Fwd: August Updates from Unicode Consortium
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Begin forwarded message:From: Unicode Consortium <member-...@unicode.org>Subject: August Updates from Unicode ConsortiumDate: August 8, 2023 22:02:38 GMT+2Reply-To: Unicode Consortium <member-...@unicode.org>
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August Updates from Unicode
In this newsletter, you’ll see technical committee updates, including information on the release of ICU 73.2 and CLDR 43.1, a spotlight on the newest CLDR Subcommittee focused on Digitally Disadvantaged Languages, as well as our inaugural Volunteer Spotlight featuring Lorna Evans. There is also information on how to access the video recordings of our recent events.
TECHNICAL COMMITTEE UPDATES
622 New CJK Ideographs to be Available in Unicode Version 15.1
The Unicode Standard will include 622 new CJK characters in Version 15.1, which will be released on September 12, 2023. The characters are in a new block, CJK Unified Ideographs Extension I, with code point assignments as reflected in the proposal document. Read more.
ICU 73.2 and CLDR 43.1 Released: GB18030 Compliance Updates & Compatibility Fixes
There are significant changes for GB18030-2022 compliance support including:
CLDR extends the support for “short” Chinese sort orders to cover some additional, required characters for Level 2. This is carried over into ICU collation.
ICU has a modified character conversion table, mapping some GB18030 characters to Unicode characters that were encoded after GB18030-2005.
Additionally, there are changes for compatibility. For details, read the announcement.
Person Names – A Story Teller’s Case Study
Added in CLDR v42, Person Name formatting has been refined and enhanced for v43.
With the help of linguists from around the world, we completed data for formatting people’s names for CLDR locales at modern coverage. To learn more, and get an idea of the
implications for user experience and application design, see the recently released
white paper, written by Mike McKenna, Chair of the Person Name Subcommittee.
TECHNICAL COMMITTEE SPOTLIGHTNEW Subcommittee focused on Digitally Disadvantaged Languages
The Common Locale Data Repository (CLDR) is a critical on-ramp for digital success of languages supported by Unicode. The Digitally Disadvantaged Languages (DDL) Subcommittee was formed to support language communities that are not yet well-represented in Unicode projects and digital spaces with:
- Advocating for the language communities, providing them with a point of contact for concerns or questions.
- Better documentation, to explain why and how to contribute.
- Improved processes and tooling to reduce structural and technological barriers to contributions.
- Connecting language communities with each other so they can share best practices.
VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT Lorna Evans, SIL International
Lorna first became involved with Unicode in 2000 as a conference participant. Her enthusiasm led her to volunteer as a lecturer at a Unicode conference, and for the past several years as an active proposal contributor and committee member. Lorna’s heart and passion are to assist digitally disadvantaged communities by bringing their language fonts, characters, and sounds to the Unicode standard.
Lorna began her language journey typesetting Bibles in Ethiopia in 1990 and was fascinated by the multiple fonts and characters needing representation. When she heard that Unicode was moving to support Ethiopic characters, she had to get involved.
When asked what she is most proud of, Lorna said, “Anytime I do a proposal to Unicode, it feels like the most important thing (for that language community).” She thrives on research and feels with each proposal, she is bringing digital access to people who need it most. Lorna is completely self-taught and currently focused on documenting Arabic script. She describes SIL International, an Associate member of the Unicode Consortium and her current employer, as the former kings of creating custom encoded fonts and she is working diligently to help SIL transition to Unicode.
As for her time involved with other Unicode staff and volunteers, she has enjoyed the camaraderie and attending technical committee and editorial meetings. Lorna is an active member of the Script Ad Hoc Subcommittee, as well as the primary representative to Unicode for SIL International.
Lorna shared that she grew up in Bolivia and says that salteñas, a savory pastry filled with beef stew, is still her favorite food.
Editor’s Note: We appreciate and thank Lorna for taking time to tell us a little about herself as well as her years of contributions to Unicode!
MEMBERSHIP Individual and Organizational Membership
As a member of the Unicode Consortium, you can be part of a dedicated, vibrant community of contributors who ensure that the billions of users around the world can communicate in their own languages across platforms.
Unicode offers student, annual and lifetime individual memberships, as well as
three levels of organizational membership. Please contact us for more details at
member-...@unicode.org or visit Why Join – Unicode.
OTHER MEMBERSHIP NEWS Thank you to our latest Lifetime, New, and Renewing Individual Members!
Lifetime Members
Brian Kolo, Doğacan Ege Altunsu, Gregory Bubnob, Manish Goregaokar, and
Murray Sargent (Alumni)New Members
Ashton Mathias, Chiara Kern, Damian Nelson, Oreste Mulet Rojas, Nazanin Azari,
Michelle Brinich, and Thomas EggerRenewing Members
Adebayo Gbakinro, Benjamin Petzuch, Cameron Banga, Craig Finley, Javier Santo Domingo, Logan Simpson, Martin Heijdra, Mouhamet Diop, Owen Branley, Paul-Henri Arnaud, Richard Wordingham, Robert Muir, Ryan Brown, Takahiro Kashima, Thomas Bakketun, Tristan Davey, and Yie Zhu
UPCOMING IN PERSON EVENT
[NEW!] Unicode Technology Workshop – Call for Submissions
About the Workshop
Join us in person on November 7-8 in the San Francisco Bay Area for two days of community building around the Unicode technology that makes software work for
billions of people.Expect two days of workshops, seminars, free-form discussions, and lightning talks centered around i18n libraries, locale data frameworks, globalization tooling, localization pipelines, input methods, and text rendering. Network with developers and users to help shape the future of Unicode technology.
This is a new type of event for Unicode, with a focus on building more connections within the internationalization community. Expect to come away with deeper knowledge on how to solve tough problems in the i18n and l10n space and how to engineer products that work better for global users. GILT professionals, especially those who build or use Unicode technologies, are encouraged to attend and to host sessions. To encourage maximum collaboration amongst the attendees, this is an in-person-only event.
Call for Submissions
For those interested in participating in and contributing to the event, the call for submissions is now open until September 6th. If you work on Unicode internationalization technologies or use Unicode internationalization technologies in your work, we want to hear from you!Register your interest in contributing. Selected contributors will be notified by
September 20th.
POST EVENT RESOURCESYouTube Videos now Available
If you missed any of our most recent virtual events, or want to review what you heard, we are pleased to announce that the full-length videos for ICU4X Open House, Documenting and Preserving Languages and CLDR, Beyond Locale Data are now available on the Unicode YouTube Channel. Be sure to subscribe to our channel for all of the latest content.
UNICODE IN THE NEWS➤ Ward, Alie. “Curiology (EMOJI) with Various Emoji Experts”. Ologies with Alie Ward. Podcast audio, July 6, 2023. Curiology (EMOJI) with Various Emoji Experts — alie ward
ADOPT-A-CHARACTERThe Adopt-a-Character program was launched in 2015. Since that time, AAC funds have supported Unicode's mission to ensure everyone can communicate in their own language.
Visit the webpage to learn more about the multiple levels of character adoption and how you can give a gift and support a great cause.
Recent Adoptions
Thank you for your adoptions!!
Silver Adoptions
➤ Blue Blocker 𝕏
➤ gbromios
➤ Jun Li 草
➤ Larry Hotdogs 🌭
Bronze Adoptions
➤ Angela Lee 🦎
➤ Borys Lykah λ
➤ Christopher - For Jim. Nature or nurture, you’re responsible for both ♡ 찜
➤ Crazy Marvin 🤪
➤ D Murray - For My MAC 💜
➤ David Scott ⛧
➤ Derek H 😸
➤ Fadhl Haqq ꦦ
➤ For WWB 🐚
➤ Gregory Bubnov Ǝ ∀
➤ Holly & Tyler 2023 🥂
➤ Hongyu - In loving memory of 潘啟瑞
(1927–2023) ✍️➤ Julia - Mom 😻
➤ @leonklingele de 🐳
➤ @marek 🐱
➤ Mark Walkom 🤘🏿
➤ Mel P 👏
➤ Michael Burkhardt ㎆
➤ Nobs Wolf 🐺
➤ Orange Tide ░
➤ ROQUE STREW ⁜
➤ S. Ben, Local Coffee Alchemist ☕⚗️
➤ Satish (satish com in) ᇄ
➤ Tom Keeley 🚲
➤ Vina - In loving memory of Ruby 🦔
➤ Zhang Bowen 文
➤ Zoe Z
🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻 SUPPORT UNICODE 🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻
Finally, if you are already a contributor — or member of Unicode (or your company or organization is), thank you, Danke, Děkuju, धन्यवाद, merci, 谢谢你, grazie, நன்றி, and gracias! What we have accomplished is only possible because of supporters like you.
And if you found this information useful and want to support Unicode’s mission to ensure everyone can communicate in their languages across all devices, please consider
adopting a character, making a gift of stock, or making a donation.
As Unicode, Inc. is a US-based open source, open standards, non-profit, 501(c)3 organization, your contribution may be eligible for a tax deduction.Please consult with a tax advisor for details.
Make your adoption today!
UNICODE RESOURCESYouTube Channel
Online resources from our in-person and online events on internationalization and Unicode projects are available on our YouTube channel. Be sure to subscribe to the channel for the latest content.
Technical Quick Start Guide
And if you are new to Unicode and internationalization or simply want a refresh, you can also check out our Technical Quick Start Guide. This handy guide explains what Unicode is, including answering the question, “What is Internationalization and Why it Matters.” In the Guide, there are also useful links to more detailed information and how you can get involved.
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