Unicode Demystified

The Western Alphabetic Scripts

One of the reasons computer technology flourished so much in the United States (and, later, Europe) before it caught on in other places might have to do with the European system of writing (this is not, of course, to discount all of the other reasons, such as economic factors, World War II, and so on). Compared to many other writing systems, the Latin alphabet is simple and lends itself well both to mechanical means of reproduction and to various types of automated analysis.

The classic Latin alphabet, as used to write English, is pretty simple. It contains only 26 letters, a very manageable number, and very few typographic complications. The letters represent both consonant and vowel sounds, unlike in most other ...