Re: [Ietf-languages] Between language and script in Burmese

[Peter Constable <[e-mail]>]

Sorry, I misunderstood

> This is a variant of the Mon language used by Mon people in Thailand. It has its own distinct script tradition.

to mean Mon written in a different script from Mymr script rather than using a distinctive style of Mymr script.



Peter

-----Original Message-----
From: Simon Cozens <[e-mail]> 
Sent: Wednesday, November 17, 2021 1:40 PM
To: Peter Constable <[e-mail]>; [e-mail]
Subject: Re: [Ietf-languages] Between language and script in Burmese

On 17/11/2021 20:03, Peter Constable wrote:
> You've touched on the easier cases that can be supported now in BCP 
> 47. For Mon, you suggested mnw-TH could be used, though I would also 
> consider mnw-Thai versus mnw-Mymr

I'm not sure this is right. mnw-Thai would be Mon written in the Thai script (not what we want), and mnw-Mymr would be Mon (not Thai Mon) written in Myanmar script; neither of which would be referring to the Thai Mon language written in the Thai Mon orthographic variant of Myanmar script.

> For Pali written in Myanmar script, just that much information should be tagged using pl-Mymr, and that tag alone would convey _nothing_ about orthographic or typographic variants.

Right. So that's obviously not enough.

> If there are finer distinctions to be made-certainly for orthographic differences-then additional subtags would be needed. If orthographic distinctions correlate closely with region differences, then region subtags could be used to capture that. But for the cases you mention, region is not a good correlate. For those cases, variant subtags would be needed.

I think we are going to need variant subtags to denote orthographic forms of the Myanmar script preferred by the Shan, Khamti and Mon communities. Advice on how to get these variants registered would be appreciated!

> Of course, mapping from language tags to OpenType Layout language system tags to implement typographic distinctions is a related but separate matter.

Well, yes. I'll be pestering you about registering some new OTL language system tags once we've got something for them to map from!

Simon