From: Lateef Sagar (lateef_sagar@yahoo.com)
Date: Thu Sep 15 2005 - 05:38:03 CDT
Hi List,
I suggest a new Hamza for Urdu and Sindhi.
Here I would like to discuss that the Hamza in Urdu
and Sindhi is not the same as Arabic Hamzas 0x0626 and
0x0621. (Since my mother tongue is Sindhi therefore I
am presenting some examples in it to clarify my point
of view.)
Idea behind Unicode is to have a unified code chart
for all scripts that should take care of all
languages. Because of this reason we can easily find
similar characters with some variations for different
languages in the Arabic script. Some examples are as
under:
پۀ ۀ (0x06C0) پۂ
ۂ (0x06C2)
پة ة (0x0629) پۃ
ۃ (0x06C3)
ک ککک (0x06A9) ك
ككك (0x0643)
ڭ ڭڭڭ (0x06AD) ݣ
ݣݣݣ (0x0763)
None of these variants are used in the same language,
but are still included in Unicode so that a single
text file can have data of any language. These
variants can very easily be handled by the Language
tag in OpenType font, but then every language will
need a separate font for displaying its text.
Therefore if a character is used in different language
and has even same context as in any other character in
the same script, but since it is used in different
language, a separate code point is included. For
example there are three kaafs, two gaafs, two rnoons
and two duls in the Unicode. All these characters have
same sound like the remaining in the group but are
used in different languages with different shapes:
ك (0x0643) Kaaf for Arabic ک (0x06A9)
Kaaf for Farsi, Urdu, Pashto and many other
languages of the script ڪ (0x06AA) Kaaf for
Sindhi
گ (0x06AF) Gaaf for Farsi, Urdu and Sindhi
ګ (0x06AB) Gaaf for Pashto
ڻ (0x06BB) Rnoon for Sindhi ݨ (0x0768)
Rnoon for Siraiki and Pothohari
ڏ (0x068F) Dul for Sindhi ݙ (0x0759)
Dul for Siraiki
So now it is clear that even if a character with glyph
variation is required for two separate languages, a
separate code point is utilized, and even if there is
a need of same character with different shapes in
different languages, again a separate code point is
introduced in Unicode. Although these features can be
very easily handled by OpenType fonts using Language
Tag, but we dont see any such practice to be
encouraged by Unicode.
How Hamza is Different
Have a look at the examples shown blow:
In Sindhi Grammar the basic forms of all of the verbs
end with Rnoon which is same as we put to in front
of any verb in English:
Column 1 Column 2 Column 3 Column 4
Eat کاءُ To eat
کائڻ
Drink پيءُ To drink
پيئڻ
Talk ڳالھاءِ
To talk
ڳالھائڻ
The Sindhi verbs that I have chosen are the one that
end with a Hamza. If we use 0x0621 Hamza, as I have
done in column 2, then the shape of Hamza will not
change, as it is required after adding rnoon, so right
now the only solution is to change the spelling of the
verb, and use 0x0626 hamza if we need to add rnoon
after it. According to dictionary rules, only Rnoon is
the added alphabet in column 4, and the remaining
spelling in column 2 and 4 is the same. But since
right now there is no such Hamza that has isolated
shape as required in Column 2 and initial and middle
shapes as required in Column 4, we have to train the
user to change the spelling of the verb whenever
required which does not happen in English and should
not happen in Sindhi as well!
As per the discussion above, variations in different
languages of same characters, with slight or major
differences, are dealt by adding a different code
point in the Unicode Arabic Range, instead of asking
the font vendors to add Language tags for their
languages or even providing all the variants to the
end user and asking him/her to learn which variation
to be used in which form of a word. I strongly
recommend that a separate Hamza should be added so
that different forms of same words can use one single
Hamza, instead of two. The reuired Hamza for Sindhi
Language should have the following forms:
Isolated Initial Medial Terminal (Non joining)
ء ئي يئي ء
Lateef Sagar Shaikh
Lateef_sagar@yahoo.com
www.paktype.org
September 9, 2005
Lateef Sagar Shaikh
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