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Unicode Technical Report #1

Burmese
Khmer
Ethiopian

Revision 03 Nov 1992; rev 92/11/25
Authors Burmese proposal was written by Andy Daniels, with contributions = by=20 Lloyd Anderson, Glenn Adams, and Lee Collins.
Khmer proposal = was=20 written by Andy Daniels.
Ethiopian proposal was written by Joe = Becker.=20
Date 1992
This Version http://www.unico= de.org/unicode/reports/tr1.html
Previous Version  
Latest Version http://www.unico= de.org/unicode/reports/tr1.html

Technical Reports contain material that has been approved by the = Unicode=20 Consortium for publication, but that is not necessarily considered part = of the=20 Unicode Standard. Often, technical reports are superseded by later=20 standardization, or the informative material that they contain is = incorporated=20 into explanatory chapters in subsequent editions of The Unicode = Standard.  =20 Sometimes minor updates to the Unicode Standard itself are published as=20 Technical Reports.  Some Technical Reports are not available for=20 downloading.

Technical Report = #1 - Burmese, Khmer, and Ethiopia


This Technical Report is comprised of three concrete = proposals=20 to which the Unicode Technical Committee is strongly committed in their = current=20 form.

Status of this document

This document has been considered and approved by the Unicode = Technical=20 Committee for publication as a Technical Report. At the current time, = the=20 specifications in this technical report are provided as information and = guidance=20 to implementers of the Unicode Standard, but do not form part of the = standard=20 itself. The Unicode Technical Committee may decide to incorporate all or = part of=20 the material of this technical report into a future version of the = Unicode=20 Standard, either as informative or as normative specification. Please = mail=20 corrigenda and other comments to mailto:unicore@unicode.org.<= /P>

Document

This Technical Report is comprised of three concrete proposals to = which the=20 Unicode Technical Committee is strongly committed in their current form. = These=20 are: Ethiopian, Burmese, and Khmer. These proposals have been reviewed=20 internally and have been relatively stable over a period of time. The = committee=20 believes they represent good technical solutions for the proposed = scripts, and=20 therefore also recommends that specific codepoints within the body of = Unicode be=20 allocated for them, as follows:

Burmese U+0F00 U+0F7F
Khmer U+0F80 U+0FFF
Ethiopian U+1200 = U+125F

Specific open issues for each of these are addressed in the = respective draft=20 block introductions. These open issues do not detract substantially from = the=20 solidity of the proposals.

Burmese Proposal Description

Burmese U+0F00 -> 0F7F

The Burmese script is used to write Burmese, the majority language of = Myanmar=20 (formerly Burma) and Pali. Variations and extentions of the script are = used to=20 write other languages of the region, such as Shan and Mon, and also to = write=20 Sanskrit.

The Burmese script derives from 11th century Mon. The Mon script = itself is=20 probably borrowed directly from South India. The earliest Mon = inscription, found=20 at Lopburi in Thailand, dates from the eight century and is written in = the=20 Pallava script used at the Hinayana Buddhist center of Conjeeveram in = the area=20 of Madras on the east coast of India. In A.D. 1057 one of the first = Burmese=20 kings, Aniruddha, conquered Thaton, a major Mon center, and brought back = with=20 him to Pagan the most learned monks, artists and artisans of the Mon. = The first=20 inscription in Burmese dates from the following year and is written in = an=20 alphabet almost identical with that of the Mon inscriptions. Aside from = rounding=20 of the originally square characters, this script has remained largely = unchanged=20 to the present.

The Burmese script therfore ultimately derives from Brahmi, and so = shares the=20 structural features of its relatives: Consonant symbols include an = inherent=20 vowel; various signs are placed before, above, below and after a = consonant to=20 indicate a vowel other than the inherent one; ligatures and conjuncts = are used=20 to indicate consonant clusters.

In the course of its adaptation to non-Indo-Aryan languages, = the
Burmese=20 script has acquired some features that distinguish it from
other = Indic=20 scripts. The killer, or virama, participates in some
common = constructions=20 that would be clumsy to handle the way they
would be in the other = Indic=20 scripts, so the control function of
the virama is separated from the=20 diacritic function of the killer.
The virama, 0F4D is used to form = conjunct=20 consonants, while the
killer, 0F52, is a simple diacritic and has no = effect=20 on character
shaping. The killer is also combined with the VOWEL SIGN = O=20 (0F4B)
to form the low level tone vowel "o." When used this way,=20 this
symbol is known as hyei hto, or "thrust forward."

Burmese distinguishes as set of "medial" consonants. = Originally
conjunct=20 forms of YA PALE, YA GAU, WA and HA, they are used in
modern Burmese = to form=20 new letters and to spell certain vowel and
consonant combinations. = They are=20 treated here as no different from
any other conjunct and should be = coded=20 using the virama.

ISSUE: There's no reason from the point of view of the = rendering
engine to=20 have separate codes for the medials. Some implementors
feel that the = medials=20 should nevertheless have separate codes.
Including them introduces = alternate=20 spellings for the same syllables,
something that should be avoided. = If there=20 are compelling reasons
for including the medials, there is certainly = room to=20 add them.

When a syllable has more than one medial, it is recommended = that
they=20 appear in the order that such syllables are traditionally
spelled. = That is,=20 HA HTOU, before YA PIN or YA YI, before WA HSWE.
Note that YA PIN and = YA YI=20 cannot appear in the same syllable in
Burmese. For example, "cwei" = ("to drop=20 off") is coded as
0F15+0F5C+0F5E+0F47. "Hmyu" ("to delight, allure") = is coded=20 as
0F2E+0F5F+0F5D+0F42. This differs from the order in which = medials
are=20 normally written.

ISSUE: This rule is not strictly necessary, but regularizes = the
spelling=20 and simplifies rendering, string comparison and other
functions.

Burmese has several glyphs that are used with varying = semantics
which are=20 here given separate code points for each different usage.
The = following pairs=20 of letters look the same, but must be distinguished
in the text = stream:

EHKAYA U (0F09) and NYA GALEI (0F5B)
GA NGE (0F17) and DIGIT HYI=20 (0F6E)
WA (0F35) and DIGIT THOUN NYA (0F66)
YA GAU (0F30) and = DIGIT HKUN=20 NI (0F6D)
DIGIT LEI (0F6A) and SYMBOL LAGAUN (0F73)

The last two pairs are distinguished in some fonts but not = in
others.

Also, the LETTER 0 (0F13) is distinguished from the = sequence
0F48+0F5D,=20 and the ZA MYINZWE is distinguished from 0F1A+0F5C.

Symbols not found as single characters are formed from = sequences
of the=20 basic characters given here. For example,tha ji ("great
tha") is = coded by the=20 sequence 0F38+0F4D+0F38, i.e., it is a conjunct
formed from two THAs. = Kinzi=20 is a conjunct formed from LETTER NGA
followed by some other = consonant, that=20 is, the sequence
0F19+0F4D+Consonant. Low level tone "o" has already = been=20 noted.
Level tone "ou" is to be coded as 0F41+0F3F. Other=20 combinations
follow similarly.

The LETTER A, though classified here are a vowel, is actually = a
consonant.=20 Thus it can combine with any of the vowel symbols.

The tone mark AUKA MYI is often written to the left of a = subscript
vowel=20 sign or medial consonant. It should, nevertheless come after
the = vowel or=20 medial in the text stream. It is also used with killed
consonants in = writing=20 closed syllables. In this case, too, the AUKA
MYI should come after = the ATHA=20 in the text stream. For example,
the word /hyun./ (short, high = falling tone)=20 should be represented
as 0F30+0F5F+0F5E+0F02+0F51.

The SYMBOL HNAI is only used in the literary=20 combination
0F73+0F19+0F52+0F03, meaning "the aforementioned."

Burmese does not use any whitespace between words. If word=20 boundary
indications are desired, for example for the use of = automatic=20 line
layout algorithms, U+200B, ZERO WIDTH SPACE, is to be used.

Block Structure: Burmese characters are mapped to their=20 corresponding
ISCII slots whenever possible. Gaps in the block result = mainly=20 from
this mapping. Several ranges of code points are reserved for=20 future
expansion. A notable exception is the pair NYA GALEI and NYA=20 JI.
Historically, NYA GALEI is a simple palatal nasal, while NYA JI = is
a=20 ligature representing a double NYA GALEI. NYA JI, however, has
come = to be=20 regarded as the primary form of the letter in Burmese,
so it is = assigned to=20 the "preferred" ISCII slot for the palatal
nasal (U+0F1E), and NYA = GALEI is=20 placed at U+0F5F.

U+0F00 to U+0F01 Unassigned
U+0F02 to U+0F03 Various = signs
U+0F04=20 Unassigned
U+0F05 to U+0F14 Independent vowels
U+0F15 to U+0F39=20 Consonants
U+0F3A to U+0F3E Unassigned
U+0F3F to U+0F4C Dependent = vowel=20 signs
U+0F4D Virama
U+0F4E to U+0F50 Unassigned
U+0F51 to = U+0F52 Tone=20 marks
U+0F53 to U+0F5F Unassigned, reserved for extensions
U+0F60 = to=20 U+0F63 Additional dependent vowel signs
U+0F64 to U+0F65 = Unassigned
U+0F66=20 to U+0F6F Digits
U+0F70 to U+0F73 Special symbols
U+0F74 to U+0F77 = Unassigned, reserved for additional symbols

Note: The transliteration used here follows D. Haigh Roop, An = Introduction to=20 the Burmese Writing System (1972). Tone indications are left out of the=20 character names.

ISSUE: As with Khmer, if there is a more standard = transliteration,
it=20 should be used.

ISSUE: Old Burmese has a small subscript LETTER A, which is = the
precursor=20 of the tone mark AUKA MYA and appears exactly where modern
Burmese = would use=20 the latter. This can probably be treated as a
font difference. There = is also=20 a superscript form of YA GAU, similar
in use to the Indic repha. This = can=20 probably be accommodated in
the shaping rules. This is not a major = issue as=20 there is plenty of
room to add these characters. Further = investigation is=20 required.

 

DRAFT 03 Nov 1992; rev 92/11/25

DRAFT = BURMESE=20 CHARACTER NAMES

0F00
0F01

@ Various = Signs
0F02=20 BURMESE THEIDHEI TIN
=3D little thing put on
anusvara, = niggahita
0F03=20 BURMESE HYEIGA PAU
=3D dots ahead
visarga
0F04

@ = Independent=20 Vowels
0F05 BURMESE LETTER A
0F06
0F07 BURMESE PALI EHKAYA = I
=3D=20 letter pali I
0F08 BURMESE EHKAYA I
=3D letter I
0F09 BURMESE = EHKAYA=20 U
=3D letter U
x Burmese nya galei -> 0F5B
0F0A
0F0B = BURMESE LETTER=20 VOCALIC R
Sanskrit
0F0C BURMESE LETTER VOCALIC=20 L
Sanskrit
0F0D
0F0E
0F0F BURMESE EHKAYA EI
=3D letter=20 EI
0F10
0F11
0F12
0F13 BURMESE LETTER O
x = sra
0F14

@=20 Consonants
0F15 BURMESE KA JI
=3D great ka
0F16 BURMESE HKA = GWEI
=3D=20 curved hka
0F17 BURMESE GA NGE
=3D small ga
x Burmese digit hyi = ->=20 0F6E
0F18 BURMESE GA JI
=3D great ga
0F19 BURMESE LETTER = NGA
0F1A=20 BURMESE SA LOUN
=3D round sa
0F1B BURMESE HSA LEIN
=3D twisted = hsa
0F1C=20 BURMESE ZA GWE
=3D split za
0F1D BURMESE ZA MYINZWE
=3D bridle = za
x=20 cya
0F1E BURMESE NYA JI
=3D great nya
0F1F BURMESE TA = TALINJEI
=3D=20 bier-hook ta
0F20 BURMESE HTA WUNBE
=3D duck hta
0F21 BURMESE = DA=20 YINGAU
=3D crooked-breasted da
0F22 BURMESE DA YEIHMOU
=3D = water-dipper=20 da
0F23 BURMESE NA JI
=3D great na
0F24 BURMESE TA WUNBU
=3D = pot-bellied=20 ta
0F25 BURMESE HTA HSINDU
=3D elephant-fetter hta
0F26 BURMESE = DA=20 DWEI
=3D twisted da
0F27 BURMESE DA AUHCAI
=3D bottom-indented = da
0F28=20 BURMESE NA NGE
=3D small na
0F29
0F2A BURMESE PA ZAU
=3D = steep-sided=20 pa
0F2B BURMESE HPA OUHTOU
=3D capped hpa
0F2C BURMESE BA = LAHCAI
=3D=20 top-indented ba
0F2D BURMESE BA GOUN
=3D hump-backed ba
0F2E = BURMESE=20 LETTER MA
0F2F BURMESE YA PALE
=3D supine ya
0F30 BURMESE YA = GAU
=3D=20 crooked ya
x Burmese digit hkun ni -> 0F6D
0F31
0F32 BURMESE = LETTER=20 LA
0F33 BURMESE LA JI
=3D great la
0F34
0F35 BURMESE LETTER = WA
x=20 Burmese digit thoun nya -> 0F66
0F36 BURMESE LETTER SANSKRIT=20 SHA
Sanskrit
0F37 BURMESE LETTER SANSKRIT SSA
Sanskrit
0F38 = BURMESE=20 LETTER THA
0F39 BURMESE LETTER=20 HA

0F3A
0F3B
0F3C
0F3D

@ Vowel Signs
0F3E = BURMESE YEI=20 HCA
=3D line drawn down
0F3F BURMESE LOUNJI TIN
=3D big circle = put=20 on
0F40 BURMESE LOUNJI TIN HSAN HKA
=3D big circle put on with a = grain of=20 rice
0F41 BURMESE TAHCAUN NGIN
=3D one stroke drawn out
0F42 = BURMESE=20 HNAHCAUN NGIN
=3D two strokes drawn out
0F43 BURMESE VOWEL SIGN = VOCALIC=20 R
Sanskrit
0F44 BURMESE VOWEL SIGN VOCALIC=20 RR
Sanskrit
0F45
0F46
0F47 BURMESE THAWEI HTOU
=3D thrust = in=20 front
0F48 BURMESE NAU PYI
=3D thrown = backwards
0F49
0F4A
0F4B=20 BURMESE VOWEL SIGN O
0F4C

@ Virama
0F4D BURMESE VIRAMA
x = Burmese=20 atha -> 0F52
0F4E
0F4F
0F50

@ Tone Marks
0F51 = BURMESE AUKA=20 MYI
=3D stopped below
0F52 BURMESE ATHA
=3D killer
=3D hyei = htou, "thrust=20 forward"
x Burmese virama ->=20 0F4D
0F53
0F54
0F55
0F56
0F57
0F58
0F59
0F5A
0= F5B
0F5C
0F5D
0F5E

@=20 Consonants
0F5F BURMESE NYA GALEI
=3D little nya
x Burmese = ehkaya u ->=20 0F09

@ Vowel Signs
0F60 BURMESE LETTER VOCALIC = RR
Sanskrit
0F61=20 BURMESE LETTER VOCALIC LL
Sanskrit
0F62 BURMESE VOWEL SIGN VOCALIC = L
Sanskrit
0F63 BURMESE VOWEL SIGN VOCALIC=20 LL
Sanskrit
0F64
0F65

@ Digits
0F66 BURMESE DIGIT = THOUN=20 NYA
=3D digit zero
x Burmese wa -> 0F35
0F67 BURMESE DIGIT = TI
=3D=20 digit one
0F68 BURMESE DIGIT HNI
=3D digit two
0F69 BURMESE = DIGIT=20 THOUN
=3D digit three
0F6A BURMESE DIGIT LEI
=3D digit = four
x Burmese=20 symbol lagaun -> 0F73
0F6B BURMESE DIGIT NGA
=3D digit = five
0F6C=20 BURMESE DIGIT HCAU
=3D digit six
0F6D BURMESE DIGIT HKUN NI
=3D = digit=20 seven
x Burmese ya gau -> 0F30
0F6E BURMESE DIGIT HYI
=3D = digit=20 eight
x Burmese ga nge -> 0F17
0F6F BURMESE DIGIT KOU
=3D = digit=20 nine

@ Various symbols
0F70 BURMESE SYMBOL YWEI
0F71 = BURMESE SYMBOL=20 EHKAYA I
0F72 BURMESE SYMBOL HNAI
0F73 BURMESE SYMBOL LAGAUN
x = Burmese=20 digit lei ->=20 0F6A
0F74
0F75
0F76
0F77
0F78
0F79
0F7A
0F7B
0= F7C
0F7D
0F7E
0F7F

Khmer Proposal = Description

Khmer U+0F80 -> 0FDF

Cambodian, also = known as=20 Khmer, is the official language of Cambodia.
Mutually intelligible = dialects=20 are also spoken in northeastern
Thailand and the Mekong Delta region = of=20 Vietnam. While not itself
an Indo-European language, much of the=20 administrative, military
and literary vocabulary of Khmer is borrowed = from=20 Sanskrit. With
the advent of Theravada Buddhism at the beginning of = the=20 fifteenth
century, Khmer began to borrow Pali words, and continues to = use
Pali as a major source of neologisms today. There is also=20 much
cross-borrowing between Thai and Khmer, as well as a=20 relatively
recent infusion of French words and a smattering of = Chinese=20 and
Vietnamese loanwords in colloquial speech.

The Khmer = script,=20 called a'saa kmae ("Khmer letters"), as well as
Thai, Lao, Burmese, = Old Mon=20 and others, are all descended from the
Brahmi script of South India. = The=20 exact geographical source, or
possibly sources, has not been = determined, but=20 there is a great
similarity between the earliest inscriptions in the = region=20 and the
Pallawa script of the Coromandel coast of = India.

Structurally,=20 the Khmer script stays very close to its southern
Brahmi origins. = There is a=20 set of 35 consonants, each with an
inherent vowel sound. Additional = signs are=20 placed before, above,
below and after the consonants to indicate = vowels other=20 than the
inherent one. Consonant clusters are represented by=20 conjunct
consonants, where the first consonant of the cluster = maintains=20 its
full form and succeeding consonants are written as = subscripts.

The=20 Khmer language has a much richer set of vowels than the = Indo-Aryan
languages=20 for which the ancestral script was used. By the same
token, there is = a much=20 smaller set of consonant sounds. The Khmer
script is adapted to the = language=20 by adding extra vowel signs and
various diacritic marks, and by using = the=20 choice of consonant as
well as of vowel signs to determine the = particular=20 vowel sound
represented. Thus most vowel signs do not have a single = value=20 but
must be interpreted in the context of the associated = consonant.
This=20 is very similar to the situation in Thai and Lao, where
different = consonant=20 symbols have the same sound but encode different
tones.

There = are two=20 basic styles of script in modern Khmer, each with
two major = variations. They=20 are the a'saa criang ("slanted script")
and the a'saa muul ("round = script").=20 There is no fundamental
structural difference between them, however, = so the=20 "standing"
variant of the slanted script is chosen here as=20 representative.

Representation:

The Khmer script follows = the model=20 of Devanagari and other Indic
scripts. The basic unit is the syllabic = cluster=20 consisting of a
series of consonants separated by WIRIAM (0FC5), = followed by=20 one
or both of the pronounciation shifters MUSEKATOAN (0FCA) and=20 TRUYSAP
(0FCB), followed by an optional vowel, followed by diacritics = and
quality marks. For example, the word /knyom/, "I," is coded as=20 the
string 0F81+0FC5+0F89+0FB5+0FC2.

In cases where there is = already=20 some other superscript in the
cluster, the two pronounciation = shifters are=20 written as the subscript
symbol kbiah kraom, which looks much like = VOWEL SIGN=20 O. This vowel
sign is not to be used for this purpose. It is the=20 responsibility
of the presentation software to select the correct = appearance=20 of
the shifter. For example, /sii/, "to eat," should be coded=20 as
0F9F+0FCB+0FB4, not as 0F9F+0FB7+0FB4.

RAWBAT (0FCC) = historically=20 corresponds to the Devanagari repha,
that is, to an initial /r/. It = has lost=20 this function in Khmer and
instead is considered a simple diacritic = similar=20 to TOANDAKHIAT in
both reading and sorting. There are also many cases = of=20 consonant
clusters with initial /r/ that should be written with a = full=20 RAW
and not a RAWBAT, so a separate character is provided for=20 it.

Khmer writing does not normally separate words with white = space=20 as
European languages do. If it is desirable to represent word=20 boundaries
in the text stream, for example, for use by automatic line = layout
algorithms, U+200B, ZERO WIDTH SPACE, should be = used.

Two=20 relatively rare symbols in modern usage are not included here.
They = are pnek=20 moan, the "cock's eye," and "komout." They are
identical in form and = function=20 to the Thai characters FONGMAN and
KHOMUT, respectively, so the = latter two=20 should be used when these
symbols are needed.

Block=20 Structure:

U+0F80 to U+0FA2 Consonants
U+0FA3 to U+0FB1 = Independent=20 Vowels
U+0FB2 to U+0FC1 Vowel Signs
U+0FC2 to U+0FC4 Quality=20 Marks
U+0FC5 Virama
U+0FC6 to U+0FC7 Unassigned
U+0FC8 to = U+0FCF=20 Diacritics
U+0FD0 to U+0FD9 Digits
U+0FDA to U+0FDE Symbols and=20 Punctuation
U+0FDF Unassigned

ISSUES: The independent vowels = LETTER AO=20 TYPE 2 and LETTER AW TYPE
2 are variant forms of LETTER AO TYPE 1 and = LETTER=20 AW TYPE 1,
respectively. It is not believed that they are in free=20 variation:
LETTER AO TYPE 2 occurs only in the combination "aoy," = while=20 LETTER
AW TYPE 2 is only cited in a few references, but not used. = There
is=20 an opportunity to unify these pairs. Note that LETTER UW and
LETTER = OU are=20 also listed as variants, but they are actually not
in free variation, = so both=20 must be provided.

It may be desirable to add the vowel sign AM = instead of=20 using the
combination AA+NIKAHAT. This would simplify a common = special=20 case
in sorting.

The punctuation marks KHAN and BARIYAOSAN may = be=20 unified with some
other characters, just as Indic dandas have been. A = likely=20 candidate
for the former is Thai PAI YAN NOI. Such a unification, as = well=20 as
that of the "cock's eye" and "cow piss" characters presents=20 an
interesting challenge to the font mechanism of a Unicode=20 rendering
engine: Different glyphs may be required for the same=20 character
when used in conjunction with different scripts. This seems = like
a needless complication for what are otherwise simple,=20 non-combining
characters.

It may be more desirable from a = political=20 standpoint to follow
either the Thai or the ISCII coding schemes. = Sample=20 charts have
been produced showing how this may be done. If this is = indeed=20 the
path taken, those charts should be expanded to include all=20 characters
in this proposal.

The vowel encoding takes an = ISCII-like=20 approach, coding as single
characters vowels that consist of two or = more=20 disjoint glyphs. If
vowel symbols are instead decomposed into their=20 constituent glyphs
and those coded separately, there is then no = advantage to=20 the code
point assignments made here. In such a case, the assignments = should
be made according to the Thai pattern.

The romanization = scheme=20 here is rather ad-hoc. If a more commonly
accepted one exists, the = character=20 names should be changed accordingly.

Draft 03 October = 1992; rev=20 92/11/25

DRAFT KHMER CHARACTER NAMES

@ = Consonants
0F80=20 KHMER LETTER KAA
0F81 KHMER LETTER KHAA
0F82 KHMER LETTER = KAW
0F83=20 KHMER LETTER KHAW
0F84 KHMER LETTER NGAW
0F85 KHMER LETTER = CAA
0F86=20 KHMER LETTER CHAA
0F87 KHMER LETTER CAW
0F88 KHMER LETTER = CHAW
0F89=20 KHMER LETTER NYAW
0F8A KHMER LETTER DAA
0F8B KHMER LETTER = RETROFLEX=20 THAA
0F8C KHMER LETTER DAW
0F8D KHMER LETTER RETROFLEX = THAW
0F8E KHMER=20 LETTER NAA
0F8F KHMER LETTER TAA
0F90 KHMER LETTER THAA
0F91 = KHMER=20 LETTER TAW
0F92 KHMER LETTER THAW
0F93 KHMER LETTER NAW
0F94 = KHMER=20 LETTER BAA
0F95 KHMER LETTER PHAA
0F96 KHMER LETTER PAW
0F97 = KHMER=20 LETTER PHAW
0F98 KHMER LETTER MAW
0F99 KHMER LETTER YAW
0F9A = KHMER=20 LETTER RAW
0F9B KHMER LETTER LAW
0F9C KHMER LETTER WAW
0F9D = KHMER=20 LETTER SHAA
Sanskrit
0F9E KHMER LETTER SSAA
Sanskrit
0F9F = KHMER=20 LETTER SAA
0FA0 KHMER LETTER HAA
0FA1 KHMER LETTER LAA
0FA2 = KHMER=20 LETTER QAA
glottal stop

@ Independent Vowels
0FA3 KHMER = LETTER=20 E
0FA4 KHMER LETTER EY
0FA5 KHMER LETTER O
0FA6 KHMER LETTER = UW
0FA7=20 KHMER LETTER OU
0FA8 KHMER LETTER AE
0FA9 KHMER LETTER AY
0FAA = KHMER=20 LETTER AO TYPE 1
0FAB KHMER LETTER AO TYPE 2
0FAC KHMER LETTER AW = TYPE=20 1
0FAD KHMER LETTER AW TYPE 2
0FAE KHMER LETTER RIK
0FAF KHMER = LETTER=20 RII
0FB0 KHMER LETTER LIK
0FB1 KHMER LETTER LII

@ Vowel=20 Signs
0FB2 KHMER VOWEL SIGN AA
0FB3 KHMER VOWEL SIGN E
0FB4 = KHMER VOWEL=20 SIGN EY
0FB5 KHMER VOWEL SIGN U
0FB6 KHMER VOWEL SIGN UI
0FB7 = KHMER=20 VOWEL SIGN O
x kbiah kraom
0FB8 KHMER VOWEL SIGN OU
0FB9 KHMER = VOWEL=20 SIGN UA
0FBA KHMER VOWEL SIGN AU
0FBB KHMER VOWEL SIGN IE
0FBC = KHMER=20 VOWEL SIGN IU
0FBD KHMER VOWEL SIGN EI
0FBE KHMER VOWEL SIGN = AE
0FBF=20 KHMER VOWEL SIGN AY
0FC0 KHMER VOWEL SIGN AO
0FC1 KHMER VOWEL SIGN = AW

@ Quality Marks
0FC2 KHMER SIGN NIKAHAT
=3D sra = am
=3D=20 damla
0FC3 KHMER SIGN REAHMUK
=3D wihsakea
=3D = wihsancani
0FC4 KHMER=20 SIGN YUKALEAPINTU
=3D coc pi

@ Virama
0FC5 KHMER SIGN=20 WIRIAM
virama
0FC6
0FC7

@ Diacritics
0FC8 KHMER VOWEL = SIGN=20 BANTA
=3D sangkat
=3D reahsannya
0FC9 KHMER VOWEL SIGN SANYOK=20 SANNYA
0FCA KHMER SIGN MUSEKATOAN
=3D tmin kandao
vowel = pronounciation=20 shifter
0FCB KHMER SIGN TRUYSAP
vowel pronounciation = shifter
0FCC KHMER=20 SIGN RAWBAT
=3D rephea
0FCD KHMER SIGN TOANDAKHIAT
=3D = samlap
=3D=20 patdesaet
0FCE KHMER SIGN KAKABAT
=3D caung kaek
0FCF KHMER = SIGN=20 AHSDA
=3D leik prabuy

@ Digits
0FD0 KHMER DIGIT = ZERO
0FD1 KHMER=20 DIGIT ONE
0FD2 KHMER DIGIT TWO
0FD3 KHMER DIGIT THREE
0FD4 = KHMER DIGIT=20 FOUR
0FD5 KHMER DIGIT FIVE
0FD6 KHMER DIGIT SIX
0FD7 KHMER = DIGIT=20 SEVEN
0FD8 KHMER DIGIT EIGHT
0FD9 KHMER DIGIT NINE

@ = Symbols and=20 Punctuation
0FDA KHMER CURRENCY SYMBOL RIAL
0FDB KHMER LEIK = TO
=3D=20 amendit sannya
repetition sign
0FDC KHMER CAMNOC PI KUH
x = (division=20 sign -> 00F7)
x (tibetan comma -> 1038)
colon, = semicolon
0FDD=20 KHMER KHAN
full stop, ellipsis, abbreviation
0FDE KHMER = BARIYAOSAN
end=20 of section
0FDF

Proposal for Ethiopian=20 Encoding

The Ethiopian proposal consists of a = list of=20 questions/issues, a
chart, a character names list, and a block = introduction.=20 The
content is based on UTC/1991-026 On the Extended Ethiopic = Alphabet
of=20 February 26, 1991 and its later adjustments by Lloyd = Anderson,
unioned with=20 features of the Xerox Amharic implementation by Joe
Becker. The = character=20 names are based on those in DP 10646, which
came from WG2/N459 = "Ethiopian=20 character sets" by Michael Mann.

QUESTIONS FOR = REVIEWERS:

1. Is=20 this collection missing any important, well-established
"extension" = letters=20 for writing less-common languages?

2. Are the glyphs in the = charts=20 appropriate?

3. Can you supply documentation to support the = specification=20 of
the following two characters?
121D ETHIOPIAN CONSONANT GG=20 1237
ETHIOPIAN VOWEL PHONETIC AE In particular, does U+1237
occur = (as a=20 vowel, not as a mark of "w" rounding) on any consonant
other than = U+1211?=20 Should the combination of U+1237 with U+1211
simply be encoded as a = distinct=20 consonant (to be added between
current U+1211 and U+1212)?

4. = Are the=20 following characters specified correctly?
1256 ETHIOPIAN = COMMA
modern=20 usage like colon
1257 ETHIOPIAN COLON
modern usage like = semicolon
1259=20 ETHIOPIAN NEW COMMA
modern usage

5. Do syllable glyph variants = ever=20 occur distinctively within the
same text, or are they merely font = design=20 choices like the glyph
variants of Latin "a" or = "g"?

ISSUES:

*=20 In this design, no provision is made for coding the syllable
glyphs; = it is=20 intended that they be excluded from Unicode/10646
BMP. If we learn = that glyph=20 variants may occur distinctively, then
we may need to define some = additional=20 means for specifying glyph
variants within plain text.

* = Should we=20 define an Ethiopian White Space character which can be
easily = guaranteed to=20 have the same (minimum) width as U+1255
ETHIOPIAN WORDSPACE? = Currently=20 opinion is that this is unnecessary.

Ethiopian (U+1200 ->=20 U+125F)

The Ethiopian script, which originally evolved for the=20 archaic
language Ge'ez, is currently used to write several languages=20 of
Eastern Africa, including Amharic, Tigre, and Oromo. The=20 script
continues to be extended for writing languages that have=20 little
tradition of printed typography; new characters to cover=20 such
extensions may added to the standard later as definitive=20 information
about them becomes available.

Encoding Principles. = The=20 visible glyphs of the Ethiopian script
are not the objects shown in = the=20 encoding chart. The elements of
the encoding are the alphabet = underlying the=20 script, thus the
encoding is (roughly) phonetic rather than glyphic. = These=20 alphabetic
letters are expected to be the units of keyboard input and = all=20 text
representation short of rendering.

Rendering. Each = visible glyph=20 of the Ethiopian script represents
a syllable rather than a single = letter.=20 The syllables can all be
treated as simple (consonant + vowel) pairs, = so that=20 each glyph
can be thought of as a ligature of two underlying letters. = Thus
the syllable "MA" would be represented in the encoding as=20 U+1203
ETHIOPIAN CONSONANT M plus U+1233 ETHIOPIAN VOWEL A. The=20 syllable
glyphs themselves are not intended to be incorporated in=20 this
encoding. The individual consonant or vowel codes should not=20 be
isolated (i.e. unpaired) in normal final text, and their = rendering
in=20 such circumstances is an option of the implementation. = One
possibility is to=20 use special symbols for the individual letters,
as is done in the = code charts=20 here.

Chart Symbols Representing Individual Letters. Since the=20 Ethiopian
glyphs are normally syllabic, the script provides no=20 unambiguous
way of representing the underlying individual letters.=20 Therefore
in the code charts and names list, a convention has been=20 adopted
in which consonant letters are represented by their "first"=20 form
surrounded by a dotted circle, and vowel letters are = represented
by a=20 typical glyph fragment attached to a dotted circle. This is
not = intended to=20 imply direct glyphic composition of those forms,
but merely to = signify the=20 underlying letters.

Encoding/Rendering of "First Form" Syllables. = The=20 circled consonants
in the charts U+1200 -> U+1224 are underlying = letters,=20 they should
not be confused with rendered full first form syllable = glyphs.=20 As
with all glyphs in the script, the first form syllables are = encoded
as=20 simple (consonant + vowel) pairs. Thus the glyph "MAE" would
be = represented=20 in the encoding as U+1203 ETHIOPIAN CONSONANT M plus
U+1230 ETHIOPIAN = VOWEL=20 AE. This pair would then be rendered via
a "ligature" MAE whose = appearance=20 would resemble the chart symbol
for U+1203 ETHIOPIAN CONSONANT M = without the=20 circle.

Encoding/Rendering of Lone Consonants ("Sixth Form"=20 Syllables).
The sixth form syllable glyphs are sometimes pronounced = as=20 though
they were lone consonants (i.e. the vowel is dropped in=20 speech),
but this does not change their encoding. As with all glyphs = in=20 the
script, the sixth form syllables are encoded as simple = (consonant
+=20 vowel) pairs. Thus the spoken lone consonant "M" would be
represented = in the=20 encoding as U+1203 ETHIOPIAN CONSONANT M plus
U+1235 ETHIOPIAN VOWEL=20 SCHWA.

Variant Glyph Forms. The script sometimes provides = different=20 glyph
forms to represent the same syllables. It is assumed that=20 these
alternatives do not vary freely, in other words that is=20 appropriate
for a given font to contain only one selected glyph form = for=20 each
syllable. Therefore no mechanism is provided for specifying=20 glyph
variants within a plain text stream of characters. The = situation
is=20 analogous to that of the glyph variants of Latin "a" or = "g".

Letter=20 Names. The Ethiopian script often has multiple letters
corresponding = to the=20 same Latin letter, making it difficult to
assign unique Latin names.=20 Therefore the names list makes use of
certain devices (such as = doubling a=20 Latin letter in the name) merely
to create uniqueness; this has no = relation=20 to the phonetics of the
Ethiopian letters.

Encoding Order and = Sorting.=20 The order of the letters in the encoding
is based on the traditional=20 alphabetical order. This order differs
from the sort order used for = one or=20 another language, if only
because in many languages various pairs or = triplets=20 of letters are
treated as equivalent in the first sorting pass. For = example,=20 an
Amharic dictionary is likely to start out with a section headed=20 by
three letters:

U+1200 ETHIOPIAN CONSONANT H
U+1202 = ETHIOPIAN=20 CONSONANT HH
U+120E ETHIOPIAN CONSONANT X

Thus the encoding = order=20 cannot and does not implement a collation
procedure for any = particular=20 language using this script.

Space Characters. The traditional = word=20 separator is U+1255 ETHIOPIAN
WORDSPACE ( : ), but in modern usage a = plain=20 white wordspace is
becoming common. The ASCII character U+0020 SPACE = is=20 suitable for
the latter usage, although its (minimum) width is not=20 guaranteed
to be the same as that of the traditional=20 wordspace.

Diacritical Marks. The mark U+030E NON-SPACING DOUBLE=20 VERTICAL
LINE ABOVE may occasionally be used to indicate emphasis=20 or
gemination. If this or other diacritical marks are used, = they
follow=20 the vowel letter of the syllable to which they apply.

Encoding = Structure.=20 The Unicode block for the Ethiopian script is
divided into the = following=20 ranges:

U+1200 to U+1224 Consonant phonetic letters
U+1225 to = U+122F=20 Currently unassigned
U+1230 to U+123D Vowel phonetic letters (U+1239 = is an=20 intentional gap)
U+123E to U+123F Currently unassigned
U+1240 to = U+1254=20 Numbers (U+1240 is an intentional gap)
U+1255 to U+125B = Punctuation
U+125C=20 to U+125F Currently unassigned

Draft October 30, 1992; = rev=20 93/01/08

ETHIOPIAN CHARACTER NAMES LIST

@ = Consonant=20 phonetic letters
1200 ETHIOPIAN CONSONANT H
1201 ETHIOPIAN = CONSONANT=20 L
1202 ETHIOPIAN CONSONANT HH
1203 ETHIOPIAN CONSONANT M
1204 = ETHIOPIAN=20 CONSONANT SZ
1205 ETHIOPIAN CONSONANT R
1206 ETHIOPIAN CONSONANT = S
1207=20 ETHIOPIAN CONSONANT SH
1208 ETHIOPIAN CONSONANT Q
1209 ETHIOPIAN = CONSONANT=20 QH
120A ETHIOPIAN CONSONANT B
120B ETHIOPIAN CONSONANT V
120C = ETHIOPIAN=20 CONSONANT T
120D ETHIOPIAN CONSONANT C
120E ETHIOPIAN CONSONANT = X
120F=20 ETHIOPIAN CONSONANT N
1210 ETHIOPIAN CONSONANT NY
1211 ETHIOPIAN = CONSONANT=20 GLOTTAL
1212 ETHIOPIAN CONSONANT K
1213 ETHIOPIAN CONSONANT = XX
1214=20 ETHIOPIAN CONSONANT W
1215 ETHIOPIAN CONSONANT NULL
1216 ETHIOPIAN = CONSONANT Z
1217 ETHIOPIAN CONSONANT ZH
1218 ETHIOPIAN CONSONANT = Y
1219=20 ETHIOPIAN CONSONANT D
121A ETHIOPIAN CONSONANT DD
Oromo
121B = ETHIOPIAN=20 CONSONANT J
121C ETHIOPIAN CONSONANT G
121D ETHIOPIAN CONSONANT=20 GG
Bilen
121E ETHIOPIAN CONSONANT TH
121F ETHIOPIAN CONSONANT=20 CH
1220 ETHIOPIAN CONSONANT PH
1221 ETHIOPIAN CONSONANT TS
1222 = ETHIOPIAN CONSONANT TZ
1223 ETHIOPIAN CONSONANT F
1224 ETHIOPIAN = CONSONANT=20 P
1225
1226
1227
1228
1229
122A
122B
122C
122D=
122E
122F

@=20 Vowel phonetic letters
1230 ETHIOPIAN VOWEL AE
1231 ETHIOPIAN = VOWEL=20 U
1232 ETHIOPIAN VOWEL I
1233 ETHIOPIAN VOWEL A
1234 ETHIOPIAN = VOWEL=20 E
1235 ETHIOPIAN VOWEL SCHWA
1236 ETHIOPIAN VOWEL O
1237 = ETHIOPIAN=20 VOWEL PHONETIC AE
used primarily with U+1211 ETHIOPIAN CONSONANT=20 GLOTTAL
1238 ETHIOPIAN VOWEL WAE
1239
123A ETHIOPIAN VOWEL = WI
123B=20 ETHIOPIAN VOWEL WA
123C ETHIOPIAN VOWEL WE
123D ETHIOPIAN VOWEL=20 W
123E
123F

@ Numbers
1240
1241 ETHIOPIAN NUMBER = ONE
1242=20 ETHIOPIAN NUMBER TWO
1243 ETHIOPIAN NUMBER THREE
1244 ETHIOPIAN = NUMBER=20 FOUR
1245 ETHIOPIAN NUMBER FIVE
1246 ETHIOPIAN NUMBER SIX
1247=20 ETHIOPIAN NUMBER SEVEN
1248 ETHIOPIAN NUMBER EIGHT
1249 ETHIOPIAN = NUMBER=20 NINE
124A ETHIOPIAN NUMBER TEN
124B ETHIOPIAN NUMBER = TWENTY
124C=20 ETHIOPIAN NUMBER THIRTY
124D ETHIOPIAN NUMBER FORTY
124E ETHIOPIAN = NUMBER=20 FIFTY
124F ETHIOPIAN NUMBER SIXTY
1250 ETHIOPIAN NUMBER = SEVENTY
1251=20 ETHIOPIAN NUMBER EIGHTY
1252 ETHIOPIAN NUMBER NINETY
1253 = ETHIOPIAN NUMBER=20 HUNDRED
1254 ETHIOPIAN NUMBER TEN THOUSAND

@ = Punctuation
1255=20 ETHIOPIAN WORDSPACE
1256 ETHIOPIAN COMMA
modern usage like = colon
1257=20 ETHIOPIAN COLON
modern usage like semicolon
1258 ETHIOPIAN = PERIOD
1259=20 ETHIOPIAN NEW COMMA
modern usage
125A ETHIOPIAN QUESTION=20 MARK
archaic
125B ETHIOPIAN PARAGRAPH SEPARATOR
archaic

Copyright

Copyright =A9 1992-1998 Unicode, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The = Unicode=20 Consortium makes no expressed or implied warranty of any kind, and = assumes no=20 liability for errors or omissions. No liability is assumed for = incidental and=20 consequential damages in connection with or arising out of the use of = the=20 information or programs contained or accompanying this technical report. =

Unicode and the Unicode logo are trademarks of Unicode, Inc., and are = registered in some jurisdictions.