Japanese Language and Computers - Direction of Text

Direction of Text

Japanese can be written in two directions. Yokogaki style writes left-to-right, top-to-bottom, as with English. Tategaki style writes first top-to-bottom, and then moves right-to-left.

At present, handling of downward text is incomplete. For example, HTML has no support for tategaki and Japanese users must use HTML tables to simulate it. However, CSS level 3 includes a property "writing-mode" which can render tategaki when given the value "tb-rl" (i.e. top to bottom, right to left). Word processors and DTP software have more complete support for it.

Read more about this topic:  Japanese Language And Computers

Famous quotes containing the words direction of, direction and/or text:

    Dressed to die, the sensual strut begun,
    With my red veins full of money,
    In the final direction of the elementary town
    I advance for as long as forever is.
    Dylan Thomas (1914–1953)

    It is not easy to construct by mere scientific synthesis a foolproof system which will lead our children in a desired direction and avoid an undesirable one. Obviously, good can come only from a continuing interplay between that which we, as students, are gradually learning and that which we believe in, as people.
    Erik H. Erikson (20th century)

    I would define the poetic effect as the capacity that a text displays for continuing to generate different readings, without ever being completely consumed.
    Umberto Eco (b. 1932)