Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!unix.cis.pitt.edu!djbpitt From: djbpitt@unix.cis.pitt.edu (David J Birnbaum) Newsgroups: comp.std.internat Subject: Re: Character set adequacy and criteria for coverage Message-ID: <123671@unix.cis.pitt.edu> Date: 3 May 91 13:01:56 GMT References: <122779@unix.cis.pitt.edu> <1991May2.114119.2457@dg-rtp.dg.com> Organization: University of Pittsburgh Lines: 24 I wrote: >I also raise an additional technical and historical argument in support >of accommodating difficult (nonlinear) orthographies. In response to which: In article <1991May2.114119.2457@dg-rtp.dg.com> eliot@dg-rtp.dg.com writes: >What exactly does "linear" mean in this context? In some writing systems, such as English, graphemes are written in a linear fashion: each one follows its predecessor in a straight line. In a writing system like Hebrew, on the other hand, some graphemes are written above their predecessors, some below, and some to the left. For English-like writing, a grapheme pretty much corresponds to a horizontal position. For Hebrew-like writing, it doesn't. --David ======================================================================= Professor David J. Birnbaum djbpitt@vms.cis.pitt.edu [Internet] The Royal York Apartments, #802 djbpitt@pittvms.bitnet [Bitnet] 3955 Bigelow Boulevard voice: 1-412-687-4653 Pittsburgh, PA 15123 USA fax: 1-412-624-9714