Congratulations to Mark Davis for the Collation Charts. They look very fine. My comment deals with the Arabic part of it. Classical Arabic order of letters was formed in 7th-8th centuries in early Quranic times. After Arabs spreaded Islam all over Iran and Persians adopted the new religion, Persians due to some reasons changed the order of letters. They've put Arabic Letter Heh U+0647 after Arabic Letter Waw U+0648. Then they themselves began spreading Islam to the rest of Iran, Middle and/or Central Asia, to the East (contemporary Afghanistan, Pakistan, India). The people of those regions adopted not only Islam and Arabic alphabet, but some elements of Persian culture as well, including Persian New Year ceremony called Nowruz and Persian Collation. (I think that Nowruz and Persian Collation would be good correlates. Arabs in Arabic Countries know nothing about Nowruz.) It was the first wave of spreading Persian Collation in 8th-10th centuries from West to East. The second wave began in 11th-13th centuries from East to West with Turks and Mongols. They invaded first Middle and Central Asia and adopted there Islam along with some elements of Persian culture. Then they gained Russia, Iran, North-Western part of Asia (including Caucasus) and came as far as the Balkans bringing Islam and there culture with them. Thus, generally speaking, there must be two types of Collation for all Arabic-based alphabets: Arabic and Persian. (Any feedback would appreciated.) >From the point of view of Persian Collation there are other remarks on the charts in http://www.unicode.org/charts/uca/. 1. After Arabic Letter Alef with Madda Above U+0622 must go Arabic Letter Alef U+0627. 2. All letters containing Hamza (including Hamza itself U+0621) must go after Alef U+0627.
Thank you, Vladimir Ivanov, [EMAIL PROTECTED]
