Arabic Script: A new Hamza is required for Urdu and Sindhi

From: Lateef Sagar (lateef_sagar@yahoo.com)
Date: Thu Sep 15 2005 - 05:38:03 CDT

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    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 don’t 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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