Frank da Cruz
The Kermit Project
New York City
fdc@kermitproject.orgLast update: Thu Sep 15 14:00:00 2016
UTF-8 is an ASCII-preserving encoding method for Unicode (ISO 10646), the Universal Character Set (UCS). The UCS encodes most of the world's writing systems in a single character set, allowing you to mix languages and scripts within a document without needing any tricks for switching character sets. This web page is encoded directly in UTF-8.
As shown HERE, Columbia University's Kermit 95 terminal emulation software can display UTF-8 plain text in Windows 95, 98, ME, NT, XP, Vista, or Windows 7/8/10 when using a monospace Unicode font like Andale Mono WT J or Everson Mono Terminal, or the lesser populated Courier New, Lucida Console, or Andale Mono. C-Kermit can handle it too, if you have a Unicode display. As many languages as are representable in your font can be seen on the screen at the same time.
This, however, is a Web page, which started out as a kind of stress test for UTF-8 support in Web browsers, which was spotty when this page was first created in the 1990s but which has become standard in all modern browsers. The problem now is mainly the fonts and the browser's (or font's) support for the nonzero Unicode planes (as in, e.g., the Braille and Gothic examples below). And to some extent the rendition of combining sequences, right-to-left rendition (Arabic, Hebrew), and so on. CLICK HERE for a survey of Unicode fonts for Windows.
The subtitle above shows currency symbols of many lands. If they don't appear as blobs, we're off to a good start! (The one on the end is the new Indian Rupee sign which won't show up in fonts for a while.)
ᚠᛇᚻ᛫ᛒᛦᚦ᛫ᚠᚱᚩᚠᚢᚱ᛫ᚠᛁᚱᚪ᛫ᚷᛖᚻᚹᛦᛚᚳᚢᛗ
ᛋᚳᛖᚪᛚ᛫ᚦᛖᚪᚻ᛫ᛗᚪᚾᚾᚪ᛫ᚷᛖᚻᚹᛦᛚᚳ᛫ᛗᛁᚳᛚᚢᚾ᛫ᚻᛦᛏ᛫ᛞᚫᛚᚪᚾ
ᚷᛁᚠ᛫ᚻᛖ᛫ᚹᛁᛚᛖ᛫ᚠᚩᚱ᛫ᛞᚱᛁᚻᛏᚾᛖ᛫ᛞᚩᛗᛖᛋ᛫ᚻᛚᛇᛏᚪᚾ᛬
From Laȝamon's Brut (The Chronicles of England, Middle English, West Midlands):
An preost wes on leoden, Laȝamon was ihoten
He wes Leovenaðes sone -- liðe him be Drihten.
He wonede at Ernleȝe at æðelen are chirechen,
Uppen Sevarne staþe, sel þar him þuhte,
Onfest Radestone, þer he bock radde.
(The third letter in the author's name is Yogh, missing from many fonts; CLICK HERE for another Middle English sample with some explanation of letters and encoding).
From the Tagelied of Wolfram von Eschenbach (Middle High German):
Sîne klâwen durh die wolken sint geslagen,
er stîget ûf mit grôzer kraft,
ich sih in grâwen tägelîch als er wil tagen,
den tac, der im geselleschaft
erwenden wil, dem werden man,
den ich mit sorgen în verliez.
ich bringe in hinnen, ob ich kan.
sîn vil manegiu tugent michz leisten hiez.
Some lines of Odysseus Elytis (Greek):
Monotonic: Τη γλώσσα μου έδωσαν ελληνική
το σπίτι φτωχικό στις αμμουδιές του Ομήρου.
Μονάχη έγνοια η γλώσσα μου στις αμμουδιές του Ομήρου.
από το Άξιον Εστί
του Οδυσσέα ΕλύτηPolytonic: Τὴ γλῶσσα μοῦ ἔδωσαν ἑλληνικὴ
τὸ σπίτι φτωχικὸ στὶς ἀμμουδιὲς τοῦ Ὁμήρου.
Μονάχη ἔγνοια ἡ γλῶσσα μου στὶς ἀμμουδιὲς τοῦ Ὁμήρου.
ἀπὸ τὸ Ἄξιον ἐστί
τοῦ Ὀδυσσέα Ἐλύτη
The first stanza of
Pushkin's Bronze Horseman (Russian):
На берегу пустынных волн
Стоял он, дум великих полн,
И вдаль глядел. Пред ним широко
Река неслася; бедный чёлн
По ней стремился одиноко.
По мшистым, топким берегам
Чернели избы здесь и там,
Приют убогого чухонца;
И лес, неведомый лучам
В тумане спрятанного солнца,
Кругом шумел.
Šota Rustaveli's Veṗxis Ṭq̇aosani, ̣︡Th, The Knight in the Tiger's Skin (Georgian):
ვეპხის ტყაოსანი შოთა რუსთაველიღმერთსი შემვედრე, ნუთუ კვლა დამხსნას სოფლისა შრომასა, ცეცხლს, წყალსა და მიწასა, ჰაერთა თანა მრომასა; მომცნეს ფრთენი და აღვფრინდე, მივჰხვდე მას ჩემსა ნდომასა, დღისით და ღამით ვჰხედვიდე მზისა ელვათა კრთომაასა.
Tamil poetry of Subramaniya Bharathiyar: சுப்ரமணிய பாரதியார் (1882-1921):
யாமறிந்த மொழிகளிலே தமிழ்மொழி போல் இனிதாவது எங்கும் காணோம்,
பாமரராய் விலங்குகளாய், உலகனைத்தும் இகழ்ச்சிசொலப் பான்மை கெட்டு,
நாமமது தமிழரெனக் கொண்டு இங்கு வாழ்ந்திடுதல் நன்றோ? சொல்லீர்!
தேமதுரத் தமிழோசை உலகமெலாம் பரவும்வகை செய்தல் வேண்டும்.
Kannada poetry by Kuvempu — ಬಾ ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಸಂಭವಿಸು
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