ISO/IEC JTC1/SC2/WG2 N3xxx

L2/06-xxx
2006-04-02
Universal Multiple-Octet Coded Character Set
International Organization for Standardization
Organisation Internationale de Normalisation
Международная организация по стандартизации

Doc Type: Working Group Document

Title: Proposal for encoding characters for Myanmar minority languages in the UCS
Source: Michael Everson
Status: Individual Contribution
Replaces: N2768, N1883R
Action: For consideration by JTC1/SC2/WG2 and UTC
Date: 2006-04-02

Since the Myanmar script was first encoded, it has been known that a number of additions used by
minority languages would be needed. This proposal requests their addition. It contains the proposal
summary form.

The languages supported by this proposal are Mon, Shan, Pali in Shan script, S’gaw Karen, Western Pwo
Karen, Eastern Pwo Karen, and Kayah. Most of the characters proposed are spacing letters, but
combining vowel signs, combining medial consonant signs, and combining tone marks are also proposed.

The history of the Myanmar script is not one of a single line of development. The Mon script, in fact, is
probably the oldest of the traditions, though the letterforms of the former have been “Burmicized” due to
later influence, particularly that of typography. A number of language-specific differences arose during
the period of development, much as has happened with the Arabic and Cyrillic scripts. Most of the letters
are used in common, but some letters have language-specific forms. These are not unifiable with
“standard” Myanmar letters, and books in Burmese about Mon, for instance, use both of them
concurrently. In the discussion of the additions below, the language-specific letters are listed, in the brief
shorthand “x contrasts with Burmese y”.

The new rendering model proposed in N3043 which disunifies visible @∫ ASAT from stacking π VIRAMA
applies to the characters here. The general implication of this is that when following VIRAMA, the LETTERs
here should be rendered below and usually slightly smaller than the base letter. Where there is a departure
from the mainstream stacking behaviour for Burmese, characters have been added here to facilitate
minority-language usage. For example, î LETTER NA and ô LETTER MA subjoin as expected in Burmese §î ôô
so the special Mon subjoined forms @fi CONSONANT SIGN MON MEDIAL NA and @fl CONSONANT SIGN MON MA
are encoded as dependent consonant signs.

Additions for Mon

A number of characters contrast with Burmese characters: ® LETTER MON E contrasts with Burmese ß
LETTER E; ⁄ LETTER MON NGA contrasts with Burmese Ñ LETTER NGA; { LETTER MON JHA contrasts with
Burmese à LETTER JHA; @≥ VOWEL SIGN MON II contrasts with Burmese @Æ VOWEL SIGN II. Other characters
are unique to Mon: @¥ VOWEL SIGN MON O represents open o; ‹ LETTER MON BBA and › LETTER MON BBE
represent bilabial implosives; @fi CONSONANT SIGN MON NA and @fl CONSONANT SIGN MON MA are mentioned
above; @‡ CONSONANT SIGN MON MEDIAL LA is used in S’gaw Karen for ya, where it contrasts with Burmese
@ª CONSONANT SIGN MEDIAL YA proposed in N3043. A clarification should be given regarding ⁄ LETTER

1
MON NGA which merits discussion. While Burmese Ñ NGA stacks as expected ÄÑ, Mon ⁄ NGA stacks by
rendering only its “diacritic” Ä⁄; that is, *Ä– does not occur. It could be possible to treat the diacritic as a
medial (like @fi CONSONANT SIGN MON MEDIAL NA and @fl CONSONANT SIGN MON MA) but this is impractical
due to attested glyph variants of the letter. Both ⁄ and ” are attested glyph variants of the letter, and if *@⁄
were encoded as a medial, it could be confusing as to whether it should be applied to Ñ LETTER NGA or to
±@ VOWEL SIGN E (which isn’t an independent letter, but a dependent vowel). The encoding proposed here
is simpler. (Figures 1, 2, 3, 9, and 10.)

Additions for Shan

A number of characters contrast with Burmese characters: ¢ LETTER SHAN A contrasts with Burmese
° LETTER A; · LETTER SHAN KA contrasts with Burmese Ä LETTER KA; ‚ LETTER SHAN KHA contrasts with
Burmese Å LETTER KHA; „ LETTER SHAN CA contrasts with Burmese Ö LETTER CA; ‰ LETTER SHAN NYA
contrasts with Burmese â LETTER NYA; Â LETTER SHAN NA contrasts with Burmese î LETTER NA; Ê LETTER
SHAN PHA contrasts with Burmese ñ LETTER PHA; Ë LETTER SHAN THA contrasts with Burmese û LETTER
SA; È LETTER SHAN HA contrasts with Burmese ü LETTER HA; Î LETTER SHAN HSIPAW RA contrasts with
Burmese õ LETTER RA; @Ì VOWEL SIGN SHAN AA contrasts with Burmese @¨ VOWEL SIGN AA; @˜ CONSONANT
SIGN SHAN WA contrasts with the Burmese @Ω CONSONANT SIGN WA proposed in N3043. Other characters are
unique to Shan: Á LETTER SHAN FA and Í LETTER SHAN HSIPAW FA represent [f] in different orthographies;
µ@ VOWEL SIGN SHAN E represents open e; @Ï VOWEL SIGN SHAN A represents short a word-internally;
@Ó VOWEL SIGN SHAN EE ABOVE represents close e word-internally; @Ô VOWEL SIGN SHAN E ABOVE represents
open e word-internally; @ VOWEL SIGN SHAN FINAL Y is used in rising diphthongs. Shan extends the
VISARGA function with additional tone marks @Ò SIGN SHAN TONE-2, @Ú SIGN SHAN TONE-3, @Û SIGN SHAN
COUNCIL TONE-4 (used in Shan Council orthography), @Ù SIGN SHAN TONE-5, @ı SIGN SHAN TONE-6, and @ˆ
SIGN SHAN COUNCIL EMPHATIC TONE (used in Shan Council orthography). (Figures 4 and 6.)

Additions for Shan Pali

A number of characters used for Pali in Shan context contrast with Burmese characters: ¯ LETTER SHAN
PALI GA contrasts with Burmese Ç LETTER GA; ˘ LETTER SHAN PALI GHA contrasts with Burmese É LETTER
GHA; ˙ LETTER SHAN PALI JA contrasts with Burmese á LETTER JA; ˚ LETTER SHAN PALI JHA contrasts with
Burmese à LETTER JHA; ¸ LETTER SHAN PALI TTA contrasts with Burmese ã LETTER TTA; ˝ LETTER SHAN PALI
TTHA contrasts with Burmese å LETTER TTHA; ˛ LETTER SHAN PALI DDA contrasts with Burmese ç LETTER
DDA; ˇ LETTER SHAN PALI DDHA contrasts with Burmese é LETTER DDHA; Ä LETTER SHAN PALI NNA contrasts
with Burmese è LETTER NNA; Å LETTER SHAN PALI DA contrasts with Burmese í LETTER DA; Ç LETTER SHAN
PALI DHA contrasts with Burmese ì LETTER DHA ; É LETTER SHAN PALI BHA contrasts with Burmese
ò LETTER BHA; Ñ LETTER SHAN PALI LLA contrasts with Burmese † LETTER LLA. (Figure 5.)

Additions for S’gaw Karen

Three characters used in S’gaw Karen are not used in Burmese: Ö LETTER SGAW KAREN SHA contrasts with
Burmese õæ rha (which is õ LETTER RA + @æ CONSONANT SIGN MEDIAL HA); @Ü SIGN SGAW KAREN HATHI and @á
SIGN SGAW KAREN KE PHO are tone marks. (Figures 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, and 14.)

Additions for Western Pwo Karen

Four characters used in Western Pwo Karen are not used in Burmese: à LETTER WESTERN PWO KAREN THA
contrasts with Burmese û sa; â LETTER WESTERN PWO KAREN PWA is the last letter of the Western Pwo
Karen alphabet; @ä VOWEL SIGN WESTERN PWO KAREN EU and @ã VOWEL SIGN WESTERN PWO KAREN UE are
vowel signs; @å SIGN WESTERN PWO KAREN TONE-1, @ç SIGN WESTERN PWO KAREN TONE-2, @é SIGN WESTERN
PWO KAREN TONE-3, @è SIGN WESTERN PWO KAREN TONE-4, and @ê SIGN WESTERN PWO KAREN TONE-5 are
tone marks. (Figures 13, 14, 15, and 16.)

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Additions for Eastern Pwo Karen
One character used in Eastern Pwo Karen contrasts with a Burmese character: ë LETTER EASTERN PWO
KAREN NNA contrasts with Burmese è NNA. Two other characters are unique to Eastern Pwo Karen: í
LETTER EASTERN PWO KAREN YWA and ì LETTER EASTERN PWO KAREN GHWA. (Figures 18 and 19.)

Additions for Kayah

One character used in Kayah contrasts with a Burmese character: @î VOWEL SIGN KAYAH U is used
alongside Burmese @Ø VOWEL SIGN U. Two characters are unique to Kayah: @ï VOWEL SIGN KAYAH AE and
@ñ VOWEL SIGN KAYAH EE. (Figure 20.)

Ordering
The unified order for the Myanmar script incorporating the characters here is given below. Ordering is
syllable-based, so this is indicative of only one level of ordering.
ka < shan-ka < kha < shan-kha < ga < shan-pali-ga < gha < shan-pali-gha < nga < mon-nga <
ca < shan-ca < cha < ja < shan-pali-ja < jha < shan-pali-jha < mon-jha < sgaw-karen-sha < nya < shan-nya < nnya <
tta < shan-pali-tta < ttha < shan-pali-ttha < dda < shan-pali-dda <
ddha < shan-pali-ddha < nna < shan-pali-nna < eastern-pwo-karen-nna <
ta < tha < da < shan-pali-da < dha < shan-pali-dha < na < shan-na <
pa < pha < shan-pha < shan-fa < ba < bha < shan-pali-bha < ma <
ya < ra < la < wa < shan-tha < sha < ssa < western-pwo-karen-tha < sa < great-sa < ha < shan-ha <
lla < shan-pali-lla < mon-bba < eastern-pwo-karen-ywa < eastern-pwo-karen-gwa <
a < shan-a < shan-hsipaw-fa < shan-hsipaw-ra < i < ii < u < uu <
vocalic-r < vocalic-rr < vocalic-l < vocalic-ll < e < mon-bbe < western-pwo-karen-pwa < mon-e < o < au

Issues
Several characters look as though they could be sequences of a base character plus the proposed
*U+103E @æ CONSONANT SIGN MEDIAL HA. These are: Á LETTER SHAN FA, È LETTER SHAN HA, Ö LETTER SGAW
KAREN SHA, â LETTER WESTERN PWO KAREN PWA, í LETTER EASTERN PWO KAREN YWA, and ì LETTER
EASTERN PWO KAREN GHWA. At the meeting in Yangon, this was discussed at length. All of the letters have
their own place in the alphabet of the language which uses them (see Figures 4, 7, 12, and 18). In Pwo
Karen, for instance, Ö LETTER SGAW KAREN SHA and â LETTER WESTERN PWO KAREN PWA, are both treated as
separate letters of the alphabet, sorted rather far from the base letters õ ra and ï pa, both of which do, as
it happens, take genuine medials (ï‡ pya, ïª pla, [ï pra, ïΩ pwa, and õΩ rwa) which are sorted as expected
under ï pa and õ ra. In better typography and in handwriting, Ö LETTER SGAW KAREN SHA contrasts with õæ
rha (though much printed matter is not exemplary of the best typography). Shan uses two letters, Á
LETTER SHAN FA and È LETTER SHAN HA, both of which can be seen with alternate shapes fi and fl. It’s
probable that the origin of the former is Ê pha + @æ -ha, but the origin of the latter is (according so Sai
Kam Mong 2004) a shape like ÿæ, where the top part isn’t analyzable to any other letter. Since the
Myanmar script is to be a unified set to deal with all of these languages, we judge it best to let @æ be used
in its traditional productive medial role in the Burmese, Mon, and S’gaw Karen languages, but to encode
as unique letters the ones used non-productively in Pwo Karen. In Pwo Karen, the angled marks are
typically fused to the letters, which also suggests a difference. Precedent for this can be found in the
letterforms used for jha: In Burmese, alongside à is found the form ‹, which looks as though it is a
ligature of Ö ca and @ª -ya (but it doesn’t), and in Mon the forms ⁄ and › are often found, probably better
rendered { in a generic font; it is not á ja (+ @æ -ha) + @ª -ya.

Unicode Character Properties

1022;MYANMAR LETTER SHAN A;Lo;0;L;;;;;N;;;;;
1028;MYANMAR LETTER MON E;Lo;0;L;;;;;N;;;;;
1033;MYANMAR VOWEL SIGN MON II;Mn;0;NSM;;;;;N;;;;;
1034;MYANMAR VOWEL SIGN MON O;Mn;0;NSM;;;;;N;;;;;
1035;MYANMAR VOWEL SIGN SHAN E;Mc;0;L;;;;;N;;;;;
105A;MYANMAR LETTER MON NGA;Lo;0;L;;;;;N;;;;;

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105B;MYANMAR LETTER MON JHA;Lo;0;L;;;;;N;;;;;
105C;MYANMAR LETTER MON BBA;Lo;0;L;;;;;N;;;;;
105D;MYANMAR LETTER MON BBE;Lo;0;L;;;;;N;;;;;
105E;MYANMAR CONSONANT SIGN MON MEDIAL NA;Mn;0;NSM;;;;;N;;;;;
105F;MYANMAR CONSONANT SIGN MON MEDIAL MA;Mn;0;NSM;;;;;N;;;;;
1060;MYANMAR CONSONANT SIGN MON MEDIAL LA;Mn;0;NSM;;;;;N;;;;;
1061;MYANMAR LETTER SHAN KA;Lo;0;L;;;;;N;;;;;
1062;MYANMAR LETTER SHAN KHA;Lo;0;L;;;;;N;;;;;
1063;MYANMAR LETTER SHAN CA;Lo;0;L;;;;;N;;;;;
1064;MYANMAR LETTER SHAN NYA;Lo;0;L;;;;;N;;;;;
1065;MYANMAR LETTER SHAN NA;Lo;0;L;;;;;N;;;;;
1066;MYANMAR LETTER SHAN PHA;Lo;0;L;;;;;N;;;;;
1067;MYANMAR LETTER SHAN FA;Lo;0;L;;;;;N;;;;;
1068;MYANMAR LETTER SHAN THA;Lo;0;L;;;;;N;;;;;
1069;MYANMAR LETTER SHAN HA;Lo;0;L;;;;;N;;;;;
106A;MYANMAR LETTER SHAN HSIPAW FA;Lo;0;L;;;;;N;;;;;
106B;MYANMAR LETTER SHAN HSIPAW RA;Lo;0;L;;;;;N;;;;;
106C;MYANMAR VOWEL SIGN SHAN A;Mc;0;L;;;;;N;;;;;
106D;MYANMAR VOWEL SIGN SHAN AA;Mc;0;L;;;;;N;;;;;
106E;MYANMAR VOWEL SIGN SHAN EE ABOVE;Mn;0;NSM;;;;;N;;;;;
106F;MYANMAR VOWEL SIGN SHAN E ABOVE;Mn;0;NSM;;;;;N;;;;;
1070;MYANMAR VOWEL SIGN SHAN FINAL Y;Mn;0;NSM;;;;;N;;;;;
1071;MYANMAR SIGN SHAN TONE-2;Mc;0;L;;;;;N;;;;;
1072;MYANMAR SIGN SHAN TONE-3;Mc;0;L;;;;;N;;;;;
1073;MYANMAR SIGN SHAN COUNCIL TONE-4;Mc;0;L;;;;;N;;;;;
1074;MYANMAR SIGN SHAN TONE-5;Mc;0;L;;;;;N;;;;;
1075;MYANMAR SIGN SHAN TONE-6;Mc;0;L;;;;;N;;;;;
1076;MYANMAR SIGN SHAN COUNCIL EMPHATIC TONE;Mn;0;NSM;;;;;N;;;;;
1077;MYANMAR CONSONANT SIGN SHAN MEDIAL WA;Mn;0;NSM;;;;;N;;;;;
1078;MYANMAR LETTER SHAN PALI GA;Lo;0;L;;;;;N;;;;;
1079;MYANMAR LETTER SHAN PALI GHA;Lo;0;L;;;;;N;;;;;
107A;MYANMAR LETTER SHAN PALI JA;Lo;0;L;;;;;N;;;;;
107B;MYANMAR LETTER SHAN PALI JHA;Lo;0;L;;;;;N;;;;;
107C;MYANMAR LETTER SHAN PALI TTA;Lo;0;L;;;;;N;;;;;
107D;MYANMAR LETTER SHAN PALI TTHA;Lo;0;L;;;;;N;;;;;
107E;MYANMAR LETTER SHAN PALI DDA;Lo;0;L;;;;;N;;;;;
107F;MYANMAR LETTER SHAN PALI DDHA;Lo;0;L;;;;;N;;;;;
1080;MYANMAR LETTER SHAN PALI NNA;Lo;0;L;;;;;N;;;;;
1081;MYANMAR LETTER SHAN PALI DA;Lo;0;L;;;;;N;;;;;
1082;MYANMAR LETTER SHAN PALI DHA;Lo;0;L;;;;;N;;;;;
1083;MYANMAR LETTER SHAN PALI BA;Lo;0;L;;;;;N;;;;;
1084;MYANMAR LETTER SHAN PALI LLA;Lo;0;L;;;;;N;;;;;
1085;MYANMAR LETTER SGAW KAREN SHA;Lo;0;L;;;;;N;;;;;
1086;MYANMAR SIGN SGAW KAREN HATHI;Mc;0;L;;;;;N;;;;;
1087;MYANMAR SIGN SGAW KAREN KE PHO;Mc;0;L;;;;;N;;;;;
1088;MYANMAR LETTER WESTERN PWO KAREN THA;Lo;0;L;;;;;N;;;;;
1089;MYANMAR LETTER WESTERN PWO KAREN PWA;Lo;0;L;;;;;N;;;;;
108A;MYANMAR VOWEL SIGN WESTERN PWO KAREN EU;Mc;0;L;;;;;N;;;;;
108B;MYANMAR VOWEL SIGN WESTERN PWO KAREN UE;Mc;0;L;;;;;N;;;;;
108C;MYANMAR SIGN WESTERN PWO KAREN TONE-1;Mc;0;L;;;;;N;;;;;
108D;MYANMAR SIGN WESTERN PWO KAREN TONE-2;Mc;0;L;;;;;N;;;;;
108E;MYANMAR SIGN WESTERN PWO KAREN TONE-3;Mc;0;L;;;;;N;;;;;
108F;MYANMAR SIGN WESTERN PWO KAREN TONE-4;Mc;0;L;;;;;N;;;;;
1090;MYANMAR SIGN WESTERN PWO KAREN TONE-5;Mc;0;L;;;;;N;;;;;
1091;MYANMAR LETTER EASTERN PWO KAREN NNA;Lo;0;L;;;;;N;;;;;
1092;MYANMAR LETTER EASTERN PWO KAREN YWA;Lo;0;L;;;;;N;;;;;
1093;MYANMAR LETTER EASTERN PWO KAREN GHWA;Lo;0;L;;;;;N;;;;;
1094;MYANMAR VOWEL SIGN KAYAH OE;Mn;0;NSM;;;;;N;;;;;
1095;MYANMAR VOWEL SIGN KAYAH U;Mn;0;NSM;;;;;N;;;;;
1096;MYANMAR VOWEL SIGN KAYAH EE;Mn;0;NSM;;;;;N;;;;;

Bibliography
Khu Myar Reh. 2005. The greedy dog and his bone. [Chiang Mai]: [Payap University].
Nai Pan Hla. 1989. An introduction to Mon language. Kyoto: Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto
University.
ïï∑∫Ë̉∫∏ú≠‡∫ÒëÔ∏ ïΉ∫ôˆ∫ (Shan-Thai reader).
ñá∂Ÿú≠ÅÑ∫∏ë´ ∫ (Eastern Pwo Karen reader).
ôΩî∫ò¨û¨: ûÑ∫ºÄ¨∏îä∫∏ (Mon grammar book).
ûΩ‰∫µôÒú≠‡∫ÒëÔ∏ 200 ‚∞ù∫Òô∞Ñ∫∏ (Shan-Thai reader).
âñª≠å∑Ñ≠°ú∂èÅç∑ë∂ê ñ≠çàçÜ°Ç∏ (Western Pwo Karen reader).
âñª≠å ∑Ñ≠ÜäŪ≤å ∑ í≤ ïöå∑°ÅÆéïöÆé = ï≠Ø∏ÄõÑ∫-ºôî∫ô¨°ò≠ì´î∫ = Pwo Kayin-Myanmar Dictionary. 1989. (Western Pwo
Karen).

4
Figures

Figure 1. Sample from Nai Pan Hla’s 1989 Mon dictionary, showing LETTER MON E, VOWEL SIGN MON II,
and VOWEL SIGN MON O.

Figure 2. Sample from Nai Pan Hla’s 1989 Mon dictionary, showing LETTER MON NGA, LETTER MON JHA,
LETTER MON BBA, and LETTER MON BBE.

5
 Figure 3. Sample from Nai Pan Hla’s 1989 Mon dictionary, showing CONSONANT SIGN MON MEDIAL NA,
CONSONANT SIGN MON MEDIAL MA, and CONSONANT SIGN MON MEDIAL LA.

Figure 4. Sample from a Shan-Thai reader, showing LETTER SHAN KA, LETTER SHAN KHA, LETTER SHAN CA,
LETTER SHAN NYA, LETTER SHAN NA, LETTER SHAN PHA, LETTER SHAN FA, LETTER SHAN HA, LETTER SHAN A,
LETTER SHAN PALI GA, LETTER SHAN HSIPAW FA, LETTER SHAN HSIPAW RA, LETTER SHAN THA,
VOWEL SIGN SHAN E, VOWEL SIGN SHAN AA, VOWEL SIGN SHAN A, VOWEL SIGN SHAN FINAL Y,
VOWEL SIGN SHAN EE ABOVE, VOWEL SIGN SHAN E ABOVE, CONSONANT SIGN SHAN MEDIAL WA,
SIGN SHAN TONE-2, SIGN SHAN TONE-3, SIGN SHAN TONE-5, and SIGN SHAN TONE-6.
6
Figure 5. Sample from a reader in Shan and Thai, showing LETTER SHAN PALI GHA, LETTER SHAN PALI JA,
LETTER SHAN PALI JHA, LETTER SHAN PALI TTA, LETTER SHAN PALI TTHA, LETTER SHAN PALI DDA,
LETTER SHAN PALI DDHA, LETTER SHAN PALI NNA, LETTER SHAN PALI DA, LETTER SHAN PALI DHA,
LETTER SHAN PALI BHA, and LETTER SHAN PALI LLA.

7
Figure 6. Sample from a Shan Council reader, showing SIGN SHAN COUNCIL EMPHATIC TONE and
SIGN SHAN TONE-4.

Figure 7. Sample from a reader in S’gaw Karen, showing LETTER SGAW KAREN SHA.

8
Figure 8. Sample from a reader in S’gaw Karen, showing the ductus for writing S’gaw Karen letters.
Note the difference between LETTER RA and LETTER SGAW KAREN SHA.

Figure 9. Sample from a reader in S’gaw Karen, showing CONSONANT SIGN MON MEDIAL LA (used in
S’gaw Karen for ya) alongside characters proposed in N3043, CONSONANT SIGN MEDIAL HA (used in
S’gaw Karen for ga), CONSONANT SIGN MEDIAL RA, CONSONANT SIGN MEDIAL YA (used in S’gaw Karen
for la), and CONSONANT SIGN MEDIAL WA.

9
 Figure 10. Sample from a reader in S’gaw Karen, showing vowels and tone marks, including
VOWEL SIGN TALL AA (proposed in N3043), VOWEL SIGN SHAN A, SIGN SGAW KAREN HATHI,
SIGN SGAW KAREN KE PHO, and CONSONANT SIGN MON MEDIAL LA.

Figure 11. Sample from a reader in S’gaw Karen, showing SIGN SGAW KAREN HATHI and
SIGN SGAW KAREN KE PHO. The CONSONANT SIGN MEDIAL WA (proposed in N3043) is shown with a
triangular glyph.

10
 Figure 12. Sample from a reader in Western Pwo Karen, showing LETTER SGAW KAREN SHA,
LETTER WESTERN PWO KAREN THA, and LETTER WESTERN PWO KAREN PWA.

Figure 13. Sample from a reader in Western Pwo Karen, showing LETTER WESTERN PWO KAREN PWA listed
as a separate letter of the alphabet: â pwa is for âñ≠ªå∑ pwaphli ‘Pwo Karen’.

11
Figure 14. Sample from a reader in Western Pwo Karen, showing LETTER WESTERN PWO KAREN THA,
LETTER SGAW KAREN SHA, and LETTER WESTERN PWO KAREN PWA.

Figure 15. Sample from a reader in Western Pwo Karen, listing the vowel signs and showing
VOWEL SIGN TALL AA (proposed in N3043), as well as VOWEL SIGN WESTERN PWO KAREN EU, and
VOWEL SIGN WESTERN PWO KAREN UE.

12
 Figure 16. Sample from a reader in Western Pwo Karen, listing the tone marks and showing
SIGN WESTERN PWO KAREN TONE-1, SIGN WESTERN PWO KAREN TONE-2, SIGN WESTERN PWO KAREN TONE-3,
SIGN WESTERN PWO KAREN TONE-4, SIGN WESTERN PWO KAREN TONE-5.

Figure 18. Sample from a reader in Eastern Pwo Karen, showing LETTER EASTERN PWO KAREN NNA,
LETTER EASTERN PWO KAREN YWA, and LETTER EASTERN PWO KAREN GHWA.

13
Figure 19. Sample from a reader in Eastern Pwo Karen, showing the ductus for writing Eastern Pwo
Karen letters. Highlighted are LETTER EASTERN PWO KAREN YWA, LETTER EASTERN PWO KAREN NNA, and
LETTER EASTERN PWO KAREN GHWA.

Figure 20. Sample from a story in Kayah, “The Greedy Dog and his Bone”,
showing VOWEL SIGN KAYAH OE, VOWEL SIGN KAYAH U, and VOWEL SIGN KAYAH EE.

14
Proposal for additional Myanmar characters in the UCS Michael Everson

TABLE XX - Row 10: MYANMAR

100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109

0
Ä ê † @∞ ¿ – @‡ @ Ä @ê
1
Å ë ° ±@ ¡ — · @Ò Å ë
2
Ç í ¢ @≤ ¬ “ ‚ @Ú Ç í
3
É ì £ @≥ √ ” „ @Û É ì
4
Ñ î § @¥ ƒ ‘ ‰ @Ù Ñ @î
5
Ö ï • µ@ ≈ ’ Â @ı Ö @ï
6
Ü ñ ¶ @∂ ∆ @÷ Ê @ˆ @Ü @ñ
7
á ó ß @∑ « @◊ Á @˜ @á
G = 00
8
à ò ® @∏ » @ÿ Ë ¯ à P = 00

9
â ô © π … @Ÿ È ˘ â
A
ä ö ™ @∫ ~ ⁄ Í ˙ @ä
B
ã õ @´ @ª À { Î ˚ @ã
C
å ú @¨ º@ Ã ‹ @Ï ¸ @å
D
ç ù @≠ @ Õ › @Ì ˝ @ç
≠
E
é û @Æ @æ Œ @fi @Ó ˛ @é
F
è ü @Ø ø œ @fl @Ô ˇ @è
15
Proposal for additional Myanmar characters in the UCS Michael Everson

TABLE XX - Row 10: MYANMAR

hex Name hex Name

00 MYANMAR LETTER KA 59 MYANMAR VOWEL SIGN VOCALIC LL

01 MYANMAR LETTER KHA 5A MYANMAR LETTER MON NGA
02 MYANMAR LETTER GA 5B MYANMAR LETTER MON JHA
03 MYANMAR LETTER GHA 5C MYANMAR LETTER MON BBA
04 MYANMAR LETTER NGA 5D MYANMAR LETTER MON BBE
05 MYANMAR LETTER CA 5E MYANMAR CONSONANT SIGN MON MEDIAL NA
06 MYANMAR LETTER CHA 5F MYANMAR CONSONANT SIGN MON MEDIAL MA
07 MYANMAR LETTER JA 60 MYANMAR CONSONANT SIGN MON MEDIAL LA
08 MYANMAR LETTER JHA 61 MYANMAR LETTER SHAN KA
09 MYANMAR LETTER NYA 62 MYANMAR LETTER SHAN KHA
0A MYANMAR LETTER NNYA 63 MYANMAR LETTER SHAN CA
0B MYANMAR LETTER TTA 64 MYANMAR LETTER SHAN NYA
0C MYANMAR LETTER TTHA 65 MYANMAR LETTER SHAN NA
0D MYANMAR LETTER DDA 66 MYANMAR LETTER SHAN PHA
0E MYANMAR LETTER DDHA 67 MYANMAR LETTER SHAN FA
0F MYANMAR LETTER NNA 68 MYANMAR LETTER SHAN THA
10 MYANMAR LETTER TA 69 MYANMAR LETTER SHAN HA
11 MYANMAR LETTER THA 6A MYANMAR LETTER SHAN HSIPAW FA
12 MYANMAR LETTER DA 6B MYANMAR LETTER SHAN HSIPAW RA
13 MYANMAR LETTER DHA 6C MYANMAR VOWEL SIGN SHAN A
14 MYANMAR LETTER NA 6D MYANMAR VOWEL SIGN SHAN AA
15 MYANMAR LETTER PA 6E MYANMAR VOWEL SIGN SHAN EE ABOVE
16 MYANMAR LETTER PHA 6F MYANMAR VOWEL SIGN SHAN E ABOVE
17 MYANMAR LETTER BA 70 MYANMAR VOWEL SIGN SHAN FINAL Y
18 MYANMAR LETTER BHA 71 MYANMAR SIGN SHAN TONE-2
19 MYANMAR LETTER MA 72 MYANMAR SIGN SHAN TONE-3
1A MYANMAR LETTER YA 73 MYANMAR SIGN SHAN COUNCIL TONE-4
1B MYANMAR LETTER RA 74 MYANMAR SIGN SHAN TONE-5
1C MYANMAR LETTER LA 75 MYANMAR SIGN SHAN TONE-6
1D MYANMAR LETTER WA 76 MYANMAR SIGN SHAN COUNCIL EMPHATIC TONE
1E MYANMAR LETTER SA 77 MYANMAR CONSONANT SIGN SHAN MEDIAL WA
1F MYANMAR LETTER HA 78 MYANMAR LETTER SHAN PALI GA
20 MYANMAR LETTER LLA 79 MYANMAR LETTER SHAN PALI GHA
21 MYANMAR LETTER A 7A MYANMAR LETTER SHAN PALI JA
22 MYANMAR LETTER SHAN A 7B MYANMAR LETTER SHAN PALI JHA
23 MYANMAR LETTER I 7C MYANMAR LETTER SHAN PALI TTA
24 MYANMAR LETTER II 7D MYANMAR LETTER SHAN PALI TTHA
25 MYANMAR LETTER U 7E MYANMAR LETTER SHAN PALI DDA
26 MYANMAR LETTER UU 7F MYANMAR LETTER SHAN PALI DDHA
27 MYANMAR LETTER E 80 MYANMAR LETTER SHAN PALI NNA
28 MYANMAR LETTER MON E 81 MYANMAR LETTER SHAN PALI DA
29 MYANMAR LETTER O 82 MYANMAR LETTER SHAN PALI DHA
2A MYANMAR LETTER AU 83 MYANMAR LETTER SHAN PALI BHA
2B MYANMAR VOWEL SIGN TALL AA 84 MYANMAR LETTER SHAN PALI LLA
2C MYANMAR VOWEL SIGN AA 85 MYANMAR LETTER SGAW KAREN SHA
2D MYANMAR VOWEL SIGN I 86 MYANMAR SIGN SGAW KAREN HATHI
2E MYANMAR VOWEL SIGN II 87 MYANMAR SIGN SGAW KAREN KE PHO
2F MYANMAR VOWEL SIGN U 88 MYANMAR LETTER WESTERN PWO KAREN THA
30 MYANMAR VOWEL SIGN UU 89 MYANMAR LETTER WESTERN PWO KAREN PWA
31 MYANMAR VOWEL SIGN E 8A MYANMAR VOWEL SIGN WESTERN PWO KAREN EU
32 MYANMAR VOWEL SIGN AI 8B MYANMAR VOWEL SIGN WESTERN PWO KAREN UE
33 MYANMAR VOWEL SIGN MON II 8C MYANMAR SIGN WESTERN PWO KAREN TONE-1
34 MYANMAR VOWEL SIGN MON O 8D MYANMAR SIGN WESTERN PWO KAREN TONE-2
35 MYANMAR VOWEL SIGN SHAN E 8E MYANMAR SIGN WESTERN PWO KAREN TONE-3
36 MYANMAR SIGN ANUSVARA 8F MYANMAR SIGN WESTERN PWO KAREN TONE-4
37 MYANMAR SIGN DOT BELOW 90 MYANMAR SIGN WESTERN PWO KAREN TONE-5
38 MYANMAR SIGN VISARGA 91 MYANMAR LETTER EASTERN PWO KAREN NNA
39 MYANMAR SIGN VIRAMA 92 MYANMAR LETTER EASTERN PWO KAREN YWA
3A MYANMAR SIGN ASAT 93 MYANMAR LETTER EASTERN PWO KAREN GHWA
3B MYANMAR CONSONANT SIGN MEDIAL YA 94 MYANMAR VOWEL SIGN KAYAH OE
3C MYANMAR CONSONANT SIGN MEDIAL RA 95 MYANMAR VOWEL SIGN KAYAH U
3D MYANMAR CONSONANT SIGN MEDIAL WA 96 MYANMAR VOWEL SIGN KAYAH EE
3E MYANMAR CONSONANT SIGN MEDIAL HA 97 (This position shall not be used)
3F MYANMAR LETTER GREAT SA 98 (This position shall not be used)
40 MYANMAR DIGIT ZERO 99 (This position shall not be used)
41 MYANMAR DIGIT ONE 9A (This position shall not be used)
42 MYANMAR DIGIT TWO 9B (This position shall not be used)
43 MYANMAR DIGIT THREE 9C (This position shall not be used)
44 MYANMAR DIGIT FOUR 9D (This position shall not be used)
45 MYANMAR DIGIT FIVE 9E (This position shall not be used)
46 MYANMAR DIGIT SIX 9F (This position shall not be used)
47 MYANMAR DIGIT SEVEN
48 MYANMAR DIGIT EIGHT
49 MYANMAR DIGIT NINE
4A MYANMAR SIGN LITTLE SECTION
4B MYANMAR SIGN SECTION
4C MYANMAR SYMBOL LOCATIVE
4D MYANMAR SYMBOL COMPLETED
4E MYANMAR SYMBOL AFOREMENTIONED
4F MYANMAR SYMBOL GENITIVE
50 MYANMAR LETTER SHA
51 MYANMAR LETTER SSA
52 MYANMAR LETTER VOCALIC R
53 MYANMAR LETTER VOCALIC RR
54 MYANMAR LETTER VOCALIC L
55 MYANMAR LETTER VOCALIC LL
56 MYANMAR VOWEL SIGN VOCALIC R
57 MYANMAR VOWEL SIGN VOCALIC RR
58 MYANMAR VOWEL SIGN VOCALIC L

Group 00 Plane 00 Row 1B

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A. Administrative
1. Title
Proposal for encoding characters for Myanmar minority languages vin the UCS.
2. Requester’s name
Michael Everson
3. Requester type (Member body/Liaison/Individual contribution)
Individual contribution.
4. Submission date
2006-03-30
5. Requester’s reference (if applicable)
6. Choose one of the following:
6a. This is a complete proposal
Yes.
6b. More information will be provided later
No.

B. Technical – General
1. Choose one of the following:
1a. This proposal is for a new script (set of characters)
No.
Proposed name of script
1b. The proposal is for addition of character(s) to an existing block
Yes.
1c. Name of the existing block
Myanmar.
2. Number of characters in proposal
66
3. Proposed category (A-Contemporary; B.1-Specialized (small collection); B.2-Specialized (large collection); C-Major extinct; D-
Attested extinct; E-Minor extinct; F-Archaic Hieroglyphic or Ideographic; G-Obscure or questionable usage symbols)
Category A.
4a. Proposed Level of Implementation (1, 2 or 3)
Level 2
4b. Is a rationale provided for the choice?
Yes.
4c. If YES, reference
Brahmic Level 2 implementation.
5a. Is a repertoire including character names provided?
Yes.
5b. If YES, are the names in accordance with the “character naming guidelines” in Annex L of P&P document?
Yes.
5c. Are the character shapes attached in a legible form suitable for review?
Yes.
6a. Who will provide the appropriate computerized font (ordered preference: True Type, or PostScript format) for publishing the
standard?
Michael Everson.
6b. If available now, identify source(s) for the font (include address, e-mail, ftp-site, etc.) and indicate the tools used:
Michael Everson, Fontographer.
7a. Are references (to other character sets, dictionaries, descriptive texts etc.) provided?
No.
7b. Are published examples of use (such as samples from newspapers, magazines, or other sources) of proposed characters
attached?
No. The characters to be represented are not new to SC2.
8. Special encoding issues: Does the proposal address other aspects of character data processing (if applicable) such as input,
presentation, sorting, searching, indexing, transliteration etc. (if yes please enclose information)?
Yes.
9. Additional Information: Submitters are invited to provide any additional information about Properties of the proposed
Character(s) or Script that will assist in correct understanding of and correct linguistic processing of the proposed character(s) or
script.
See above.

C. Technical – Justification
1. Has this proposal for addition of character(s) been submitted before? If YES, explain.
Yes. See N2827, N1883R, and Unicode 1.0, which are all relevant documents.
2a. Has contact been made to members of the user community (for example: National Body, user groups of the script or characters,
other experts, etc.)?
Yes.

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2b. If YES, with whom?
San Lwin (Director General, Myanmar Language Commission), Tun Tint (Myanmar Language Commission), Thein Oo (President,
Myanmar Computer Federation), Kyaw Thein (Vice-President, Myanmar Computer Federation), Myint Myint Than (Director, Myanmar
Computer Federation), Zaw Htut (Myanmar Computer Professional Association, Myanmar’s NET), Htoo Myint Naung (MyMyanmar
Project, Technomation Studios, Universities of Computer Studies Yangon), Myint Thu (MyMyanmar Project, Myanmar Heritage
Publications), Ngwe Tun (Mon—Myanmar Computer Professional Association, Solveware Solution, Myanmar Info-Tech), Maung Maung
Thant (Myanmar Computer Professional Association), Jai Pah Bung Mein (Shan—SSi Technologies), Saw Hare Sei (S’gaw Karen—
Ayeyawady Data Centre), Saw Baldwin Khaing Oo (S’gaw Karen—Ayeyawady Data Centre), Nant Silver Tun (Western Pwo Karen—
Pwo Kayin Conference), William Wai Lin Kyaw (Myanmar Computer Professional Association, Myanmar Linux Users Group), Ye Myat
Thu (Alpha Mandalay, Alpha Info-Tech), Martin Hosken (Payap University), Keith Stribley (Thanlwinsoft).
2c. If YES, available relevant documents
3. Information on the user community for the proposed characters (for example: size, demographics, information technology use, or
publishing use) is included?
People in Myanmar.
4a. The context of use for the proposed characters (type of use; common or rare)
Common.
4b. Reference
5a. Are the proposed characters in current use by the user community?
Yes.
5b. If YES, where?
In Myanmar.
6a. After giving due considerations to the principles in the P&P document must the proposed characters be entirely in the BMP?
Yes.
6b. If YES, is a rationale provided?
Yes.
6c. If YES, reference
Contemporary use and accordance with the Roadmap.
7. Should the proposed characters be kept together in a contiguous range (rather than being scattered)?
N/A.
8a. Can any of the proposed characters be considered a presentation form of an existing character or character sequence?
Yes.
8b. If YES, is a rationale for its inclusion provided?
This proposal requests disunifications and a change in the sequences currently specified for Myanmar because those sequences do not work.
Apart from that, the proposed U+1088 MYANMAR LETTER WESTERN PWO KAREN THA looks like U+1041 MYANMAR DIGIT ONE but UCS
encoding principles always differentiate such pairs. Compare U+101D MYANMAR LETTER WA and U+1040 MYANMAR DIGIT ZERO.
8c. If YES, reference
9a. Can any of the proposed characters be encoded using a composed character sequence of either existing characters or other
proposed characters?
No.
9b. If YES, is a rationale for its inclusion provided?
9c. If YES, reference
10a. Can any of the proposed character(s) be considered to be similar (in appearance or function) to an existing character?
Yes.
10b. If YES, is a rationale for its inclusion provided?
Yes.
10c. If YES, reference
See “Issues” above.
11a. Does the proposal include use of combining characters and/or use of composite sequences?
Yes.
11b. If YES, is a rationale for such use provided?
Yes.
11c. If YES, reference
Brahmic vowel and consonant signs.
11d. Is a list of composite sequences and their corresponding glyph images (graphic symbols) provided?
No.
11e. If YES, reference
12a. Does the proposal contain characters with any special properties such as control function or similar semantics?
No.
12b. If YES, describe in detail (include attachment if necessary)
13a. Does the proposal contain any Ideographic compatibility character(s)?
No.
13b. If YES, is the equivalent corresponding unified ideographic character(s) identified?

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