according to Section A.1.2 of the same document. The corrected paragraph should be"Data streams (or files) that begin with a byte sequence for U+FEFF byte order mark for a given encoding form are likely to contain Unicode characters in that encoding form."Section 2.13.2: https://www.unicode.org/versions/Unicode17.0.0/core-spec/chapter-2/#G9354Section A.1.2: https://www.unicode.org/versions/Unicode17.0.0/core-spec/appendix-a/#G7091
Comments
Fixed for beta.
Document: L2/26-081 Name: Kirk Miller Subject: Alpha feedback on names list
Kirk Miller submitted feedback on the Unicode 18.0 alpha names list. The document is posted as L2/26-081.
Comments
Ken Whistler has reviewed all suggestions and rolled them into NamesList.txt.
Date/Time: Wed Feb 25 20:15:27 PT 2026 ReportID: ID20260225201527 Name: Eiso Chan Report Type: Public Review Issue Opt Subject: PRI 536 [EDC]
xxxxxxxxxxTabel 22-1 shows currency symbols encoded in other blocks. Could we need to add otherdenominations of subunits in East Asia like U+00A2 ¢? I shows the situations of ChineseMainland, Hong Kong SAR, Macao SAR and Taiwan Province below. Maybe other experts will knowmore about the situations in Japan, ROK and DPRK.CNY: 圓/圆/元 角 分https://www.pbc.gov.cn/huobijinyinju/147948/161763/2820793/index.htmlhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RenminbiHKD: 圓/元 毫 仙 文https://www.hkma.gov.hk/chi/key-functions/money/hong-kong-currency/notes/https://www.hkma.gov.hk/chi/key-functions/money/hong-kong-currency/coins/https://www.hkma.gov.hk/chi/key-functions/money/hong-kong-currency/money-past-and-present/history-and-evolution-of-coins-in-hong-kong/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Kong_dollarMOP: 圓/元 毫 仙https://www.amcm.gov.mo/zh-hant/currency/currency-in-circulation-in-macao/currency-in-circulation-in-macaohttps://www.macaotourism.gov.mo/zh-hant/travelessential/before-you-travel/practical-infohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macanese_patacaTWD: 圓/元 角 分https://www.cbc.gov.tw/public/data/issue/money/tb1.htmhttps://www.cbc.gov.tw/public/data/issue/money/a1/t04.htmhttps://www.cbc.gov.tw/public/data/issue/money/a1/T05_38.htmhttps://www.cbc.gov.tw/public/data/issue/money/a1/T06_01.htmhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Taiwan_dollarNote: There are more nicknames of these subunits mentioned above, but it is not better tolist them here.
Comments
Action item for Ken Whistler, EDC: Add a paragraph explaining Han ideographs related to currency symbols in relation to Table 22-1. [Reference: Section E2 of L2/26-097]
Date/Time: Wed Mar 04 15:16:46 PT 2026 ReportID: ID20260304151646 Name: Benjamin Denckla Report Type: Public Review Issue Opt Subject: PRI 536 [EDC]
xxxxxxxxxxIn UCD/NamesList.txt, in the string "* used in texts that distinguish dagesh hazaq fromdagesh gal", the final word should be qal (with a Q) not gal (with a G).
Comments
The Editorial Working Group has reviewed this and the correction has been made by Ken Whistler.
Date/Time: Mon Mar 30 12:10:26 PT 2026 ReportID: ID20260330121026 Name: Marc Lodewijck Report Type: Public Review Issue Opt Subject: [PRI 536] Corrections for NamesList.txt [EDC]
xxxxxxxxxx1/ Omitted backslash before digit sequences "10000" and "1000"In the current draft of NamesList.txt, the entries for characters U+130AD and U+131BC aremissing a backslash before the digit sequences "10000" and "1000", respectively. Thisbackslash is necessary to prevent the digit sequence from being expanded in the Code Charts.This omission can be explained by the fact that, unlike similar entries such as "\20000","\30000", etc., and "\2000", "\3000", etc., the values "10000" and "1000" are not sourcedfrom Unikemet.txt.U+130AD kEH_Func Logogram (finger)U+130AE kEH_Func \20000U+130AF kEH_Func \30000...U+131BC kEH_Func PhonemogramU+131BD kEH_Func \2000U+131BE kEH_Func \3000...2/ Spelling error for U+13A06In the current draft of NamesList.txt, the annotation for U+13A06 contains a typo in thenome's name.Current: * logogram (Prosopopite nome) : mtrCorrect: * logogram (Prosopite nome) : mtrThe correct term is Prosopite, not "Prosopopite".3/ Spelling error in section headingIn the current draft of NamesList.txt, the heading for section C31 in the block "EgyptianHieroglyphs Extended-A" should be corrected.Current: @ C31. ThotCorrect: @ C31. ThothReason: consistency with standard English transliteration (Greek: Thōth) used in Egyptologyand throughout the Unicode Standard.4/ Structural correction for U+16D98 (Chisoi)In the current draft of NamesList.txt, U+16D98 CHISOI SIGN ANUSVARA is incorrectly placedwithin the "Letters" section. As a combining mark indicating nasalization, it should beisolated to reflect its function.@ Letters16D80 CHISOI LETTER A...16D97 CHISOI LETTER PA@ Nasalization sign16D98 CHISOI SIGN ANUSVARA@ Letters16D99 CHISOI LETTER YA...Merci.
Comments
Action item for Ken Whistler, EDC: Update NamesList.txt based on the feedback for 18.0. [Reference: Section E2 of L2/26-097]
Date/Time: Tue Mar 31 12:56:17 PT 2026 ReportID: ID20260331125617 Name: Marc Lodewijck Report Type: Public Review Issue Opt Subject: [PRI #536] Redundant annotation for U+1DF6E [EDC]
xxxxxxxxxxIn the block "Latin Extended-G", I suggest removing the annotation for U+1DF6E as itprovides no additional information beyond what is already established by the character nameand the section heading:@ Additions for the English Phonotypic Alphabet...1DF6E LATIN CAPITAL LETTER PHONOTYPIC DIPHTHONG AI* denotes the diphthong [ai] in the English Phonotypic Alphabet
Comments
Fixed for beta.