Dai Lanna Script (was: New property for reordrant dependent vowels reordering?)

From: Richard Wordingham (richard.wordingham@ntlworld.com)
Date: Sun Sep 04 2005 - 16:10:56 CDT

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    Peter Constable wrote:

    >> From: unicode-bounce@unicode.org [mailto:unicode-bounce@unicode.org]
    >> On Behalf Of Richard Wordingham

    >> Dai Lanna
    >
    > This is off the topic of the thread: "Dai Lanna" is not really an
    > appropriate designation. "Dai" is the Pinyin representation of "Tai",
    > the latter being used by linguists outside of China. "Lanna" is not
    > particularly referred to within China; they would be more likely to
    > refer to the old written form for the language in China that uses it,
    > which they generally refer to as "Xishuangbanna Dai" (known to linguists
    > outside China as "Tai Lue").
    >
    > "Lanna" *is* the best choice for referring to the script in question as
    > it came into being and was used in the Kingdom of Lanna, which had its
    > capitol in northern Thailand. If you want to add a qualifier, "Lanna
    > Tai" might be acceptable, though that would more likely be understood as
    > referring to the Northern Thai language (indigenous name "kam meuang").
    > In Thai and Northern Thai, "tua Lanna" or "aksorn Lanna" are used,
    > meaning 'Lanna letters'.

    As far as I can see, the Sipsongpanna Tai script proposed by the Chinese
    using a manuscript table of characters is the same script as the Tua Lanna
    in the CR-Doitong font I prefer. (My wife hails from Chiang Mai, so I
    shouldn't really use what seems to be tagged as a 'Siang Hai' font.) I can
    see arguments that it isn't the Burmese script. I don't know whether the
    Tham script of Laos is also the same script. There's proliferation enough
    given the decision not to unify the New Tai Lue and Dai Lanna scripts.
    (Might that decision be reversed? Both are apparently now in use, the old
    script leaks into the the new script, and the new low class consonants -
    formed by adding a circumflex - could easily be borrowed by the old script.)

    I can always justify the name Dai Lanna by noting that the ethnonym probably
    was Dai when the script was adopted, and it avoids the dilemma of choosing
    between Siamese 'Lanna Thai' and Kam Mueang 'Lanna Tai'. Also, the pinyin
    'Dai Lanna' makes the connection between Lanna Tai and the Sipsongpanna Tai.
    Finally, it's Dai Lanna on the road map.

    Is there any progress on the Dai Lanna script? I started reading the
    Unicode lists to find out what was happening, but there seems to be nothing
    in the main list or Indic archives.

    Richard.

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