Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Peter Kirk" <peterkirk AT ozemail.com.au>]

Well, if there is a consensus apart from me not to use
transliteration...

A Hebrew Unicode font, Ezra SIL, is already available free from
www.sil.org. (Do not confuse with the older SIL Ezra, which is not
Unicode.) Ezra SIL works well at least with the following Microsoft
software: Word 2000/2002 on Windows 95+; and most applications on
Windows 2000 and XP. Keyboard utilities are provided as part of the
package. Note that the instructions do not mention Windows 95/98/ME but
the package should work with some minor limitations, at least with Word
2000/2002, if the optional Wordlink extension for Keyman is installed -
a free download from www.tavultesoft.com.

And actually the standard built-in Microsoft fonts, Times New Roman,
Courier New etc, properly support Unicode Hebrew if unpointed, and with
vowel points and dagesh except that holem is misplaced; no cantillation
marks. But the letter shapes are not to everyone's taste.

But the question still remains, when will it be possible to use such a
font on this list? I suspect we will have to wait for adequate Unicode
Hebrew support on Mac, Linux and other systems. The Mac may have its
advantages for the deeper levels of language work but it has sure lost
any advantage it once had for display of scripts. But perhaps we can try
including a few Hebrew passages along with transliterations for those
who can't read, that is, those whose mail programs can't read the Hebrew
script. For example: the first word in the Hebrew Bible is בְּרֵאשִׁית
B.:R")$IYT. That appears on my screen correctly (in Windows 2000),
though in very ugly Courier New fixed space Hebrew. What does it look
like to others, and in what systems?

Peter Kirk
peter.r.kirk AT ntlworld.com
http://web.onetel.net.uk/~peterkirk/
 

> -----Original Message-----
> From: b-hebrew-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org [mailto:b-hebrew-
> bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Info
> Sent: 21 January 2003 07:19
> To: Ken Penner; 'Biblical Hebrew'
> Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] RE: Transliteration Schemes
> 
> This is to answer Ken Penner's rhetorical question as to "when can we
> begin
> to use Unicode on B-Hebrew?"
> My answer is within a few month. Those who purchase now a new
electronic
> edition of "JPS Hebrew-English TANAKH, electronic edition" (available
> exclusively from my www.eBookShuk.com ) will get this functionality as
a
> free upgrade.
> Using Unicode fonts there was no way to typeset such complex book as
this.
> Now, we are in the process of re-mapping of our Hebrew Hadassah fonts
for
> Unicode to allow editable copy-and-paste functionality as well as
search
> in
> B-Hebrew using free Adobe Acrobat (ME).
> However, I have to say that JPS Hebrew-English TANAKH has in some ways
> better functionality then Unicode--using which, by the way, one still
> won't
> be able to properly set fully contillated text in any know to Mr.
Penner
> word-processor--i.e. Graphics Select Tool, using which one can copy a
> glyph
> or a page of perfectly formatted B-Hebrew text into virtually any word
> processor.
> By the way, for such a wonderful bunch of people that subscribe to B-
> Hebrew
> list, I make give 20% off Scholar PDF edition of "JPS Hebrew-English
> TANAKH", if a member of the list will make a purchase by the end of
this
> month; to get this discount, use code "JPS".
> 
> Alexander Gendler
> www.eBookShuk.com
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Ken Penner" <pennerkm AT mcmaster.ca>
> To: "'Biblical Hebrew'" <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
> Sent: Monday, January 20, 2003 1:39 PM
> Subject: RE: [b-hebrew] RE: Transliteration Schemes
> 
> 
> > I much prefer the square script over transliteration (it only took
about
> > an hour of concentrated effort to learn). But despite my
supervisor's
> > disapproval, I used transliteration when I wrote my M.A. (on Hebrew
> > poetry), for typographic reasons. To justify this choice , I noted
that
> > four out of five scholars I examined used transliteration. Notable
> > heavyweights included O'Connor (Hebrew Verse Structure) and Watson
> > (Classical Hebrew Poetry). Puech's Croyance is another monument
using
> > transliteration.
> >
> > But now with the advent of excellent right-to-left functionality in
a
> > mainstream word processor, browser, and emailer, the typographic
reason
> > has been eliminated.
> > My question now is, when can we begin to use Unicode on B-Hebrew?
> >
> > Ken Penner, McMaster/DSS http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PennerThesis
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > b-hebrew mailing list
> > b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
> > http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-hebrew
> >
> 
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