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Unicode The Unicode authors thought Lao was nearly-Thai. There are unfortunately some counterpoints against wholehearted acceptance of their expertise. Unicode was so Lao = Thai that they spaced o...
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#3: Post edited
by
Michael
·
2024-03-04T16:11:13Z (10 months ago)
Headings
The Unicode authors certainly thought it was nearly-Thai. So much so that they [spaced out Lao letters to code-points mirroring Thai letters][unicode-1] _even if_ those code-points were [not in alphabetical order in Lao][unicode-2]. This is not the only problem created when Lao was added Unicode. Some letters were [given the wrong name][char-name-switch].Lao does have some letters not present in Thai: ຍ is /ɲ/, as in ຍຸງ (mosquito). Modern Thai, which does not have a /ɲ/ sound, uses ยุง for mosquito, where the ย is a /j/. For that sound, Lao has ຢ (note longer tail).- The [previous answer][answer-1] counted 27 letters (the consonants, that is) in Lao, versus more for Thai, depending on "which letters are considered 'obsolete.'" I presume this refers to Lao having 14 additional obsolete consonants not included in [the main Wikipedia consonant chart][lao-consonants]. This may be misleading, though, as Thai also has obsolete consonants that nonetheless remain in the alphabet even though they are not used.
- [unicode-1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lao_(Unicode_block)
- [unicode-2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lao_script#Unicode
- [char-name-switch]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lao_script#cite_note-alphabetic-%E0%BA%9D%E0%BA%9F-9
- [answer-1]: https://languages.codidact.com/posts/281965/282024#answer-282024
- [lao-consonants]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lao_script#Consonant_chart
- ## Unicode
- The Unicode authors thought Lao was nearly-Thai. There are unfortunately some counterpoints against wholehearted acceptance of their expertise. Unicode was so Lao = Thai that they [spaced out Lao letters to code-points mirroring Thai letters][unicode-1] _even if_ those code-points were [not in alphabetical order in Lao][unicode-2]. Furthermore, some letters were [given the wrong name][char-name-switch].
- ## Character counter-examples
- Lao does have some letters not present in Thai: ຍ is /ɲ/, as in ຍຸງ (mosquito). Modern Thai, which does not have a /ɲ/ sound, uses ยุง for mosquito, where the ย is a /j/. For that sound, Lao uses ຢ (note longer tail than ຍ).
- ## Clarifying obsolete consonants
- The [previous answer][answer-1] counted 27 letters (the consonants, that is) in Lao, versus more for Thai, depending on "which letters are considered 'obsolete.'" I presume this refers to Lao having 14 additional obsolete consonants not included in [the main Wikipedia consonant chart][lao-consonants]. This may be misleading, though, as Thai also has obsolete consonants that nonetheless remain in the alphabet even though they are not used.
- [unicode-1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lao_(Unicode_block)
- [unicode-2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lao_script#Unicode
- [char-name-switch]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lao_script#cite_note-alphabetic-%E0%BA%9D%E0%BA%9F-9
- [answer-1]: https://languages.codidact.com/posts/281965/282024#answer-282024
- [lao-consonants]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lao_script#Consonant_chart
#2: Post edited
by
Michael
·
2024-02-27T19:25:23Z (10 months ago)
Specify the alluded Unicode error. Don't make people click to see it.
The Unicode authors certainly thought it was nearly-Thai. So much so that they [spaced out Lao letters to code-points mirroring Thai letters][unicode-1] _even if_ those code-points were [not in alphabetical order in Lao][unicode-2]. This is [not the only mistake made][char-name-switch] in initial uptake.- Lao does have some letters not present in Thai: ຍ is /ɲ/, as in ຍຸງ (mosquito). Modern Thai, which does not have a /ɲ/ sound, uses ยุง for mosquito, where the ย is a /j/. For that sound, Lao has ຢ (note longer tail).
The [previous answer][answer-1] counted 27 letters (the consonants) in Lao, versus more for Thai, depending on "which letters are considered 'obsolete.'" I presume this refers to Lao having 14 additional obsolete consonants not included in [the main Wikipedia consonant chart][lao-consonants]. This may be misleading, though, as Thai also has obsolete consonants that nonetheless remain in the alphabet even though they are not used.- [unicode-1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lao_(Unicode_block)
- [unicode-2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lao_script#Unicode
- [char-name-switch]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lao_script#cite_note-alphabetic-%E0%BA%9D%E0%BA%9F-9
- [answer-1]: https://languages.codidact.com/posts/281965/282024#answer-282024
- [lao-consonants]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lao_script#Consonant_chart
- The Unicode authors certainly thought it was nearly-Thai. So much so that they [spaced out Lao letters to code-points mirroring Thai letters][unicode-1] _even if_ those code-points were [not in alphabetical order in Lao][unicode-2]. This is not the only problem created when Lao was added Unicode. Some letters were [given the wrong name][char-name-switch].
- Lao does have some letters not present in Thai: ຍ is /ɲ/, as in ຍຸງ (mosquito). Modern Thai, which does not have a /ɲ/ sound, uses ยุง for mosquito, where the ย is a /j/. For that sound, Lao has ຢ (note longer tail).
- The [previous answer][answer-1] counted 27 letters (the consonants, that is) in Lao, versus more for Thai, depending on "which letters are considered 'obsolete.'" I presume this refers to Lao having 14 additional obsolete consonants not included in [the main Wikipedia consonant chart][lao-consonants]. This may be misleading, though, as Thai also has obsolete consonants that nonetheless remain in the alphabet even though they are not used.
- [unicode-1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lao_(Unicode_block)
- [unicode-2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lao_script#Unicode
- [char-name-switch]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lao_script#cite_note-alphabetic-%E0%BA%9D%E0%BA%9F-9
- [answer-1]: https://languages.codidact.com/posts/281965/282024#answer-282024
- [lao-consonants]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lao_script#Consonant_chart
#1: Initial revision
by
Michael
·
2024-02-27T18:38:14Z (10 months ago)
The Unicode authors certainly thought it was nearly-Thai. So much so that they [spaced out Lao letters to code-points mirroring Thai letters][unicode-1] _even if_ those code-points were [not in alphabetical order in Lao][unicode-2]. This is [not the only mistake made][char-name-switch] in initial uptake. Lao does have some letters not present in Thai: ຍ is /ɲ/, as in ຍຸງ (mosquito). Modern Thai, which does not have a /ɲ/ sound, uses ยุง for mosquito, where the ย is a /j/. For that sound, Lao has ຢ (note longer tail). The [previous answer][answer-1] counted 27 letters (the consonants) in Lao, versus more for Thai, depending on "which letters are considered 'obsolete.'" I presume this refers to Lao having 14 additional obsolete consonants not included in [the main Wikipedia consonant chart][lao-consonants]. This may be misleading, though, as Thai also has obsolete consonants that nonetheless remain in the alphabet even though they are not used. [unicode-1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lao_(Unicode_block) [unicode-2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lao_script#Unicode [char-name-switch]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lao_script#cite_note-alphabetic-%E0%BA%9D%E0%BA%9F-9 [answer-1]: https://languages.codidact.com/posts/281965/282024#answer-282024 [lao-consonants]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lao_script#Consonant_chart