[[ NOT UPDATED ]] INTRODUCTION ============ The Ethiopian script has its origin in Ge'ez, the official liturgical language of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. The Ge'ez script is a syllabic form of writing in which each glyph represents the fusion of a consonant and a vowel. It is comprised of 26 consonants, each of which have 7 vowel-fused forms and is most commonly represented as a 26x7 matrix. The Ethiopian script is a superset of the Ge'ez script. It contains many additions to handle various other languages spoken in the region but have no written tradition. The Ethiopian script also contains numerical and punctuation enhancements necessary in modern writing. Please refer to http://www.cs.indiana.edu/hyplan/dmulholl/fidel/HISTORY.txt for a more comprehensive history of the evolution of the Ethiopian script. A NAME FOR THE CHARACTER SET ---------------------------- The adjective ``Ethiopian'' has world-wide racial, cultural, and historical connotations beyond its reference to the currently shifting political and national boundaries that define the country of Ethiopia. In view of this fact, we refer to the writing system that has had a significant amount of indigenous multi-lingual development in this region of the African continent in relation to the history of the region as ``the Ethiopian syllabary.'' REQUIREMENTS FOR AN ETHIOPIAN CHARACTER SET =========================================== In our efforts to develop a robust and coherent standard for the Ethiopian script, we have established a set of governing principles that any standard for the comprehensive Ethiopian character set must meet. These requirements are: 1. The members of the set to define the Ethiopian domain must include those characters in both common and infrequent use by publishers of the present day. 2. Every member of the domain requires a unique address. 3. Characters of a common class be addressed contiguously. 4. The standard must include a mechanism to facilitate future expansion of the domain. Adherence to these principles ensures that the standard is unambiguous, consistent, and complete. PROPOSED ENCODING STANDARD FOR ETHIOPIAN SCRIPT ----------------------------------------------- The table of Appendix A presents all characters in the awareness of the committee that satisfy the first condition. The proposed table meets condition two intrinsically. Characters are classified as either; punctuation, numeral, letter, or other. Members of the punctuation and numeral regions are ordered as per their functionality (described in the following). Letters follow their traditional ordering. Recent extensions to the fidel for the syllabic series of Qe, ve, De, and Ge, follow the characters whos glyphs they are derived from. Consonant classes with 12 forms have their 5 extensions treated as a new, but intimately related consonant series. The base sound of the new consonant class is always the labiovelar formation of the consonant from which it decends (i.e. ``gW'' from ``g'' is treated in the address structure as a new, but related, consonant). All labiovelar forms of the consants are considered qualified members of the syllabic series of the consonant. This treatment of the labiovelar extensions to the fidel implements the system originally devised by Desta Tekle Wold. This defines the contiguous grouping of the table for requirement 3. Twenty-four addresses (3 rows) are reserved at the end of the predefined region for Ethiopian characters not treated in this definition of the domain. This allocation is believed sufficient to meet the fourth and final condition. ENCODING PRINCIPLE ------------------ 1. The Ethiopian Script features Ethiopian punctuation marks, numerals, and the syllabary. We believe that a unique 16 bit representation must be used for each syllable of the Ethiopian script. We have here an attached hard copy of the script with its 16 bit hexadecimal code assignments that we feel is complete. (See Appendix A) 2. The Encoding Order Structure U+1200 TO U+120A Ethiopian Punctuation U+120B TO U+121F Ethiopian Numbers U+1220 TO U+1376 Ethiopian Letters U+1377 TO U+138F Ethiopian Extended Letters 3. Note on ETHIOPIAN SPACE and ETHIOPIAN WORDSPACE The traditional word spearator, U+1201, remains in modern use with white space and has taken on the role of comma in Eritrean use when white space is present. Modern WORDSPACE will be found in modern documents with greater left and right side ``white space buffering'' (x-offset and kerning) than will be found in older documents. Ethiopian space is intended to have, at a minimum, the width of the traditional word separator and at a maximum the width of the widest printed character in the code block (commonly 12E0 or 1348). Specifications for the width of U+1200 is not addressed by the Ethiopian script standard. 4. Note on ETHIOPIAN QUESTION MARK and ETHIOPIAN NON-SPACING GEMINATION MARK U+107 is no longer found in modern use but would be vital to the faithful republication of historic texts. Texts by Dehne and Dawkins provide examples. U+1208, the Ethiopian non-spacing gemination mark is found in modern use by linguists to denote doubling of the consonant component of syllabic members of the Ethiopic writing system. Scholars Marcel Cohen and C.H. Dawkins authored two of the most imporant studies on Amharic. Their works depend on, and provide example of the gemination mark. The noncircular shape of the geminations marks is considered both the identifying and definitive aspects of the marks' function. 5. Note on U+1209 TO U+120A The punctuations in this range are duplicate forms of characters available elsewhere in the Unicode set with only typeface differences. The typeface differences are essential to Ethiopic text and it is believed inevitable that vendors would attempt to provide them in empty address space within the Ethiopic region. It is recommended then, that vendors use the range indicated for this purpose though they are formally defined as empty. 6. Note on Character Name Alternatives Character name alternatives are given for most Ethiopian punctuation in U+1200 to U+120A. Names are given in both Amharic and Tigrigna -the primary languages of Ethiopia and Eritrea for whom the encoding is most important. Reference 7 provides a listing of the character names in Amharic. Tigrigna language names have been provided by native speakers from the EDIN computer network. Name alternatives are given for homophonous Ethiopian letters following the practice in Ethiopia. Names are given in Amharic, Tigrigna alternatives may exist but are not known at the time of this writing (redundant homophonic series have been dropped by some Fidel standards for Tigrigna). When characters were known by more than one common name (``weha-he'' and ``bizuhan-he'' for 12A0 for instance), the name choice used in reference 7 is offered as the reference is likely the one most available to developers. ETHIOPIAN SCRIPT SORTING ORDER ------------------------------ 1. The sorting order follows, with refinement, the ASCII model of Punctuations->Numerals->Letters. a) The punctuation order (excepting quotation and gemination) follows the degree to which the character provides pause to the flow of a sentence when read. b) The numeral order follows the value of the numeral. c) The order of the readable letters is adopted from the Desta ordering of the traditional Ethiopian layout of the syllables. Each consonant with all of its consonant/vowel variations precedes the next consonant. 2. The sorting order, therefore, adheres to the encoding order of the Ethiopian script set. If the need arises to adopt a different sorting order, it can be done at implementation level with out breaching the encoding order. ETHIOPIAN SCRIPT FUTURE EXTENSION --------------------------------- If there is a need to further extend the Ethiopian script in the future, or in case the script is adopted by a new language, diacritical marks should be used to mark the changes instead of creating new elements of the alphabet. When new elements are required they should be appended to the end of the table in the region reserved for unresolved characters. Elements of the Ethiopian table that have not yet been resolved with satisfaction would include characters of minority languages, ligatures, and common glyphs. References 4 and 5 provided examples of characters under current study that will likely be added in a later version of the Unicode Ethiopian Script standard. References Cited ================ 1) Committee for Standardization of Ethiopian Script The Unicode Technical Report #1 Draft Proposal on Ethiopian Script, Houston, TX, August 1993 2) Wold, Desta Tekle yamarNa mezgbe qalat, artistic matemiya bEt (Artistic Printers), Addis Ababa, 1970, p. 10 3) Dehne, Eyersalem Fidel -The Unique Ancient Alphabet of Ethiopia, Ha Hu Productions, Los Angeles, 1978, p. 25 4) Dawkins, C.H. Fundamentals of Amharic, Sudan Interior Mission, Addis Ababa 1960, 1969, p. 6 5) Cohen, Marcel Traite de langue Amharique, Université De Paris, Institut D'ethnolgie, Paris, 1936, pp. 22, 23, 24, Tableau II 6) Leslau, Wolf Ethiopians Speak; Studies In Cultural Background. Vol 2, University of California Press, Berkeley, 1965 7) Appleyard, David Colloquial Amharic, Routledge, New York, New York, 1995 APPENDIX A ========== ETHIOPIAN CHARACTER NAMES LIST ------------------------------ @ Format ADDRESS UNICODE NAME = Amharic Alias / Tigrigna Alias @ Punctuation 1200 ETHIOPIAN SPACE 1201 ETHIOPIAN WORDSPACE = hulet neteb / kelete netbi x (colon -> 003A) x (hebrew punctuation sof pasuq ->05C3) x (armenian period -> 0589) x (ratio -> 2236) 1202 ETHIOPIAN NEW COMMA = netela serez / netsela serez 1203 ETHIOPIAN SEMICOLON = dereb serez / dereb serez 1204 ETHIOPIAN COLON = neteb serez / netbe serez 1205 ETHIOPIAN PERIOD = arat neteb / arbaeta netbi x (proportion -> 2237) 1206 ETHIOPIAN QUESTION MARK (archaic) = sost neteb / selesta netbi x (vertical ellipsis -> 22EE) 1207 ETHIOPIAN PARAGRAPH SEPARATOR (archaic) = sebat neteb / shewata netbi 1208 ETHIOPIAN NON-SPACING GEMINATION MARK x (spacing diaeresis -> 00A8) x (non-spacing diaeresis -> 0308) 1209 ETHIOPIAN LEFT QUOTE = gra timret teqes = iso left-pointing quotation mark x (much less than -> 226A) x (opening double angle bracket -> 300A) 120A ETHIOPIAN RIGHT QUOTE = qagn timret teqes = iso right-pointing quotation mark x (much greater than -> 226B) x (closing double angle bracket -> 330B) 120B ETHIOPIAN STYLIZED QUESTION MARK = teyaqay melket / nay heto melket = question mark @ Numbers 120C ETHIOPIAN DIGIT ONE 120D ETHIOPIAN DIGIT TWO 120E ETHIOPIAN DIGIT THREE 120F ETHIOPIAN DIGIT FOUR 1210 ETHIOPIAN DIGIT FIVE 1211 ETHIOPIAN DIGIT SIX 1212 ETHIOPIAN DIGIT SEVEN 1213 ETHIOPIAN DIGIT EIGHT 1214 ETHIOPIAN DIGIT NINE 1215 ETHIOPIAN NUMBER TEN 1216 ETHIOPIAN NUMBER TWENTY 1217 ETHIOPIAN NUMBER THIRTY 1218 ETHIOPIAN NUMBER FORTY 1219 ETHIOPIAN NUMBER FIFTY 121A ETHIOPIAN NUMBER SIXTY 121B ETHIOPIAN NUMBER SEVENTY 121C ETHIOPIAN NUMBER EIGHTY 121D ETHIOPIAN NUMBER NINETY 121E ETHIOPIAN NUMBER HUNDRED 121F ETHIOPIAN NUMBER TEN THOUSAND @ Letters Ethiopian halleta-he series 1220 ETHIOPIAN LETTER HAE 1221 ETHIOPIAN LETTER HU 1222 ETHIOPIAN LETTER HI 1223 ETHIOPIAN LETTER HA 1224 ETHIOPIAN LETTER HE 1225 ETHIOPIAN LETTER H 1226 ETHIOPIAN LETTER HO 1227 1228 ETHIOPIAN LETTER LAE 1229 ETHIOPIAN LETTER LU 122A ETHIOPIAN LETTER LI 122B ETHIOPIAN LETTER LA 122C ETHIOPIAN LETTER LE 122D ETHIOPIAN LETTER L 122E ETHIOPIAN LETTER LO 122F ETHIOPIAN LETTER LWA Ethiopian hamer-he series 1230 ETHIOPIAN LETTER HHAE 1231 ETHIOPIAN LETTER HHU 1232 ETHIOPIAN LETTER HHI 1233 ETHIOPIAN LETTER HHA 1234 ETHIOPIAN LETTER HHE 1235 ETHIOPIAN LETTER HH 1236 ETHIOPIAN LETTER HHO 1237 1238 ETHIOPIAN LETTER MAE 1239 ETHIOPIAN LETTER MU 123A ETHIOPIAN LETTER MI 123B ETHIOPIAN LETTER MA 123C ETHIOPIAN LETTER ME 123D ETHIOPIAN LETTER M 123E ETHIOPIAN LETTER MO 123F ETHIOPIAN LETTER MWA Ethiopian negus-se series 1240 ETHIOPIAN LETTER SZAE 1241 ETHIOPIAN LETTER SZU 1242 ETHIOPIAN LETTER SZI 1243 ETHIOPIAN LETTER SZA 1244 ETHIOPIAN LETTER SZE 1245 ETHIOPIAN LETTER SZ 1246 ETHIOPIAN LETTER SZO 1247 1248 ETHIOPIAN LETTER RAE 1249 ETHIOPIAN LETTER RU 124A ETHIOPIAN LETTER RI 124B ETHIOPIAN LETTER RA 124C ETHIOPIAN LETTER RE 124D ETHIOPIAN LETTER R 124E ETHIOPIAN LETTER RO 124F Ethiopian isat-se series 1250 ETHIOPIAN LETTER SAE 1251 ETHIOPIAN LETTER SU 1252 ETHIOPIAN LETTER SI 1253 ETHIOPIAN LETTER SA 1254 ETHIOPIAN LETTER SE 1255 ETHIOPIAN LETTER S 1256 ETHIOPIAN LETTER SO 1257 ETHIOPIAN LETTER SWA 1258 ETHIOPIAN LETTER SHAE 1259 ETHIOPIAN LETTER SHU 125A ETHIOPIAN LETTER SHI 125B ETHIOPIAN LETTER SHA 125C ETHIOPIAN LETTER SHE 125D ETHIOPIAN LETTER SH 125E ETHIOPIAN LETTER SHO 125F ETHIOPIAN LETTER SHWA 1260 ETHIOPIAN LETTER QAE 1261 ETHIOPIAN LETTER QU 1262 ETHIOPIAN LETTER QI 1263 ETHIOPIAN LETTER QA 1264 ETHIOPIAN LETTER QE 1265 ETHIOPIAN LETTER Q 1266 ETHIOPIAN LETTER QO 1267 1268 ETHIOPIAN LETTER QWAE 1269 ETHIOPIAN LETTER QWU 126A ETHIOPIAN LETTER QWI 126B ETHIOPIAN LETTER QWA 126C ETHIOPIAN LETTER QWE 126D 126E 126F Tigrigna / Chaha QHAE series 1270 ETHIOPIAN LETTER QHAE 1271 ETHIOPIAN LETTER QHU 1272 ETHIOPIAN LETTER QHI 1273 ETHIOPIAN LETTER QHA 1274 ETHIOPIAN LETTER QHE 1275 ETHIOPIAN LETTER QH 1276 ETHIOPIAN LETTER QHO 1277 1278 ETHIOPIAN LETTER QHWAE 1279 ETHIOPIAN LETTER QHWU 127A ETHIOPIAN LETTER QHWI 127B ETHIOPIAN LETTER QHWA 127C ETHIOPIAN LETTER QHWE 127D 127E 127F 1280 ETHIOPIAN LETTER BAE 1281 ETHIOPIAN LETTER BU 1282 ETHIOPIAN LETTER BI 1283 ETHIOPIAN LETTER BA 1284 ETHIOPIAN LETTER BE 1285 ETHIOPIAN LETTER B 1286 ETHIOPIAN LETTER BO 1287 ETHIOPIAN LETTER BWA Ethiopian VAE series for foreign words 1288 ETHIOPIAN LETTER VAE 1289 ETHIOPIAN LETTER VU 128A ETHIOPIAN LETTER VI 128B ETHIOPIAN LETTER VA 128C ETHIOPIAN LETTER VE 128D ETHIOPIAN LETTER V 128E ETHIOPIAN LETTER VO 128F ETHIOPIAN LETTER VWA 1290 ETHIOPIAN LETTER TAE 1291 ETHIOPIAN LETTER TU 1292 ETHIOPIAN LETTER TI 1293 ETHIOPIAN LETTER TA 1294 ETHIOPIAN LETTER TE 1295 ETHIOPIAN LETTER T 1296 ETHIOPIAN LETTER TO 1297 ETHIOPIAN LETTER TWA 1298 ETHIOPIAN LETTER CAE 1299 ETHIOPIAN LETTER CU 129A ETHIOPIAN LETTER CI 129B ETHIOPIAN LETTER CA 129C ETHIOPIAN LETTER CE 129D ETHIOPIAN LETTER C 129E ETHIOPIAN LETTER CO 129F ETHIOPIAN LETTER CWA Ethiopian bizuhan-he series 12A0 ETHIOPIAN LETTER HXAE 12A1 ETHIOPIAN LETTER HXU 12A2 ETHIOPIAN LETTER HXI 12A3 ETHIOPIAN LETTER HXA 12A4 ETHIOPIAN LETTER HXE 12A5 ETHIOPIAN LETTER HX 12A6 ETHIOPIAN LETTER HXO 12A7 12A8 ETHIOPIAN LETTER HXWAE 12A9 ETHIOPIAN LETTER HXWU 12AA ETHIOPIAN LETTER HXWI 12AB ETHIOPIAN LETTER HXWA 12AC ETHIOPIAN LETTER HXWE 12AD 12AE 12AF 12B0 ETHIOPIAN LETTER NAE 12B1 ETHIOPIAN LETTER NU 12B2 ETHIOPIAN LETTER NI 12B3 ETHIOPIAN LETTER NA 12B4 ETHIOPIAN LETTER NE 12B5 ETHIOPIAN LETTER N 12B6 ETHIOPIAN LETTER NO 12B7 ETHIOPIAN LETTER NWA 12B8 ETHIOPIAN LETTER NYAE 12B9 ETHIOPIAN LETTER NYU 12BA ETHIOPIAN LETTER NYI 12BB ETHIOPIAN LETTER NYA 12BC ETHIOPIAN LETTER NYE 12BD ETHIOPIAN LETTER NY 12BE ETHIOPIAN LETTER NYO 12BF ETHIOPIAN LETTER NYWA Ethiopian alef-a series 12C0 ETHIOPIAN LETTER AE 12C1 ETHIOPIAN LETTER U 12C2 ETHIOPIAN LETTER I 12C3 ETHIOPIAN LETTER A 12C4 ETHIOPIAN LETTER EE 12C5 ETHIOPIAN LETTER E 12C6 ETHIOPIAN LETTER O 12C7 ETHIOPIAN LETTER EA 12C8 ETHIOPIAN LETTER KAE 12C9 ETHIOPIAN LETTER KU 12CA ETHIOPIAN LETTER KI 12CB ETHIOPIAN LETTER KA 12CC ETHIOPIAN LETTER KE 12CD ETHIOPIAN LETTER K 12CE ETHIOPIAN LETTER KO 12CF 12D0 ETHIOPIAN LETTER KWAE 12D1 ETHIOPIAN LETTER KWU 12D2 ETHIOPIAN LETTER KWI 12D3 ETHIOPIAN LETTER KWA 12D4 ETHIOPIAN LETTER KWE 12D5 12D6 12D7 12D8 ETHIOPIAN LETTER KXAE 12D9 ETHIOPIAN LETTER KXU 12DA ETHIOPIAN LETTER KXI 12DB ETHIOPIAN LETTER KXA 12DC ETHIOPIAN LETTER KXE 12DD ETHIOPIAN LETTER KX 12DE ETHIOPIAN LETTER KXO 12DF 12E0 ETHIOPIAN LETTER KXWAE 12E1 ETHIOPIAN LETTER KXWU 12E2 ETHIOPIAN LETTER KXWI 12E3 ETHIOPIAN LETTER KXWA 12E4 ETHIOPIAN LETTER KXWE 12E5 12E6 12E7 12E8 ETHIOPIAN LETTER WAE 12E9 ETHIOPIAN LETTER WU 12EA ETHIOPIAN LETTER WI 12EB ETHIOPIAN LETTER WA 12EC ETHIOPIAN LETTER WE 12ED ETHIOPIAN LETTER W 12EE ETHIOPIAN LETTER WO 12EF Ethiopian ayan-a series 12F0 ETHIOPIAN LETTER OAE 12F1 ETHIOPIAN LETTER OU 12F2 ETHIOPIAN LETTER OI 12F3 ETHIOPIAN LETTER OA 12F4 ETHIOPIAN LETTER OEE 12F5 ETHIOPIAN LETTER OE 12F6 ETHIOPIAN LETTER OO 12F7 12F8 ETHIOPIAN LETTER ZAE 12F9 ETHIOPIAN LETTER ZU 12FA ETHIOPIAN LETTER ZI 12FB ETHIOPIAN LETTER ZA 12FC ETHIOPIAN LETTER ZE 12FD ETHIOPIAN LETTER Z 12FE ETHIOPIAN LETTER ZO 12FF ETHIOPIAN LETTER ZWA note: an alternate glyph exists for Ethiopian series ZHAE 1300 ETHIOPIAN LETTER ZHAE 1301 ETHIOPIAN LETTER ZHU 1302 ETHIOPIAN LETTER ZHI 1303 ETHIOPIAN LETTER ZHA 1304 ETHIOPIAN LETTER ZHE 1305 ETHIOPIAN LETTER ZH 1306 ETHIOPIAN LETTER ZHO 1307 ETHIOPIAN LETTER ZHWA 1308 ETHIOPIAN LETTER YAE 1309 ETHIOPIAN LETTER YU 130A ETHIOPIAN LETTER YI 130B ETHIOPIAN LETTER YA 130C ETHIOPIAN LETTER YE 130D ETHIOPIAN LETTER Y 130E ETHIOPIAN LETTER YO 130F 1310 ETHIOPIAN LETTER DAE 1311 ETHIOPIAN LETTER DU 1312 ETHIOPIAN LETTER DI 1313 ETHIOPIAN LETTER DA 1314 ETHIOPIAN LETTER DE 1315 ETHIOPIAN LETTER D 1316 ETHIOPIAN LETTER DO 1317 ETHIOPIAN LETTER DWA Oromiffa DHAE series, note: an alternate glyph exists for DHAE 1318 ETHIOPIAN LETTER DHAE 1319 ETHIOPIAN LETTER DHU 131A ETHIOPIAN LETTER DHI 131B ETHIOPIAN LETTER DHA 131C ETHIOPIAN LETTER DHE 131D ETHIOPIAN LETTER DH 131E ETHIOPIAN LETTER DHO 131F 1320 ETHIOPIAN LETTER JAE 132L ETHIOPIAN LETTER JU 1322 ETHIOPIAN LETTER JI 1323 ETHIOPIAN LETTER JA 1324 ETHIOPIAN LETTER JE 1325 ETHIOPIAN LETTER J 1326 ETHIOPIAN LETTER JO 1327 1328 ETHIOPIAN LETTER GAE 1329 ETHIOPIAN LETTER GU 132A ETHIOPIAN LETTER GI 132B ETHIOPIAN LETTER GA 132C ETHIOPIAN LETTER GE 132D ETHIOPIAN LETTER G 132E ETHIOPIAN LETTER GO 132F ETHIOPIAN LETTER GWA 1330 ETHIOPIAN LETTER GWAE 1331 ETHIOPIAN LETTER GWU 1332 ETHIOPIAN LETTER GWI 1333 ETHIOPIAN LETTER GWA 1334 ETHIOPIAN LETTER GWE 1335 1336 1337 Bilen / Chaha GHAE series 1338 ETHIOPIAN LETTER GHAE 1339 ETHIOPIAN LETTER GHU 133A ETHIOPIAN LETTER GHI 133B ETHIOPIAN LETTER GHA 133C ETHIOPIAN LETTER GHE 133D ETHIOPIAN LETTER GH 133E ETHIOPIAN LETTER GHO 133F 1340 ETHIOPIAN LETTER THAE 1341 ETHIOPIAN LETTER THU 1342 ETHIOPIAN LETTER THI 1343 ETHIOPIAN LETTER THA 1344 ETHIOPIAN LETTER THE 1345 ETHIOPIAN LETTER TH 1346 ETHIOPIAN LETTER THO 1347 ETHIOPIAN LETTER THWA 1348 ETHIOPIAN LETTER CHAE 1349 ETHIOPIAN LETTER CHU 134A ETHIOPIAN LETTER CHI 134B ETHIOPIAN LETTER CHA 134C ETHIOPIAN LETTER CHE 134D ETHIOPIAN LETTER CH 134E ETHIOPIAN LETTER CHO 134F ETHIOPIAN LETTER CHWA 1350 ETHIOPIAN LETTER PHAE 1351 ETHIOPIAN LETTER PHU 1352 ETHIOPIAN LETTER PHI 1353 ETHIOPIAN LETTER PHA 1354 ETHIOPIAN LETTER PHE 1355 ETHIOPIAN LETTER PH 1356 ETHIOPIAN LETTER PHO 1357 Ethiopian tselot-tse series 1358 ETHIOPIAN LETTER TSAE 1359 ETHIOPIAN LETTER TSU 135A ETHIOPIAN LETTER TSI 135B ETHIOPIAN LETTER TSA 135C ETHIOPIAN LETTER TSE 135D ETHIOPIAN LETTER TS 135E ETHIOPIAN LETTER TSO 135F ETHIOPIAN LETTER TSWA 135F Ethiopian sehay-tse series 1360 ETHIOPIAN LETTER TZAE 1361 ETHIOPIAN LETTER TZU 1362 ETHIOPIAN LETTER TZI 1363 ETHIOPIAN LETTER TZA 1364 ETHIOPIAN LETTER TZE 1365 ETHIOPIAN LETTER TZ 1366 ETHIOPIAN LETTER TZO 1367 1368 ETHIOPIAN LETTER FAE 1369 ETHIOPIAN LETTER FU 136A ETHIOPIAN LETTER FI 136B ETHIOPIAN LETTER FA 136C ETHIOPIAN LETTER FE 136D ETHIOPIAN LETTER F 136E ETHIOPIAN LETTER FO 136F ETHIOPIAN LETTER FWA 1370 ETHIOPIAN LETTER PAE 1371 ETHIOPIAN LETTER PU 1372 ETHIOPIAN LETTER PI 1373 ETHIOPIAN LETTER PA 1374 ETHIOPIAN LETTER PE 1375 ETHIOPIAN LETTER P 1376 ETHIOPIAN LETTER PO 1377 @ Unassigned 1378 1379 137A 137B 137C 137D 137E 137F 1380 1381 1382 1383 1384 1385 1386 1387 1388 1389 138A 138B 138C 138D 138E 138F SERA Matrix Layout of Encoding Proposed Unicode Desta Based Table v0.3 \_ , ; : . \? \* '' \< \> ? \1 \2 \3 \4 \5 \6 \7 \8 \9 \10 \20 \30 \40 \50 \60 \70 \80 \90 \100 \10000 he hu hi ha hE h ho - le lu li la lE l lo lWa He Hu Hi Ha HE H Ho - me mu mi ma mE m mo mWa `se `su `si `sa `sE `s `so - re ru ri ra rE r ro rWa se su si sa sE s so sWa xe xu xi xa xE x xo xWa qe qu qi qa qE q qo - qWe qWu qWi qWa qWE - - - Qe Qu Qi Qa QE Q Qo - QWe QWu QWi QWa QWE - - - be bu bi ba bE b bo bWa ve vu vi va vE v vo vWa te tu ti ta tE t to tWa ce cu ci ca cE c co cWa `he `hu `hi `ha `hE `h `ho - hWe hWu hWi hWa hWE - - - ne nu ni na nE n no nWa Ne Nu Ni Na NE N No NWa e/a u i A E I o e3 ke ku ki ka kE k ko - kWe kWu kWi kWa kWE - - - Ke Ku Ki Ka KE K Ko - KWe KWu KWi KWa KWE - - - we wu wi wa wE w wo - `e `u `i `a `E `I `o - ze zu zi za zE z zo zWa Ze Zu Zi Za ZE Z Zo ZWa ye yu yi ya yE y yo - de du di da dE d do dWa De Du Di Da DE D Do - je ju ji ja jE j jo - ge gu gi ga gE g go - gWe gWu gWi gWa gWE - - - Ge Gu Gi Ga GE G Go - Te Tu Ti Ta TE T To TWa Ce Cu Ci Ca CE C Co CWa Pe Pu Pi Pa PE P Po - Se Su Si Sa SE S So SWa `Se `Su `Si `Sa `SE `S `So - fe fu fi fa fE f fo fWa pe pu pi pa pE p po - APPENDIX B ========== RENDERING ETHIOPIAN SCRIPT AT KEY ENTRY LEVEL --------------------------------------------- 1. Each character in the Ethiopian Script cannot be represented on a Latin keyboard since the number of characters exceeds that of the keys aviable from the keyboard. Thus, an input method is required to map the Latin key(s) entered onto a corresponding Ethiopian character. At entry level all of the syllables, except the Sixth Order (Sadiss-bate) syllables, are treated as "Sixth Order+Ethiopian Vowel" pairs and each pair is mapped to the appropriately coded character. (The Sixth Order consonant letters do not require a vowel key and can be treated as they are.) Such treatment may also be applied to serve transliteration purposes. 2. The Sixth Order (Sadiss-bate) letters are shown in the key mapping table following the table below. The set of Orders and and their recommended compose sequences (see also Appendix A) are as shown: English Name Traditional Name Compose Sequence Column in Ethiopian Table First Order Ge'ez-bate +e 1 Second Order Ka'b-bate +u 2 Third Order Salise-bate +i 3 Fourth Order Rab'-bate +a 4 Fifth Order Hamiss-bate +E 5 Sixth Order Sadiss-bate (default) 6 Seventh Order Sab'-bate +o 7 Labiovelar Extended Forms Eighth Order Ge'ez-Dikala-bate +We 1 Ninth Order Ka'b-Dikala-bate +Wu / +W 2 Tenth Order Salise-Dikala-bate +Wi 3 Eleventh Order Rab'-Dikala-bate +Wa 4 [or 8th*] Twelth Order Hamiss-Dikala-bate +WE 5 * for consonant series with only 8 forms. ETHIOPIAN SCRIPT KEYBOARD LAYOUT -------------------------------- The Ethiopian keyboard layout features the Sixth Order (Sadiss-bate) characters, Ethiopian punctuation marks, Latin punctuation marks, and Latin numbers. A one-to-one mapping to the Latin keyboard layout is applied and leaves none of the Sixth Order letters unassigned. Ethiopian numbers are treated independently of Latin numbers, but mapped to Latin numbers as needed. The pipe, ``|'', in the table indicates the mapping is made to the corresponding Latin uppercase character. KEYBOARD LAYOUT (Ethiopian script keyboard layout with respect to Latin-1) HEX NAME ETHIOPIAN KEYBOARD LAYOUT 0020 SPACE = 1200 ETHIOPIAN SPACE | 1201 ETHIOPIAN WORDSPACE 0021 EXCLAMATION MARK <= 0022 QUOTATION MARK <= 0023 NUMBER SIGN <= 0024 DOLLAR SIGN <= 0025 PERCENT SIGN <= 0026 AMPERSAND <= 0027 APOSTROPHE <= 0028 LEFT PARENTHESIS <= 0029 RIGHT PARENTHESIS <= 002A ASTERISK <= 002B PLUS SIGN <= 002C COMMA = 1202 ETHIOPIAN COMMA 002D HYPHEN-MINUS <= 002E PERIOD = 1205 ETHIOPIAN PERIOD 002F SOLIDUS <= 0030 DIGIT ZERO <= 0031 DIGIT ONE = 120B ETHIOPIAN DIGIT ONE 0032 DIGIT TWO = 120C ETHIOPIAN DIGIT TWO 0033 DIGIT THREE = 120D ETHIOPIAN DIGIT THREE 0034 DIGIT FOUR = 120E ETHIOPIAN DIGIT FOUR 0035 DIGIT FIVE = 120F ETHIOPIAN DIGIT FIVE 0036 DIGIT SIX = 1210 ETHIOPIAN DIGIT SIX 005C REVERSE SOLIDUS <= 005D RIGHT SQUARE BRACKET <= 005E CIRCUMFLEX ACCENT <= 005F LOW LINE <= 0060 GRAVE ACCENT <= 0061 LATIN SMALL LETTER A = 12C0 ETHIOPIAN AE | ETHIOPIAN A 0062 LATIN SMALL LETTER B = 1285 ETHIOPIAN B | 1285 ETHIOPIAN B 0063 LATIN SMALL LETTER C = 129D ETHIOPIAN C | 134D ETHIOPIAN C 0064 LATIN SMALL LETTER D = 1315 ETHIOPIAN D | 131D ETHIOPIAN D 0065 LATIN SMALL LETTER E = 12C0 ETHIOPIAN AE | 12C4 ETHIOPIAN EE 0066 LATIN SMALL LETTER F = 136D ETHIOPIAN F | 136D ETHIOPIAN F 0067 LATIN SMALL LETTER G = 132D ETHIOPIAN G | 133D ETHIOPIAN GH 0068 LATIN SMALL LETTER H = 1225 ETHIOPIAN H | 1235 ETHIOPIAN HH 0069 LATIN SMALL LETTER I = 12C2 ETHIOPIAN I | 12C5 ETHIOPIAN E 006A LATIN SMALL LETTER J = 1325 ETHIOPIAN J | 1325 ETHIOPIAN J 006B LATIN SMALL LETTER K = 12CD ETHIOPIAN K | 12DD ETHIOPIAN KX 006C LATIN SMALL LETTER L = 122D ETHIOPIAN L | 122D ETHIOPIAN L 006D LATIN SMALL LETTER M = 123D ETHIOPIAN M | 123D ETHIOPIAN M 006E LATIN SMALL LETTER N = 12B5 ETHIOPIAN N | 12BD ETHIOPIAN NY 006F LATIN SMALL LETTER O = 12C6 ETHIOPIAN O | 12C6 ETHIOPIAN O 0070 LATIN SMALL LETTER P = 1375 ETHIOPIAN P | 1355 ETHIOPIAN PH 0071 LATIN SMALL LETTER Q = 1265 ETHIOPIAN Q | 1275 ETHIOPIAN QH 0072 LATIN SMALL LETTER R = 124D ETHIOPIAN R | 124D ETHIOPIAN R 0073 LATIN SMALL LETTER S = 1255 ETHIOPIAN S | 135D ETHIOPIAN TS 0074 LATIN SMALL LETTER T = 1295 ETHIOPIAN T | 1345 ETHIOPIAN TH 0075 LATIN SMALL LETTER U = 121C ETHIOPIAN U | 121C ETHIOPIAN U 0076 LATIN SMALL LETTER V = 128D ETHIOPIAN V | 128D ETHIOPIAN V 0077 LATIN SMALL LETTER W = 12ED ETHIOPIAN W 0078 LATIN SMALL LETTER X = 125D ETHIOPIAN SH | 125D ETHIOPIAN SH 0079 LATIN SMALL LETTER Y = 130D ETHIOPIAN Y | 130D ETHIOPIAN Y 007A LATIN SMALL LETTER Z = 12FD ETHIOPIAN Z | 1205 ETHIOPIAN ZH 007B LEFT CURLY BRACKET <= 007C VERTICAL LINE <= 007D RIGHT CURLY BRACKET <= 007E TILDE <=