Re: Adding Vazirmatn Font for Better Readability in Persian Translation

Hi Fuqiao,

Thank you for the feedback!

I’d like to explain why script-specific fonts like Vazirmatn are critical for Persian content compared to Latin-centric fonts (e.g., RalewayWF):

1.Script Integrity (Character Shaping)
Latin fonts lack contextual glyph shaping for Persian letters, causing failures in:
 * Joining Behaviors: Essential for characters like ک (U+06A9) and ی (U+06CC), which require positional variants (initial/medial/final).
 * Ligature Support: Critical for sequences like لا (Lam + Alef).

2. Numeral Compatibility
Persian requires Eastern Arabic-Indic numerals (U+06F0–U+06F9), but RalewayWF forces Western Arabic numerals/European (U+0030–U+0039)
This violates the CLDR’s numbering system for Persian locales (fa/fa-IR).

3. Readability & Line Metrics
 * Vertical Balance: Persian’s baseline/ascender ratios differ from Latin. RalewayWF creates uneven line heights in mixed-direction text.
 * Kerning: Default spacing in Latin fonts disrupts Persian’s denser letter spacing.

PR Link:
https://github.com/w3c/i18n-drafts/pull/649

Best,
Goudarz

On 6 May 2025 06:40:50 GMT+03:30, Fuqiao Xue <xfq@w3.org> wrote:
>Hi Goudarz,
>
>Thanks for the translation!
>
>What are the advantages of this font compared to the current font? I recommend that you open a separate PR, update the CSS file (referenced in the article), and we can discuss the font change there.
>
>~xfq
>
>> On May 5, 2025, at 05:57, Goudarz Jafari <me@goudarzjafari.com> wrote:
>> 
>> Hello everyone,
>> 
>> I've translated the qa-lang-why page into Persian, and I'd like to enhance readability by adding the Vazirmatn font. Is there a specific guideline for incorporating new fonts into W3C pages? I'd appreciate any insights you can share.
>> 
>> Vazirmatn:
>> https://github.com/rastikerdar/vazirmatn
>> 
>> PR translation:
>> https://github.com/w3c/i18n-drafts/pull/647
>> 
>> Best Regards,
>> Goudarz
>> 
>> 
>
>