This file contains Label Generation Rules (LGR) for the Kannada script for the Root Zone. For more details on this LGR and its development, as well as background on the script, see "Proposal for a Kannada Script Root Zone Label Generation Ruleset (LGR)" [Proposal-Kannada]. This file is one of a set of LGR files that together form an integrated LGR for the DNS Root Zone [RZ-LGR-4]. The format of this file follows [RFC 7940].
According to Section 5, "Repertoire" in [Proposal-Kannada], the Kannada LGR contains 62 single code points.
This LGR caters to Kannada, Tulu, Beary, Konkani, Havyaka, Kodava, among other languages written using the Kannada script.
The repertoire is based on [MSR-4], which is a subset of [Unicode 6.3].
As part of the Root Zone, this LGR includes neither digits nor the HYPHEN-MINUS.
Code points outside the Kannada script that are listed in this file are targets for out-of-script variants and are identified by a reflexive (identity) variant of type "out-of-repertoire-var". They do not form part of the repertoire.
Each code point is tagged with the script or scripts that the code point is used with, one or more tag values denoting character category, and one or more references documenting sufficient justification for inclusion in the repertoire; see "References" below. Comments provide alternate names for some code points.
According to Section 6, "Variants", in [Proposal-Kannada], this LGR defines cross-script variants which are "Confusing due to deviation from normally perceived character formations by larger linguistic community". These cases are not of mere visual similarity; they can cause confusion even to a careful observer and hence have been defined as variants. There are no in-script variants defined for Kannada.
Variant Disposition: All variants are of type "blocked" making labels that differ only by these variants mutually exclusive: whichever label containing either of these variants is chosen earlier would be delegated, while any other equivalent variant label should be blocked. There is no preference among these variants.
This LGR does not define allocatable variants.
The specification of variants in the Root Zone LGR follows the guidelines in [RFC 8228].
The structure of the Kannada script is similar to that of other Indian scripts; it is particularly closely related to Telugu. The heart of the writing system is the Akshar. The basic characters are classified into three main categories: swara (vowels), vyanjana (consonants) and yogavahas (semiconsonants).
Swaras (vowels): There are thirteen vowels. When a vowel follows a consonant, it is written with a diacritic rather than as a separate letter. Sometimes these are referred to as vowel signs or matras. More details in Section 3.4.1, "Swaras (vowels)" in [Proposal-Kannada].
Yogavahas (semiconsonants): The Yogavaha (part-vowel, part consonant) include two letters:
See Section 3.4.2, "Yogavahas" of [Proposal-Kannada].
Vyanjanas (consonants): Two categories of consonant characters are defined in Kannada: the structured consonants (vargeeya vyanjana) and the unstructured consonants (avargeeya vyanjana). For the purpose of this LGR, all consonants are treated the same. More details in Section 3.4.3, "Vyanjanas (consonants)" of the [Proposal-Kannada].
Halant / Virama: All consonant code points in Kannada contain an implicit vowel ಅ /a/. The Unicode character U+0CCD, which is the Kannada equivalent of the Devanagari Halant (or Virama), U+094D, is applied to consonants to remove the implicit vowel. More details in Section 3.4.4, "Implicit vowel ಅ (a) in consonants" in [Proposal-Kannada].
The LGR includes the set of required default WLE rules and actions applicable to the Root Zone and defined in [MSR-4]. They are marked with ⍟. The default prohibition on leading combining marks is equivalent to ensuring that a label only starts with a consonant or vowel.
These rules have been formulated so that they can be adopted for LGR specification.
The following symbols are used in the WLE rules:
C → Consonant
M → Matra
V → Vowel
B → Anusvara
X → Visarga
H → Halant / Virama
The rules are:
More details in Section 7, "Whole Label Evaluation Rules (WLE)" of [Proposal-Kannada].
The Root Zone LGR for the Kannada script was developed by the Neo-Brahmi Generation Panel (NBGP) the members of which have experience in linguistics and computational linguistics in a wide variety of languages written with Neo-Brahmi scripts. Under the Neo-Brahmi Generation Panel, there are nine scripts belonging to separate Unicode blocks. Each of these scripts has been assigned a separate LGR, with the Neo-Brahmi GP ensuring that the fundamental philosophy behind building each LGR is in sync with all other Brahmi derived scripts. For further details on methodology and contributors, see Sections 4 and 8 in [Proposal-Kannada], as well as [RZ-LGR-4-Overview].
The following general references are cited in this document:
For references consulted particularly in designing the repertoire for the Kannada script for the Root Zone please see details in the Table of References below. Reference [0] refers to the Unicode Standard version in which the corresponding code points were initially encoded. References [110] and above correspond to sources given in proposal justifying the inclusion of the corresponding code points. Entries in the table may have multiple source reference values.
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