Announcing The Unicode® Standard, Version 14.0

Version 14.0 of the Unicode Standard is now available, including the core specification, annexes, and data files. This version adds 838 characters, for a total of 144,697 characters. These additions include five new scripts, for a total of 159 scripts, as well as 37 new emoji characters.

The new scripts and characters in Version 14.0 add support for modern language groups in Bosnia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Java, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Pakistan, and the Philippines, plus other languages in Africa and North America, including:

• Arabic script additions that include honorifics and additions for Quranic use, and characters used to write languages across Africa, the Balkans, and South and Southeast Asia
• The Vithkuqi script historically used to write Albanian and currently undergoing a modern revival
• The Tangsa script used to write the Tangsa language, spoken in India and Myanmar
• The Toto script used to write the Toto language in northeast India
• Many Latin script additions for extended IPA

Popular symbol additions include:

• 37 emoji characters, including several new emoji for emotion and hand gestures (smileys, hands, animals and nature, food and drink, transport, and activities). For the full list of new emoji characters, see emoji additions for Unicode 14.0, and Emoji Counts. For a detailed description of support for emoji characters by the Unicode Standard, see UTS #51, Unicode Emoji.

Other symbol and notational additions include:

• The som currency sign used in the Kyrgyz Republic
• Znamenny musical notation developed in Russia

Support for other modern languages and scholarly work extends worldwide, including:

• Cypro-Minoan, historically used primarily on the island of Cyprus
• Old Uyghur, historically used in Central Asia and elsewhere to write Turkic, Chinese, Mongolian, Tibetan, and Arabic languages
• Ahom, Balinese, Brahmi, Canadian aboriginal languages, Glagolitic, Kaithi, Kannada, Mongolian, Tagalog, Takri, and Telugu
• Arabic support for Hausa, Wolof, Hindko, and Punjabi, and Ethiopic support for Gurage

Important chart font updates, including:

• Significant updates to the CJK auxiliary blocks and enclosed alphanumerics

Unicode properties and specifications determine the behavior of text on computers and phones. Changes in Version 14.0 include the following Unicode Standard Annexes and Technical Standards that have notable modifications:

Five important Unicode annexes updated for Version 14.0:

• UAX #14, Unicode Linebreaking Algorithm
• UAX #29, Unicode Text Segmentation
• UAX #31, Unicode Identifier and Pattern Syntax
• UAX #38, Unicode Han Database (Unihan)
• UAX #45, U-Source Ideographs

Three important Unicode specifications updated for Version 14.0:

• UTS #10, Unicode Collation Algorithm — sorting Unicode text
• UTS #39, Unicode Security Mechanisms — reducing Unicode spoofing
• UTS #46, Unicode IDNA Compatibility Processing — compatible processing of non-ASCII URLs

The Unicode Standard is the foundation for all modern software and communications around the world, including operating systems, browsers, laptops, and smart phones—plus the Internet and Web (URLs, HTML, XML, CSS, JSON, etc.). The Unicode Standard, its associated standards, and data form the foundation for CLDR and ICU releases.

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Over 144,000 characters are available for adoption to help the Unicode Consortium’s work on digitally disadvantaged languages

Unicode CLDR v40 Alpha available for testing

The Unicode CLDR v40 Alpha is now available for testing. The alpha has already been integrated into the development version of ICU. We would especially appreciate feedback from non-ICU consumers of CLDR data. Feedback can be filed at CLDR Tickets.

Alpha means that the main data and charts are available for review, but the specification, JSON data, and other components are not yet ready for review. Some data may change if showstopper bugs are found. The planned schedule is:

• Sep 21 — Beta (data)
• Oct 06 — Beta2 (spec)
• Oct 27 — Release

In CLDR v40, the main focus is on:

• Grammatical features (gender and case) for units of measurement in additional locales
  
  Phase 1 (v39) of grammatical features included just 12 locales (da, de, es, fr, hi, it, nl, no, pl, pt, ru, sv).
  
  Phase 2 (v40) has expanded the number of locales by 29 (am, ar, bn, ca, cs, el, fi, gu, he, hr, hu, hy, is, kn, lt, lv, ml, mr, nb, pa, ro, si, sk, sl, sr, ta, te, uk, ur), but for a narrower set of units.
  
  
• Emoji v14 names and search keywords
• Modernized Survey Tool front end.

There are many other changes: to find out more, see the draft CLDR v40 release page, which has information on accessing the date, reviewing charts of the changes, and necessary migration changes.

Unicode CLDR provides key building blocks for software supporting the world’s languages. CLDR data is used by all major software systems (including all mobile phones) for their software internationalization and localization, adapting software to the conventions of different languages.

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Over 140,000 characters are available for adoption to help the Unicode Consortium’s work on digitally disadvantaged languages

Unicode Consortium Announces Version 14.0 Cover Design

The Unicode Consortium is pleased to announce the new design selected for the cover of the forthcoming print-on-demand publication of The Unicode Standard, Version 14.0. The Unicode Consortium issued an open call for artists and designers to submit cover design proposals. All submitted designs were reviewed by an independent panel.

The selected cover artwork for Version 14.0 is an original design by Sophia Tai, an MA student in Typeface Design at the University of Reading. Her cover art represents type in boxes, which shares a visual language with the arrangement of metal type, as well as the Unicode code charts. She selected a global mix of characters to present a variety of writing systems, using neon colors to create liveliness. The neutral background represents a sense of being down to earth, as well as the longevity and preservation of writing systems.

Two runner-up designs were also selected. One is a contemporary design by Beatriz de Paula Mattos, a graphic design student at the University of Vale do Itajaí, Brazil. The other runner-up design was created by Jesús Barrientos Mora, a professor with a degree in Type Design, who also leads the Talavera Type Workshop foundry in Puebla, Mexico.

Beatriz de Paula Mattos:

Jesús Barrientos Mora:

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Over 144,000 characters are available for adoption to help the Unicode Consortium’s work on digitally disadvantaged languages