Hello all,
The Unicode manual, p. 384
(http://www.unicode.org/versions/Unicode7.0.0/ch09.pdf) states:
"Christian Palestinian Aramaic. Manuscripts of this dialect employ a
script that
is akin to Estrangela. It can be considered a subcategory of
Estrangela."
However, I am working on a CPA font developed for a team who have been
transcribing a CPA palimpsest which has several more joining characters
than are found in Syriac scripts.
Examples: in the palimpsest both waw (ܘ) and hey (ܗ) are double joining
characters, whereas in Serto these letters are only right joining.
1. Is it possible, using OpenType tables in FontLab 5, to produce a font
that renders this behaviour on desktop software? When I script the
tables as standard Syriac features, then these letters do not join in
word processing software (Word, Pages, or Mellel). However, if I script
the tables without using the preset Syriac features, I can get all
letters to join together, but then some mission-critical functions in
word processing software are not available (for example, the
zero-width-joining character does not force a joining ligature—this is
needed to force joining characters next to punctuation marks used for
text-critical purposes). The documentation for FL5 has led me to the
conclusion that this is an insurmountable problem, as the join-behaviour
is fixed by the Unicode standard (in other words, I can't treat a
Unicode character as double joining, unless it is defined as double
joining by the standard). Am I correct in this conclusion?
2. Is there a case to be made here for CPA to be given its own unicode
block?
Kind regards,
Pete Myers
--
Rev Peter D. Myers
PhD Candidate Cambridge University, Hebrew transcription in Greek script
Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, Wolfson College
pd...@cam.ac.uk
07930 22 22 17
revpetemyers.com
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