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Tai Viet script
Tai Viet script
Tai Viet script
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Tai Viet
ꪎꪳ ꪼꪕ
Script type
Period
16th century-present[1]
DirectionLeft-to-right Edit this on Wikidata
LanguagesTai Dam, Tai Daeng, Tai Dón, Thai Song and Tày Tac
Related scripts
Parent systems
ISO 15924
ISO 15924Tavt (359), ​Tai Viet
Unicode
Unicode alias
Tai Viet
U+AA80–U+AADF
Brahmic scripts
The Brahmi script and its descendants
Northern Brahmic
Southern Brahmic

The Tai Viet script (Tai Dam: ꪎꪳ ꪼꪕ ("Tai script"), Vietnamese: Chữ Thái Việt, Thai: อักษรไทดำ, RTGS: akson taidam) is a Brahmic script used by the Tai Dam people and various other Thai people in Vietnam and Thailand.[2]

History

[edit]

According to Thai authors, the writing system is probably derived from the old Thai writing of the kingdom of Sukhotai.[3] It has been suggested that the Fakkham script is the source of the Tai Don, Tai Dam and Tai Daeng writing systems found in Jinping (China), northern Laos, and Vietnam.[4]

Differences in phonology of the various local Tai languages, the isolation of communities and the fact that the written language has traditionally been passed down from father to son have led to many local variants. In an attempt to reverse this development and establish a standardized system, Vietnam's various Tai people in the former Northwestern Autonomous Region were approached with a proposal that they should agree on a common standard. Together with Vietnamese researchers, a first proposal called Thống Nhất (or Unified Alphabet) was developed, which was published in 1961 and revised in 1966.[5][6] A unified and standardized version of the script was developed at a UNESCO-sponsored workshop in 2006, named "chữ Thái Việt Nam" (or Vietnamese Tai script). This standardized version was then approved to be included in Unicode.[1]

From May 2008, the improved Thai script was put into official use.[clarification needed]

Description

[edit]
A text in Tai Viet script

The script consists of 31 consonants and 14 vowels.[3] Unlike most other abugidas or brahmic scripts, the consonants do not have an inherent vowel, and every vowel must be specified with a vowel marker. Vowels are marked with diacritic vowel markers that can appear above, below or to the left and/or right of the consonant.[1] Some vowels carry an inherent final consonant, such as /-aj/, /-am/, /-an/ and /-əw/.[7]

The script uses Latin script punctuation, and also includes five special characters, one to indicate a person, one for the number "one", one to repeat the previous word, one to mark the beginning of a text and one to mark the end of a text.[7]

Traditionally, the script did not use any spacing between words as they were written in a continuous flow, but spacing has become common since the 1980s.[7]

Consonants

[edit]
Tai Viet script consonants

Initial consonant letters have both high and low forms, which are used to indicate tones. The high consonants are used for the syllable final letters -w, -y, -m, -n and -ng. The low consonant letter -k is used for final /k/- and /ʔ/-sounds, while low consonant letters -b and -d are used for final /p/ and /t/.[8][7]

Character Name Sound[9]
Low High
ꪀ ꪁ ko /k/
ꪂ ꪃ kho /kʰ/
ꪄ ꪅ khho /x/
ꪆ ꪇ go /ɡ/
ꪈ ꪉ ngo /ŋ/
ꪊ ꪋ co /tɕ/
ꪌ ꪍ cho /tɕʰ/
ꪎ ꪏ so /s/
ꪐ ꪑ nyo /ɲ/
ꪒ ꪓ do /d/
ꪔ ꪕ to /t/
ꪖ ꪗ tho /tʰ/
Character Name Sound[9]
Low High
ꪘ ꪙ no /n/
ꪚ ꪛ bo /b/
ꪜ ꪝ po /p/
ꪞ ꪟ pho /pʰ/
ꪠ ꪡ fo /f/
ꪢ ꪣ mo /m/
ꪤ ꪥ yo /j/
ꪦ ꪧ ro /r/
ꪨ ꪩ lo /l/
ꪪ ꪫ vo /v/
ꪬ ꪭ ho /h/
ꪮ ꪯ o /ʔ/

Vowels

[edit]
Tai Viet script vowels

The consonant character's position is marked with a circle: ◌.

Character Name Sound[5][9]
◌ꪰ
 mai kang /a/
◌ꪱ
 aa /aː/
◌ꪲ
 i /i/
◌ꪳ
 ue /ɨ/
◌ꪴ
 u /u/
ꪵ◌
 ee /ɛ/
ꪶ◌
 o /o/
◌ꪷ
 mai khit /ɔ/*
Character Name Sound[5][9]
◌ꪸ
 ia /iə̯/
ꪹ◌
 uea /ɨə̯/
◌ꪺ
 ua /uə̯/
ꪻ◌
 aue /əw/
ꪼ◌
 ay /aj/
◌ꪽ
 an /an/
◌ꪾ
 am /am/
  • When /ɔ/ has a final, ◌ꪮ is used instead.

Some additional vowels are written with a combination of two vowel characters. The following four combinations are used for Tai Dam:

Character Sound[5][9]
ꪹ◌ꪸ
 /e/
ꪹ◌ꪷ
 /ə/
ꪹ◌ꪱ
 /aw/
◌ꪚꪾ
 /ap/

Some sounds are spelled differently in Tai Dón compared to in Tai Dam:[10]

Character Compare with Tai Dam Sound[10]: 17–20 
◌ꪸ
ꪹ◌ꪸ
 /e/
◌ꪷ
ꪹ◌ꪷ
 /ə/
◌ꪺ
ꪶ◌
 /o/
◌ꪮ
◌ꪷ
 /ɔ/
(in an open syllable)
ꪶ◌ꪉ
◌ꪴꪉ
 /uŋ/
ꪶ◌ꪣ
◌ꪴꪣ
 /um/
◌ꪝꪾ
◌ꪾ
 /am/

Tones

[edit]

Traditionally the script used no tone marks and only partially indicated tones with the high/low consonant differentiation. The reader had to guess the tone and thus meaning of a word from context. In the 1970s two tone marks were developed, called mai nueng and mai song.[1] Tone 1 is marked with only a low consonant. Tone 4 is marked with only a high consonant. Tone 2 is marked with the first tone mark and a low consonant form. Tone 5 is marked with the first tone mark and a high consonant form. Tone 3 is marked with the second tone mark and a low consonant form. Tone 6 is marked with the second tone mark and a high consonant form.[8][7]

Character Name Low tone Low tone pitch High tone High tone pitch
◌
 – 1 ˨ 4 ˥
◌꪿
 mai ek 2 5
◌꫁
 mai tho 3 6 ˧˩
◌ꫀ
 mai nueng 2 5
◌ꫂ
 mai song 3 6

Unicode

[edit]
Main article: Tai Viet (Unicode block)

Proposals to encode Tai Viet script in Unicode go back to 2006.[11] A Unicode subcommittee reviewed a February 6, 2007 proposal submitted by James Brase of SIL International for what was then called Tay Viet script.[12] At the ISO/IEC JTC1/SC2/WG2 meeting on April 24, 2007, a revised proposal[7] for the script, now known as Tai Viet, was accepted "as is", with support[13] from TCVN, the Vietnam Quality & Standards Centre.

Tai Viet was added to the Unicode Standard in October, 2009 with the release of version 5.2.

The Unicode block for Tai Viet is U+AA80–U+AADF:

Tai Viet[1][2]
Official Unicode Consortium code chart (PDF)
  0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F
U+AA8x ꪀ ꪁ ꪂ ꪃ ꪄ ꪅ ꪆ ꪇ ꪈ ꪉ ꪊ ꪋ ꪌ ꪍ ꪎ ꪏ
U+AA9x ꪐ ꪑ ꪒ ꪓ ꪔ ꪕ ꪖ ꪗ ꪘ ꪙ ꪚ ꪛ ꪜ ꪝ ꪞ ꪟ
U+AAAx ꪠ ꪡ ꪢ ꪣ ꪤ ꪥ ꪦ ꪧ ꪨ ꪩ ꪪ ꪫ ꪬ ꪭ ꪮ ꪯ
U+AABx ꪰ ꪱ ꪲ ꪳ ꪴ ꪵ ꪶ ꪷ ꪸ ꪹ ꪺ ꪻ ꪼ ꪽ ꪾ ꪿
U+AACx ꫀ ꫁ ꫂ
U+AADx ꫛ ꫜ ꫝ ꫞ ꫟
Notes
1.^ As of Unicode version 17.0
2.^ Grey areas indicate non-assigned code points

Further reading

[edit]

References

[edit]
[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Tai Viet script

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from Grokipedia
The Tai Viet script is a Brahmic-derived used to write the Tai Dam, Tai Dón, and Thai Song languages, which are spoken by approximately 1.3 million people (as of 2007) primarily in northwestern Vietnam's Lai Châu, Điện Biên, and Sơn La provinces, as well as in northern , , southern in , and diaspora communities in the United States, , , and elsewhere. It encodes 72 characters, including 33 consonants, 15 s (as diacritics positioned before, after, above, or below consonants), and tone marks for six tones on unchecked syllables and two to three on checked syllables, with no implicit vowel and left-to-right directionality. The script was standardized in Vietnam from traditional systems used by these Tai ethnic groups and was officially encoded in 5.2 in 2009 to support digital preservation and usage. Historically, the Tai Viet script evolved from multiple related writing systems employed by Tai communities, including elements from Tai Dam, Tai Dón, Tai Daeng, and Thai Song traditions, with no inherent tone marks until the mid-20th century when diacritics were borrowed from the (such as mai ek and mai tho) and Vietnamese (such as sắc and hỏi) to distinguish tones more precisely. These traditional scripts, dating back several centuries, were primarily used for recording religious texts, folk literature, genealogies, and community documents among the Tai Dam (also known as Black Tai) and Tai Dón (White Tai) peoples, reflecting their cultural and ritual practices in the border regions of . Standardization efforts intensified in the late 20th and early 21st centuries to promote consistency across dialects like Jinping Dai in . In contemporary usage, the Tai Viet script supports the documentation and transmission of oral traditions, songs, and moral teachings within Tai communities, though its role in formal remains limited despite advocacy for integration into Vietnamese school curricula. Regional variations persist, such as differences in vowel glides (e.g., Tai Dam's 13 vowels versus Tai Dón's 10) and aspirated initials, with proposals for additional characters to accommodate dialects like Jinping Dai, potentially requiring disunification of certain glyphs in . The script's double consonant sets distinguish tone classes or registers, and optional interword spacing has emerged in modern printed materials, enhancing readability while preserving its monosyllabic structure. Ongoing digital encoding expansions, such as the 22 characters proposed in 2023 for Jinping Dai (which remain pending as of 2025), aim to fully represent the script amid and language shift pressures.

Overview

Name and Etymology

The Tai Viet script is the standard English transliteration of the Vietnamese term chữ Thái Việt, meaning "Vietnamese Thai script," which highlights its primary documentation and usage among Tai ethnic groups within . This nomenclature underscores the script's adaptation for in a Vietnamese context, distinguishing it from related writing systems elsewhere in . Etymologically, "Tai" derives from the autonym of the , encompassing the for which the script was developed, while "Viet" specifies its association with Vietnamese territories and differentiates it from the of . Alternative designations include "Tai Dam," denoting the script used by the Tai Dam (Black Tai) people and reflecting their traditional dark clothing, as well as regional variants like "Tày Việt" in Vietnamese ethnic nomenclature, where "Tày" is the Vietnamese exonym for Tai groups. Linguistically, the Tai Viet script is classified as a Brahmic , an alphabetic-syllabic system where consonants carry an inherent , tailored to the tonal phonology of such as Tai Dam and Tai Dón. Its design draws non-Sanskrit influences primarily from Khmer and Lao scripts, incorporating rounded forms and placements suited to Tai rather than Indic conventions.

Geographic Distribution and Usage

The Tai Viet script is primarily used by the Tai Dam (also known as Black Tai), Tai Dón (White Tai), and Thai Song communities, who are speakers of . These groups are concentrated in northwestern , particularly in the provinces of Lai Châu, Điện Biên, and Sơn La, where the Tai Dam form a significant portion of the ethnic Thai population. Smaller communities employ the script in northern , central , and southern China's Province, reflecting historical migrations and cross-border ethnic ties. Beyond these core regions, the script persists among diaspora populations, notably in the United States and , where Tai Dam refugees resettled after the in the 1970s. In the US, communities in states like and maintain the script through cultural associations and publications, with an estimated 10,000 Tai Dam residents (primarily in Iowa) actively using it for identity preservation. Similarly, in , approximately 1,100 individuals sustain traditional writing practices in exile settings. Globally, approximately 950,000 people identify with the Tai Dam ethnic group as of 2023, though script literacy is limited, particularly among urban youth due to assimilation pressures and lack of formal education in the script. In usage, the Tai Viet script serves religious purposes, such as transcribing Buddhist manuscripts and chants, and cultural ones, including folk songs, poetry, and historical chronicles that document community lore. It appears in educational materials through 's bilingual programs for ethnic minorities, where it complements the Latin-based in primary and middle schools. Since 2008, has officially recognized and supported the script's use in ethnic language instruction and publications, aligning with policies for 53 minority groups. In and , it features in informal community literacy classes and festivals, while diaspora groups produce songbooks and calendars to transmit traditions. Preservation efforts intensified with a UNESCO-sponsored workshop in , , which standardized the script as "chữ Thái Việt Nam" to unify variants and facilitate digital encoding. Community-led initiatives, including schools in Thailand's northeastern villages and US-based organizations, teach the script to , countering the shift toward Latin scripts like Quốc Ngữ. Modern revivals incorporate digital fonts and apps, boosting usage in online and among younger generations, though challenges persist from and dominant national languages.

History

Origins and Early Development

The Tai Viet script, used by the Tai Dam and related , traces its roots to the of the , with origins around the as evidenced by early manuscripts. This parent script emerged amid Tai migrations and cultural exchanges in the region, adapting Indic-based writing systems to the tonal phonology of . The development involved creating distinct high and low forms for consonants to distinguish tone classes, allowing representation of up to six tones without relying on Sanskrit-style diacritics, a key innovation for non-Indic tonal systems. The script further evolved through influences from regional Thai-Lao variants, including the Fakkham script prevalent from the 13th to 16th centuries, which itself derived from the Sukhothai script of around 1283 CE and ultimately from influences dating back 700-800 years. Possible links to early Dai scripts in Dehong prefecture, , are suggested by similarities in consonant shapes and vowel notations, with 16th-century manuscripts from Tai Dam communities in border regions providing paleographic evidence of these adaptations. These manuscripts, often folded palm-leaf or mulberry paper documents, demonstrate unique consonant stacking for compound words, a feature retained from Khmer-derived systems but modified for Tai morphology. Early adaptations incorporated borrowings from neighboring Lao scripts for certain vowel forms, particularly in rendering Pali loanwords from Buddhist texts, while maintaining a core structure suited to Tai phonetics. Archaeological and epigraphic evidence from Laos-Vietnam border areas, including undated stone inscriptions and early paper records, points to initial use for royal chronicles and Buddhist rituals by the 16th century, though surviving examples are scarce due to the perishable nature of materials. This formative period established the script's abugida structure, with inherent vowels and tone-indicating consonant classes, setting it apart from more diacritic-heavy regional scripts.

Spread and Standardization

The , speakers of a Southwestern Tai language, trace their ancestry to migrations from southern to and adjacent regions during the 7th to 11th centuries CE, with later movements into and , carrying the Tai Viet script as a key element of their cultural identity. This migration facilitated the script's dissemination for recording ethnic literature, royal chronicles such as the Kwam To Muang, and shamanic texts used in rituals and genealogies. In the , standardization efforts in addressed inconsistencies in the script's use across communities. The 1961 "Thống Nhất" (Unified Alphabet) reform, developed collaboratively by Tai Dam scholars and Vietnamese linguists, aimed to establish a consistent for the Tai Dam, Tai Dón, and Tai Daeng languages. This was followed by 1966 revisions that introduced explicit tone marks, moving beyond the traditional reliance on high/low classes to indicate tones in unchecked syllables, thereby improving readability and pedagogical utility. A major unification occurred in 2006 through a workshop supported by and Vietnamese authorities, resulting in the standardized "chữ Thái Việt Nam" (Vietnamese Tai script). This effort reconciled regional variants, including differences in glyph styles between Thai and Vietnamese communities, such as variations in consonant shapes and vowel notations, to promote cross-border consistency. Vietnam has supported for ethnic minorities, including efforts to incorporate and scripts in schools in provinces like Lai Châu and Điện Biên, though formal integration remains limited. In , the script saw informal community use among Tai Dam refugees arriving in the 1970s, preserved through cultural associations in provinces like Loei despite lack of national recognition. provided limited recognition post-1975, with the script appearing in some ethnic publications amid broader socialist language policies favoring dominance. In , a in addressed orthographic irregularities and discrepancies between spoken and written forms, promoting consistency across dialects like Jinping in . The script experienced decline during the French colonial period (late 19th to mid-20th century) and the , when assimilation policies suppressed minority languages and scripts in favor of Latin-based systems. Revival efforts emerged in the among the Tai Dam diaspora , led by organizations like the Tai Dam Association of America, which produced publications and educational materials to maintain the script.

Description

Consonants

The Tai Viet script, an used for the Tai Dam, Tai Dón, and Thai Song languages, features 48 arranged in 24 high-low class pairs. These pairs represent the core initial , with each pair sharing phonetic values but distinguished by class to determine base tone categories in the tonal system. Low-class typically pair with voiced or certain voiceless initials, while high-class indicate aspirated or other voiceless forms. Final unreleased stops (-k, -p, -t) are represented by subjoining the appropriate low-class consonant letter below the base, without dedicated code points. The inventory covers nasals (e.g., /m/ ꪢ low Mo, /ŋ/ ꪈ low Ngo), (/j/ ꪤ low Yo, /l/ ꪨ low Lo, /w/ ꪪ low Vo), fricatives (/f/ ꪠ low Fo, /s/ ꪎ low So, /x/ ꪬ low Ho? ), plosives, affricates (/tɕ/ ꪊ low Co), and (ꪮ low O). Some characters are specific to dialects like Tai Dón (e.g., aspirated pairs for /kʰʷ/). Orthographically, initial consonant clusters are formed by stacking (e.g., /kl/ as low K + low Lo subjoined), and the script lacks an inherent vowel, requiring explicit vowel signs for syllabification. The class distinction interacts with tone marks to produce the six tones, with low-class bases yielding mid, rising, or falling tones, and high-class high or checked tones. The table below lists all 24 pairs of basic consonants, with Unicode code points, romanization (Tai Dam conventions), and approximate IPA values. Examples are omitted due to rendering variability; refer to dialect-specific resources for usage.
SoundClassLetterUnicodeRomanizationIPA
kLowꪀk/k/
kHighꪁk/k/
kʰLowꪂkh/kʰ/
kʰHighꪃkh/kʰ/
ŋLowꪄng/ŋ/
ŋHighꪅng/ŋ/
ɡLowꪆg/ɡ/
ɡHighꪇg/ɡ/
ŋLowꪈng/ŋ/
ŋHighꪉng/ŋ/
tɕLowꪊc/tɕ/
tɕHighꪋc/tɕ/
tɕʰLowꪌch/tɕʰ/
tɕʰHighꪍch/tɕʰ/
sLowꪎs/s/
sHighꪏs/s/
ɲLowꪐny/ɲ/
ɲHighꪑny/ɲ/
dLowꪒd/d/
dHighꪓd/d/
tLowꪔt/t/
tHighꪕt/t/
tʰLowꪖth/tʰ/
tʰHighꪗth/tʰ/
nLowꪘn/n/
nHighꪙn/n/
bLowꪚb/b/
bHighꪛb/b/
pLowꪜp/p/
pHighꪝp/p/
pʰLowꪞph/pʰ/
pʰHighꪟph/pʰ/
fLowꪠf/f/
fHighꪡf/f/
mLowꪢm/m/
mHighꪣm/m/
jLowꪤy/j/
jHighꪥy/j/
ɾLowꪦr/ɾ/
ɾHighꪧr/ɾ/
lLowꪨl/l/
lHighꪩl/l/
wLowꪪw/v/w/
wHighꪫw/v/w/
hLowꪬh/h/
hHighꪭh/h/
ʔLowꪮ'/ʔ/
ʔHighꪯ'/ʔ/
Note: Some sounds like /ŋ/ appear in multiple pairs (velar and palatal?); IPA approximations for Tai Dam; dialectal variations exist (e.g., Tai Dón uses additional labialized forms).

Vowels

The Tai Viet script is an without an inherent , using 14 dependent signs to indicate the in a syllable. These represent monophthongs, diphthongs, and nasalized finals in , with values varying by dialect (e.g., Tai Dam has 13 vowels, Tai Dón 10). Positions: before (left, spacing), after (right, spacing), above/below (combining). Complex diphthongs combine signs; initial vowels use carrier (ꪮ or ꪯ). Nasal finals like /am/, /an/ are treated as signs. follows visual order for rendering, with no strict diacritics. Monophthongs: short/long /a aː/, /i ɨ u/, /ɛ ɔ o/. Diphthongs: /iə ɨə uə/, /aj əw/. The table summarizes the 14 signs, positions, IPA (Tai Dam), romanization, with example structures (using low K ꪀ as base).
Vowel SignPositionIPARomanizationExample Structure (with /k/)Approximate Gloss
ꪰBelow/a/aꪀꪰcut
ꪱAfter/aː/aaꪀꪱbasin
ꪲAbove/i/iꪀꪲhigh
ꪸAbove/iə/iaꪀꪸtree
ꪳAbove/ɨ/ue/wꪀꪳbe
ꪷBelow/ɔ/oꪀꪷenough
ꪴBelow/u/uꪀꪴdust
ꪵBefore/ɛ/eꪵꪀseed
ꪶBefore/o/oꪶꪀfur
ꪻBefore/ɨə/uaꪻꪀtiger
ꪼBefore/əw/awꪼꪀbig
ꪽBefore/aj/ayꪽꪀattain
ꪾAbove/am/amꪀꪾgold
꪿After/an/anꪀ꪿squeeze
Note: Additional combinations for /uə/ (ꪺ after); examples from standard Tai Dam in Vietnam.

Tones and Diacritics

The languages using Tai Viet, such as Tai Dam, have six tones: mid level (1), high rising (2), low falling (3), high level (4), mid level (5, checked), falling checked (6). Tones are determined by initial consonant class (low/high), syllable type (live/open vs. dead/closed with stops), and optional diacritics. Checked syllables (short vowel + stop /p t k ʔ/) are limited to tones 2 and 5. Low-class initials default to tones 1 (unmarked live), 2 (mai nueng marked live/checked), 3 (mai song marked live). High-class to 4 (unmarked live), 5 (unmarked checked), 6 (unmarked checked, glottalized). This stems from proto-Tai tonogenesis. Traditionally toneless, diacritics were added mid-20th century from Lao/Vietnamese for clarity. Mai nueng (ꫀ U+AAC0, rising mark after vowel/final) for tone 2; mai song (ꫂ U+AAC2, falling mark) for tone 3. Unmarked defaults per class. Checked tones unmarked. Adoption varies by region. Other diacritics: Mai kang (ꪰ U+AAB0, below for in tones 3/6); Pali ya lek (subscript for /ɲ/ in loans, using nyo subjoined). No ; nasals use finals. occurs in compounds for euphony, varying by dialect.
ToneDescriptionConsonant ClassMarkSyllable TypeExample Romanization/IPAMeaning
1Lower mid-levelLowNoneLivemaa¹ /ma¹/dog
2High risingLowMai nueng ꫀLive/Checkedkay² /kaj²/chicken
3Low falling, glottalLowMai song ꫂLivehaa³ /haː³/five
4High levelHighNoneLivenaa⁴ /naː⁴/rice field
5Mid level (slight fall)HighNoneCheckedmot⁵ /mot⁵/one
6High falling, glottalHighNoneCheckedhu⁶ /hu⁶/know
Examples in romanization per Tai Dam; script rendering requires font support for tones and subjoining.

Unicode and Digital Representation

Unicode Block

The Tai Viet block in the Standard was introduced in version 5.2, released in October 2009, and occupies the range U+AA80–U+AADF, encompassing 96 positions of which 72 are assigned characters for the script. The initial proposal for encoding the script was submitted in 2006 by Ngô Trung Việt of the Vietnamese Academy of Science and Technology, with subsequent refinements by SIL International in 2007 leading to its approval. This allocation supports the nature of the Tai Viet script, where base consonants combine with vowel signs and tone marks to form syllables, following left-to-right directionality. The block's characters are categorized as follows: 48 consonants in the range U+AA80–U+AAAF, representing low and high forms of 24 basic like ꪀ (U+AA80, TAI VIET LETTER LOW KO) and ꪁ (U+AA81, TAI VIET LETTER HIGH KO); 18 signs, with 14 in U+AAB0–U+AABD (preceding or standalone, e.g., ꪰ U+AAB0 TAI VIET VOWEL A) and 4 combining post-consonant signs in U+AAE0–U+AAE3 and U+AAEB (e.g., ꫠ U+AAE0 TAI VIET VOWEL I that attaches to bases like ꪁ + ꫠ rendering as a with /khoi/); four tone marks at U+AABF (combining above), U+AAC0 (combining below), U+AAEC (spacing), and U+AAED (spacing), including ꫬ (U+AAEC, TAI VIET TONE MAI NUENG) and ꫭ (U+AAED, TAI VIET TONE MAI SONG); and 2 symbols at U+AADE–U+AADF like ꫞ (U+AADE, TAI VIET SYMBOL HO HOI). The encoding model uses a mix of spacing and combining characters for and tones, with most signs preceding the consonant in logical order to match traditional writing conventions, though visual reordering may occur in rendering. Standardization of the glyphs drew from forms established at UNESCO-sponsored workshops in Vietnam in 2005 and 2006, ensuring consistency across Tai Dam, Tai Dón, and related varieties while supporting integration into digital education and preservation efforts. The design also considers compatibility with Vietnamese national standards for minority scripts, such as the later TCVN 8271-6:2010, which aligns the encoded set with local digitization needs. Official glyph images, character names, and decomposition details are documented in the Unicode Consortium's chart for the block.
CategoryRangeCountExamples
ConsonantsU+AA80–U+AAAF48ꪀ (LOW KO), ꪁ (HIGH KO)
Vowel signsU+AAB0–U+AABD, U+AAE0–U+AAEB18ꫠ (VOWEL I, combining)
Tone marksU+AABF, U+AAC0, U+AAEC–U+AAED4ꫬ (MAI NUENG), ꫭ (MAI SONG)
SymbolsU+AADE–U+AADF2꫞ (HO HOI)
This table summarizes the primary allocations, with full details available in the official chart. Proposals for expanding the block, such as adding 22 characters for the Jinping Dai dialect in China (L2/23-023, 2022), are under consideration to better support regional variations, though not yet encoded as of Unicode 16.0 (2024).

Encoding and Input Methods

The Tai Viet script relies on OpenType font features for proper rendering of diacritics and vowels, which are positioned above, below, before, or after base consonants using standard combining mark mechanisms such as the 'mark' and 'mkmk' features. Fonts like Noto Sans Tai Viet, developed by Google, provide comprehensive glyph coverage for the script in a sans-serif style, supporting 72 characters essential for Tai Dam and related languages. Similarly, SIL International's Tai Heritage Pro font emulates the traditional handwritten aesthetic while incorporating full Unicode compliance for tone marks and ligatures. Browser compatibility for Tai Viet has been available since Unicode 6.0 in 2010, though older Windows versions prior to 10 exhibited gaps due to limited font embedding and shaping engine support. Rendering of Tai Viet text involves complex script shaping to handle consonant clusters, vowel diacritics, and tone marks, primarily managed by engines like , which includes a dedicated TaiViet script shaper for glyph positioning and ligature formation. The script's left-to-right direction minimizes issues, as it lacks inherent right-to-left elements, allowing straightforward integration in most text processors. In visual order storage, as recommended in the Unicode proposal, no major reordering is required, simplifying display across platforms. Input methods for Tai Viet primarily utilize keyboard layouts designed for Tai Dam and related languages, such as the SIL Tai Dam keyboard available through Keyman, which employs a mnemonic English-based arrangement for efficient entry of consonants, vowels, and tones on desktop and mobile devices. This layout supports and Android via the Keyman app, enabling users in and diaspora communities to type without specialized hardware. In educational contexts in and , on-screen keyboards integrated into software like those from SIL facilitate learning, often extending Vietnamese VIQR conventions for input to accommodate Tai Viet's tone systems. Challenges in digital adoption include converting legacy data from pre-Unicode manuscripts and typewriters, which used non-standard encodings; tools from SIL, such as their text encoding conversion toolkit, address this by mapping traditional glyphs to equivalents. Font development accelerated post-2010 through collaborations involving ScriptSource (an SIL project) and the , focusing on enhancements to preserve orthographic variations like dual tone marking systems. As of November 2025, Tai Viet enjoys full support in major operating systems, including and later via DirectWrite and integration, and and beyond through native font rendering. Community-driven initiatives, such as Keyman extensions and open-source e-book tools from SIL, further enable and access for Tai Viet texts among global users.

References

  1. https://escholarship.org/content/qt401296gc/qt401296gc.pdf
  2. https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2008/08217-tai-don.pdf
  3. https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2023/23023-add-tai-viet.pdf
  4. https://www.unicode.org/versions/Unicode17.0.0/
  5. http://www.unicode.org/L2/L2007/07039-tay-viet.pdf
  6. https://scriptsource.org/scr/Tavt
  7. https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2022/22210-tai-don-script.pdf
  8. https://scriptsource.org/entry/hg7bh64873
  9. https://joshuaproject.net/people_groups/15187
  10. https://www.iowapublicradio.org/arts-life/2025-11-07/tai-dam-refugees-community-tradition-50-years
  11. https://minpaku.repo.nii.ac.jp/record/2587/files/SES74_007.pdf
  12. https://vjol.info.vn/index.php/nnvh/article/download/85782/73022/
  13. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ijal.12719
  14. http://www.unicode.org/L2/L2007/07099-n3220.pdf
  15. http://sealang.net/sala/archives/pdf4/ferlus1997origin.pdf
  16. https://decodeunicode.org/en/scripts/tai_viet
  17. https://www.academia.edu/40578293/Historical_Evidence_for_the_Early_Lik_Tai_Scripts
  18. https://thesiamsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/JSS_104_0b_Evans_TaiOriginalDiaspora.pdf
  19. https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/bitstreams/fce7022d-5072-46db-9ab5-e5347b2350d5/download
  20. https://static-scripts.sil.org/cms/sites/nrsi/download/unifiedtaiproposal/UnifiedTaiProposal.pdf
  21. https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2006/06041-unified-tai.pdf
  22. https://scripts.sil.org/cms/sites/nrsi/download/tayvietproposal200702/tayvietproposal2007-02-06.pdf
  23. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/332866557_Language_Education_Policy_in_Vietnam
  24. https://summit.sfu.ca/_flysystem/fedora/sfu_migrate/8215/etd3104.pdf
  25. https://www.korean.go.kr/nkview/nklife/2007_4/2007_0404.pdf
  26. https://wpel.gse.upenn.edu/sites/default/files/archives/v3/v3n2Ness.pdf
  27. https://www.taistudiescenter.org/projects/
  28. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000131094
  29. https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/UAA80.pdf
  30. https://seasite.niu.edu/tai/TaiDam/phonology.htm
  31. https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2007/07039-tay-viet.pdf
  32. https://r12a.github.io/scripts/tavt/blt.html
  33. https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2007/07099-n3220.pdf
  34. http://www.sealang.net/sala/archives/pdf8/hartmann1992tai.pdf
  35. https://seasite.niu.edu/tai/TaiDam/tones.htm
  36. https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2022/22272-tai-don-comments.pdf
  37. https://software.sil.org/taiheritage/
  38. https://www.alanwood.net/unicode/tai-viet.html
  39. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/api/harfbuzzsharp.script.taiviet?view=harfbuzzsharp-7.3
  40. https://www.unicode.org/versions/latest/core-spec/chapter-16/
  41. https://keyman.com/keyboards/sil_tai_dam
  42. https://scripts.sil.org/taidamkeyboards.html
  43. https://software.sil.org/fonts/
  44. https://www.scriptsource.org/scr/Tavt/font
  45. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/globalization/fonts-layout/font-support
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