About this document

This document provides information about the N'Ko script as used for a koiné register of Manding called Kángbɛ.

This document should contain no reference to a particular technology. For example, it should not say "CSS does/doesn't do such and such", and it should not describe how a technology, such as CSS, should implement the requirements. It is technology agnostic, so that it will be evergreen, and it simply describes how the script works. The gap analysis document is the appropriate place for all kinds of technology-specific information.

Gap analysis

This document is pointed to by a separate document, N'Ko Gap Analysis, which describes gaps in support for N'Ko on the Web, and prioritises and describes the impact of those gaps on the user.

Wherever an unsupported feature is indentified through the gap analysis process, the requirements for that feature need to be documented. Those requirements can be described here.

As gaps in support for N'Ko are captured, the gap is brought to the attention of the relevant spec developer or browser implementation community. The progress of such work is tracked in the Gap Analysis Pipeline.

Other related resources

The initial material for this document was an edited extract from the page N’Ko orthography notes. That page contains additional details about character usage and how the writing system works, plus interactive information, which are not available here.

The document Language enablement index points to this document and others, and provides a central location for developers and implementers to find information related to various scripts.

The W3C also maintains a tracking system that has links to GitHub issues in W3C repositories. There are separate links for (a) requests from developers to the user community for information about how scripts/languages work, (b) issues raised against a spec, and (c) browser bugs. For example, you can find out what information developers are currently seeking, and the resulting list can also be filtered by script.

Managing text direction

Unicode provides a set of 10 formatting characters that can be used to control the direction of text when displayed. These characters have no visual form in the rendered text, however text editing applications may have a way to show their location.

U+202B RIGHT-TO-LEFT EMBEDDING (RLE), U+202A LEFT-TO-RIGHT EMBEDDING (LRE), and U+202C POP DIRECTIONAL FORMATTING (PDF) are in widespread use to set the base direction for an inline range of characters. RLE/LRE comes at the start, and PDF at the end of a range of characters for which the base direction is to be set.

‫ U+202B RIGHT-TO-LEFT EMBEDDING (RLE), ‪ U+202A LEFT-TO-RIGHT EMBEDDING (LRE), and ‬ U+202C POP DIRECTIONAL FORMATTING (PDF) are in widespread use to set the base direction for an inline range of characters. RLE/LRE comes at the start, and PDF at the end of a range of characters for which the base direction is to be set.

In Unicode 6.1, the Unicode Standard added a set of characters which do the same thing but also isolate the content from surrounding characters, in order to avoid spillover effects. They are ⁧ U+2067 RIGHT-TO-LEFT ISOLATE (RLI), ⁦ U+2066 LEFT-TO-RIGHT ISOLATE (LRI), and ⁩ U+2069 POP DIRECTIONAL ISOLATE (PDI). The Unicode Standard recommends that these be used instead of RLE/LRE...PDF.

There is also ⁨ U+2068 FIRST STRONG ISOLATE (FSI), used initially to set the base direction according to the first recognised strongly-directional character.

‏ U+200F RIGHT-TO-LEFT MARK (RLM) and ‎ U+200E LEFT-TO-RIGHT MARK (LRM) are invisible characters with strong directional properties that are also sometimes used to produce the correct ordering of text.

For more information about how to use these formatting characters see How to use Unicode controls for bidi text. Note, however, that when writing HTML you should generally use markup rather than these control codes. For information about that, see Creating HTML Pages in Arabic, Hebrew and Other Right-to-left Scripts.

Font styles

N’Ko is usually cursive, ie. letters in a word are joined up.

Non-cursive fonts are sometimes used, mainly as display fonts for book and article titles.§

Cursive text

Non-joining glyphs

Fonts containing non-joining glyphs are sometimes used as display fonts for book and article titles (see [[[#fig_unjoined_old]]]).

ߝߘߊ߬ߝߌ߲߬ߠߊ߫ ߕߟߋ߬ߓߋ
ߥߊߘߌ߫ ߞߎߘߊ

ߋߞߏ ߦߋ߫ ߝߊ߬ߘߊ߬ߞߊ߬ ߖߊߕߋߘߐߛߌ߮ ߘߏ߫ ߟߋ߬ ߕߐ߮ ߘߌ߫߸ ߡߍ߲ ߓߟߏߘߐߓߍ߲ ߒߎ߬ ߦߴߌߘߐ߫ ߞߵߊ߬ ߓߍ߲߬ ߂߀߂߀ ߡߊ߬، ߞߊ߬ߕߎ߲߯߸ ߊߟߎ߫ ߓߍ߯ ߦߴߊ߬ ߞߊ߬ߟߊߡߊ߬ ߞߊ߬ߞߘߐ߬߸ ߞߏ߫ ߖߡߊ߬ߣߊ ߕߛߴߊ߬ ߟߊ߫ ߡߊ߬ߞߐ߬ߙߐ߲߬ߞߐ߬ߙߐ߲߬ߠߌ߲ ߓߊߛߌ߰ ߟߊ߫߸ ߞߵߊ߬ ߟߊ߫ ߝߊ߬ߘߊ߲߬ߞߊ ߕߏ߫ ߥߊߟߌ ߟߎ߬ ߓߟߏ߫.

Texts based on legacy fonts often create the unjoined effect by using an old non-Unicode font where the glyphs make an attempt to show a baseline but don't actually join. This leads to shapes such as those shown in the title of [[[#fig_unjoined_old]]], where letters have short baseline extensions.

The shapes just mentioned can be found quite commonly, however the World Organisation for the Development of N'Ko prefers that unjoined shapes look the same as the isolated forms of letters without the baseline extensions.§

Joining forms

When N’Ko is cursive, letters in a word are joined up. Fonts need to produce the appropriate joining form for a letter, according to its visual context, but the code point remains the same. This results in four different glyphs for most letters (including an isolated glyph).

Unlike some other cursive scripts, the cursive treatment doesn't produce significant variations of the essential part of the glyph for a character.

All letters are capable of joining on both sides.

Unlike Arabic or Syriac, joining forms only differ by the addition of a small baseline extension. Also, whereas Arabic and Syriac re-use a number of basic shapes to create additional letters by adding diacritics, in N’Ko each letter shape is different. [[[#fig_joining_forms]]] shows the basic shapes in N’Ko and what their joining forms look like.

Joining side:	none	right	both	left
ߔ U+07D4 NKO LETTER PA	ߔ	ߺߔ	ߺߔߺ	ߔߺ
ߓ U+07D3 NKO LETTER BA	ߓ	ߺߓ	ߺߓߺ	ߓߺ
ߕ U+07D5 NKO LETTER TA	ߕ	ߺߕ	ߺߕߺ	ߕߺ
ߘ U+07D8 NKO LETTER DA	ߘ	ߺߘ	ߺߘߺ	ߘߺ
ߗ U+07D7 NKO LETTER CHA	ߗ	ߺߗ	ߺߗߺ	ߗߺ
ߖ U+07D6 NKO LETTER JA	ߖ	ߺߖ	ߺߖߺ	ߖߺ
ߞ U+07DE NKO LETTER KA	ߞ	ߺߞ	ߺߞߺ	ߞߺ
ߜ U+07DC NKO LETTER GBA	ߜ	ߺߜ	ߺߜߺ	ߜߺ
ߝ U+07DD NKO LETTER FA	ߝ	ߺߝ	ߺߝߺ	ߝߺ
ߛ U+07DB NKO LETTER SA	ߛ	ߺߛ	ߺߛߺ	ߛߺ
ߤ U+07E4 NKO LETTER HA	ߤ	ߺߤ	ߺߤߺ	ߤߺ
ߡ U+07E1 NKO LETTER MA	ߡ	ߺߡ	ߺߡߺ	ߡߺ
ߣ U+07E3 NKO LETTER NA	ߣ	ߺߣ	ߺߣߺ	ߣߺ
ߢ U+07E2 NKO LETTER NYA	ߢ	ߺߢ	ߺߢߺ	ߢߺ
ߥ U+07E5 NKO LETTER WA	ߥ	ߺߥ	ߺߥߺ	ߥߺ
ߙ U+07D9 NKO LETTER RA	ߙ	ߺߙ	ߺߙߺ	ߙߺ
ߚ U+07DA NKO LETTER RRA	ߚ	ߺߚ	ߺߚߺ	ߚߺ
ߟ U+07DF NKO LETTER LA	ߟ	ߺߟ	ߺߟߺ	ߟߺ
ߦ U+07E6 NKO LETTER YA	ߦ	ߺߦ	ߺߦߺ	ߦߺ
ߒ U+07D2 NKO LETTER N	ߒ	ߺߒ	ߺߒߺ	ߒߺ
ߊ U+07CA NKO LETTER A	ߊ	ߺߊ	ߺߊߺ	ߊߺ
ߋ U+07CB NKO LETTER EE	ߋ	ߺߋ	ߺߋߺ	ߋߺ
ߌ U+07CC NKO LETTER I	ߌ	ߺߌ	ߺߌߺ	ߌߺ
ߍ U+07CD NKO LETTER E	ߍ	ߺߍ	ߺߍߺ	ߍߺ
ߎ U+07CE NKO LETTER U	ߎ	ߺߎ	ߺߎߺ	ߎߺ
ߏ U+07CF NKO LETTER OO	ߏ	ߺߏ	ߺߏߺ	ߏߺ
ߐ U+07D0 NKO LETTER O	ߐ	ߺߐ	ߺߐߺ	ߐߺ

Context-based shaping & positioning

The preferred approach is to maintain the diacritics at the same height all along a line.§

The only time a base character carries multiple combining characters is when one is a tone mark and the other is U+07F2 NKO COMBINING NASALIZATION MARK. These diacritics occur on opposite sides of the base letter, so this avoids the difficulties associated with correctly placing marks in the same location. (A letter that carries U+07F3 NKO COMBINING DOUBLE DOT ABOVE will not usually carry a tone mark as well.§)

Apart from that, no shaping is needed other than that described for cursive connections.

Letterform slopes, weights, & italics

N’Ko uses italicisation and bolding.

Italics may need to lean to the left, rather than to the right. Neil Patel writes:§

Formalized typographic practices for both Adlam and N’Ko are still being developed. When [JamraPatel] reached out to both communities to see if an Italic typeface would be beneficial, both communities expressed a desire to have one. Over the past few years, as the ability to use both of these scripts more readily in computing has increased, the need to be able to set more complex copy has increased as well. Both communities see the benefit of having italic typefaces to add some semantic value to their copy. On-line N’Ko has historically used synthetic obliques for things like by-lines on articles. ...

Since neither script had any precedent for a drawn italic typeface, we asked each community on how they would like to see it drawn. This is how N’Ko ended up with the leftward lean and Adlam with a rightward lean in our typeface. ... To my knowledge our typeface has the first drawn italicized N’Ko and Adlam, so this is all still a bit new.

Word boundaries

The concept of 'word' is difficult to define in any language (see What is a word?). Here, a word is a vaguely-defined, but recognisable semantic unit that is typically smaller than a phrase and may comprise one or more syllables.

N’Ko has word units that are separated by spaces.

Bracketed text

N'Ko commonly uses ASCII parentheses and brackets to insert parenthetical information into text.

The low paraphrase brackets may be used for quoting text as well as for editorial insertions that weren’t part of the original author’s text. Note that all these characters have mirrored glyphs (see below).

Mirrored characters

The words 'left' and 'right' in Unicode names for parentheses, brackets, and other paired characters should be ignored. LEFT should be read as if it said START, and RIGHT as END. The direction in which the glyphs point will be automatically determined according to the base direction of the text.

The number of characters that are mirrored in this way is around 550, most of which are mathematical symbols. Some are single characters, rather than pairs. The following are some of the more common ones.

( ) < > [ ] { } « » ‹ ›

Quotations & citations

N'Ko texts may use guillemets or native marks around quotations.

The quotation marks in the first two rows above are also mirrored as the directionality changes (see [[[#mirrored_characters]]]). Those in the bottom row are not mirrored during display, which means that for them LEFT means use on the left, and RIGHT means use on the right.

⸜ U+2E1C LEFT LOW PARAPHRASE BRACKET and ⸝ U+2E1D RIGHT LOW PARAPHRASE BRACKET are used as a pair to indicate indirect quotations§, eg. ⸜ߒߞߏ⸝

Observation: ﴾ U+FD3E ORNATE LEFT PARENTHESIS and ﴿ U+FD3F ORNATE RIGHT PARENTHESIS derive from Arabic, and appear to be used for quotations in Islamic texts. The appearance of these brackets can vary from the shapes used in Arabic. Note also that they are encoded among presentation forms, but it is normal to use these particular code points as if they were normal characters. See examples here.

Emphasis

N'Ko authors commonly apply bolding and sometimes italics to emphasise text (see [[[#fontstyle]]]).

Abbreviation, ellipsis & repetition

߽U+07FD NKO DANTAYALAN is used to abbreviate units of measure. The table shows some examples from a long list by Everson:§

Line breaking & hyphenation

By default, N'Ko breaks lines at inter-word spaces. As in almost all writing systems, certain punctuation characters should not appear at the end or the start of a line.

Text alignment & justification

The most common approach to justification relies on adjustment of spaces.§

Sometimes, however, ߺU+07FA NKO LAJANYALAN is used like Arabic tatweel to stretch the intra-word baseline.§

Text spacing

Text may be stretched, like in Arabic, using ߺ U+07FA NKO LAJANYALAN to fit a given space or make a heading stand out, eg. [[[#fig_letter_spacing]]] shows a streched version of the title, ߞߏ߲ kɔ̌n do first, precede.

This corresponds to the Arabic ـ U+0640 ARABIC TATWEEL.

Baselines, line height, etc.

N'Ko uses the so-called 'alphabetic' baseline, which is the same as for Latin and many other scripts.

N'Ko places diacritics above and below the base characters, but they don't stack. Diacritics can, however, appear above and below the same base. The letters themselves are relatively uniform in height, and have no descenders. There is no upper- vs. lowercase distinction.

To give an approximate idea, [[[#fig_baselines]]] compares Latin and N'Ko glyphs from the Noto Sans font. The basic height of N'Ko letters is typically around the Latin cap-height, however combining marks and the dorome sign reach beyond the Latin ascenders, creating a need for larger line spacing.

[[[#fig_baselines_other]]] shows similar comparisons for the Ebrima font.

Counters

The N'Ko orthography uses 2 numeric styles with native digits. The first uses cardinal numbers, the second ordinal.

Cardinal numeric style

The cardinal numeric style is decimal-based and uses these digits.

'߁' '߂' '߃' '߄' '߅' '߆' '߇' '߈' '߉' '߀'

View as text

1 ߁, 2 ߂, 3 ߃, 4 ߄, 11 ߁߁, 22 ߂߂, 33 ߃߃, 44 ߄߄, 111 ߁߁߁, 222 ߂߂߂, 333 ߃߃߃, 444 ߄߄߄

Ordinal numeric style

The ordinal numeric style uses the same digits, but places a dot alongside. The dot goes over the digit ߁ (1), but goes below other digits, and it only appears alongside the leftmost digit. (Bear in mind that N'Ko digits run from right to left.)

'߁߭' '߂߲' '߃߲' '߄߲' '߅߲' '߆߲' '߇߲' '߈߲' '߉߲' '߀߲'

View as text

1 ߁߭, 2 ߂߲, 3 ߃߲, 4 ߄߲, 11 ߁߁߭, 22 ߂߂߲, 33 ߃߃߲, 44 ߄߄߲, 111 ߁߁߁߭, 222 ߂߂߂߲, 333 ߃߃߃߲, 444 ߄߄߄߲

General page layout & progression

N’Ko books, magazines, etc. are bound on the right-hand side, and pages progress from right to left.

Columns are vertical but run right-to-left across the page.

Layout direction

The right-to-left orientation of the script affects the direction of page layout, and of the layout of items within the page.

An N’Ko web page should be the mirror-image of pages in, say, French. This includes the various navigation items on the page, and the placement of other panels on the page.

The following show a meter control, a progress control, and an input slider as they would appear in an N'Ko web page. The quantity represented increases from right to left.

On the other hand, the video controls assume a LTR direction. This is mostly constrained by technology at the moment, and whether or not this is acceptable is still being debated.