Malayalam/Dot-Reph
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[edit] Dot-Reph atomic encoding proposal
This was rejected by UTC on June 2007.
[edit] Current Status
Unicode 5.0 says the Dot-Reph is <RA, VIRAMA, C>. This encoding produces following unacceptable results:
- The word
is rendered in a modern font as 
.
- The word
is rendered in a modern font as 
.
Instead of the current encoding, author proposes to encode Dot-Reph atomically to meet following objectives:
- A correct text written using traditional orthography font should get displayed in a modern orthography font (and vice verse) without spelling mistakes or unreadable rendering.
- Traditional writer should have the flexibility to mix Dot-Reph and Chillu-RA/RRA in the text without switching the font.
[edit] Arguments
[edit] Dot-Reph is not same as Chillu-RA/RRA or <RA, VIRAMA>
Dot-reph is not used in modern script. This does not mean that it has been replaced by Chillu-RA/RRA or <RA, VIRAMA>. Instead, modern script devised a different method (transcribe) to write words which had Dot-Reph in them.
Both of the following examples provide the evidence that, equivalences or fall-backs between Dot-Reph and Chillu-RA/RRA or <RA, VIRAMA> are not reliable.
[edit] Example 1
A traditional writer using old orthography font, writes /kaaryam/ (meaning: matter, subject) as: 
. All following potential fallbacks for a modern orthography font are incorrect:
That is, the word should be rendered as in any type of font.
In this case, the transcribing of <RA, YA, YA> from old orthography to new is made as <RA, YA> to get കാര്യം.
[edit] Example 2
Suppose Dot-Reph is made equivalent to Chillu-RA/RRA and a young writer using modern font writes /paarvathi/ as 
. A person using traditional (old orthography) font would see the incorrect rendering as 
while he expects 
.
In this case, the transcribing of <RA, VA, VA> from old orthography to new is made as <Chillu-RA/RRA, VA>.
[edit] Proposed Solution
[edit] Encode Dot-Reph atomically
As of now, there is no reliable mapping between Dot-Reph and Chillu-RA/RRA or RA_dead. Transcribing is the only option between traditional and modern texts. So the words with Dot-Reph should be displayed as it is, irrespective of the nature of font. That is guaranteed only by encoding Dot-Reph.
This will give complete control for the writer to choose the style he want. This paradigm is similar to the decision to independently encode Chillu-RA/RRA.
[edit] Problems
Need to separate Dot-Reph from its base character RA and Chillu-RA/RRA.
[edit] Alternate Solution
[edit] Mandate Dot-Reph implementation in a font
Unicode can mandate a Dot-Reph implementation in a Malayalam font. Thus following produce Dot-Reph in any Malayalam font.
- <ര, VIRAMA, യ, VIRAMA, യ>
- <ര, VIRAMA, വ, VIRAMA, വ>
- <ര, VIRAMA, ദ, VIRAMA, ദ>
- ...
This would not conflict with Chillu-RA/RRA since it is being atomically encoded.
However, this could require joiners to encode <RA, VIRAMA, VA> and <RA, VIRAMA, YA> cases. Example for such manifestation is here in this scan:
