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User:Amire80/Things to check in Hebrew fonts

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This is a checklist of tips for testing a Hebrew font, especially in regard to diacritics - vowels and cantillation (a.k.a. niqqud, teamim, trop, etc.).

Some points here relate more to the software in which the font is used than to the font itself.

I am not actually sure that it's complete and fully correct. Feel free to correct this page - this is a wiki!

This list uses character names from the Unicode standard, even though i don't like some of them.

General

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  • Check the font in various sizes, including fractions. There can be a major difference between 10.5 and 10.6, for example.
  • Check in several programs:
    • Firefox
    • Windows Internet Explorer
    • Chrome
    • Opera
    • Safari
    • Konqueror
    • Microsoft Office - all components!
    • OpenOffice - all components!
    • LibreOffice - all components! - and yes, it may have different issues from OpenOffice!
    • Notepad
    • Notepad++
    • gedit
    • Kate
    • gvim
  • Check all this programs on all possible operating systems: GNU/Linux, Windows XP, Windows 7, OS X, Android, iOS are all important important; also consider Symbian, Bada and others.
  • How is the cursor moving? The most sensible way is that in a text with vowels it would still move as in a text without them - between letters. In some programs it moves in the middle of the letter with a vowel, which is not so good. And sometimes it the paragraph with vowels becomes completely screwed up.
  • How are letters deleted? Do the backspace and delete keys delete the letter with the vowel, or does it delete characters one by one?
  • Does selection work with Shift-arrow?
  • Does movement work with Ctrl-arrow?
  • Does this font work with various niqqud tools - niqqud toolbars, auto-naqdanim etc.?
  • Some websites for testing:

Style

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  • Italics (slanted letters) aren't used in traditional Hebrew typesetting. In the 20th century the corresponding effect was achieved by using a different font. In modern times it is often used in design and advertising, but then the font is usually custom. In books italics are still rare; slanted Frank Ruehl sometimes appears, but it's not really elegant. If you develop a font, consider making a proper italic version and making a true revolution!

Problems with particular signs

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  • Tsere must be different from Patah.
  • Qamats must be different from Segol.
  • Sheva must be different from Meteg.
  • Meteg must be to the left of the vowel sign by default. It must appear to the right if it the sequence of characters is meteg + CGJ + vowel.
  • The diacritic under Resh and Dalet can appear in the middle of the letter or under the vertical line. (Ezra and SBL Hebrew put it under the vertical line, most other fonts - in the middle.)
  • The bottom of the Ayin may overlap with the vowel sign under it. That's what "Alternative Ayin" (U+FB20) is for, although they don't really have to be different. SBL Hebrew actually implements it and changes the shape of the letter if it has a diacritic, but it's problematic, because it may make the same letter appear differently throughout the text. Most fonts just avoid the overlapping the first place. The bottom may be horizontal and lay on the bottom of the line (as in Courier New), or it may be more diagonal and go slightly below the line (in most fonts). Ex.: with any without a vowel: עַ״ע; with different vowels: עֵז‎, עֶבֶד‎, עַם‎, הֶעֱסִיק.
  • Rafe must be above the letter in the middle, not next to it. Ex.: רָפֶֿה.
  • Puncta extraordinaria - xxx

Holam

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  • Holam haser appears above the upper left corner of the letter. The spacing of the letters is not supposed to be affected by it. (Buggy in many fonts.)
  • If the letter after Holam is Alef, it appears above the Alef's right hand. Ex.: רֹאשׁ. But if the Alef itself has a vowel, the Holam appears above the upper left corner of the previous letter. Ex.: תֹּאַר. (Not implemented in many fonts. Implemented in Ezra.)
  • If the letter after Holam is Vav, it appears above the Vav. Ex.: קֹוף. (Not implemented in many fonts. Implemented in Ezra.)
  • If Holam is written after Vav, it appears above the same Vav. The appearance is the same as if it was written before Vav. Maybe it's not how it was supposed to be, but that's how it is de-facto. Ex.: קוֹף.
  • If Holam after Vav (Ux05BA) is written after Vav, it may be positioned further to the left. Ex.: לִגְוֺע.
  • Holam should appear after Shin with Sin dot. In some books they merge into one dot, but the modern practice usually shows them both. Ex.: שֹׂבַע.
  • Holam should appear before Shin with Shin dot. In some books they merge into one dot, but the modern practice usually shows them both. Ex.: חֹשֶׁךְ.
  • Note the placement of Holam after Lamed. The position of the Holam is essentially the same, but it must be checked not to overlap with the Lamed's head. Ex.: לֹטֶם.

Patah

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  • Furtive Patah is a Patah on He, Het or Ayin at the end of the word. It may be moved to the right, but in my opinion it is not needed. Ex.: תַּפּוּחַ. (That's how it is in SBL Hebrew.)

Dagesh and Mapiq

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  • Dagesh must appear inside the letter, no matter what the order of characters is. בְּ (Bet + Sheva + Dagesh) and בְּ (Bet + Dagesh + Sheva) must have the same appearance. NB.: Some programs force normalization and change the order after saving. (Sometimes broken in Ezra on XP and Linux, works well in Windows 7. Not broken in Arial on XP.)
  • Dagesh appears on the left side of letters which don't a clear notion of "inside": Vav (וּ), Zayin (זּ), Yod (יּ).
  • Dagesh in Yod appears in the middle of letter, not the middle of the line. Ex.: יּ
  • Mapiq in Alef appears in the middle of the letter and at the bottom of the line. Ex.: אּ
  • Dagesh in Final Kaf appears in the middle of the line. It may appear together with Sheva or Qamats.
  • The height of Dagesh should be generally in the middle of the line. The most notable exception is Yod.
  • Must be positioned manually for every letter. Placing it in the center of the letter will just not work.

Final Kaf

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  • Sheva, Qamats and Dagesh may appear in Final Kaf.
  • Dagesh always appears in the middle of the line.
  • In some fonts Sheva and Qamats appear higher if there is no Dagesh, but in the regular height if there is a Dagesh. Ex.: אֵלֶיךָ, וִיחֻנֶּךָּ. (Ezra SIL, SBL Hebrew do it. Koren always puts Qamats and Sheva at the bottom. Frank Ruehl-like fonts in books usually move them to the top. Microsoft's Times New Roman and Frank Ruehl CLM work like Koren. All in all, a matter of taste.)
  • In handwriting the usual placement of Sheva or Qamats is usually to the left of the vertical line, although some people put it on the right. It is so in Rachel Bluwstein's manuscripts.

Yiddish

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  • Test Patah in:
    • Hebrew Ligature Yiddish Double Yod (U+05F2) + Patah: ײַ
    • Yod + ZWJ + Yod + Patah: י‍יַ.
    • Hebrew Ligature Yiddish Yod Yod Patah (U+FB1F): ײַ.
    • In all the above cases the final display is supposed to be identical. The Patah is supposed to be under both letters. In some fonts it is placed higher than a regular Patah - right under the letters. The line may also be longer. The exact placement and length of the line is for the font designer to decide.
    • (This works well in Ezra.)
  • In a proportional font the appearance of characters in the following table אַ and אָ is supposed to be identical in both columns:
Ligature Letter + vowel
אַ אַ
אָ אָ
װ וו
ײ יי
ױ וי
  • In a monospaced font the appearance of װ‎, ײ and ױ may be different from their counterparts, although it will be nice to design it so that they will look identical.
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