Press release: World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) puts a stake in the ground for international writing modes

Dear friends of W3C,

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) announced today that CSS Writing Modes Level 3 is now an official web standard, enabling text on the Web to be laid out horizontally or vertically, as well as setting the direction in which lines are stacked.

CSS Writing Modes Level 3 a specification that defines CSS support for various international writing modes, including horizontal left-to-right text (such as in English or Hindi), horizontal right-to-left text (such as Hebrew or Arabic), and vertically set text (such as for Japanese or Mongolian). It also specifies how to support combinations of the above, such as bidirectional mixtures of Arabic and English text, or English or Hebrew in vertically set Asian text.

The publication of this Recommendation is a testament to the power of local communities to shape the Web so that it responds to their needs.
Please see the press release at:  https://www.w3.org/2019/12/pressrelease-css-writing-modes-rec.html.en   and as text below.

Please contact me to learn more or to schedule an interview.
 
Thank you. 
best,
Amy van der Hiel
W3C Media Relations Coordinator



_________________________________


   [1]W3C For immediate release

      [1] 
https://www.w3.org/


     World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) puts a stake in the ground for
                      international writing modes
     __________________________________________________________

   Read [2]testimonials from W3C Members

   [3]Translations | [4]W3C Press Release Archive
     __________________________________________________________

      [3] 
https://www.w3.org/Press/Releases-2019#css-writing-modes-rec

      [4] 
https://www.w3.org/Press/


   Making the World Wide Web world wide
   締造真正全球通行的萬維網
   ワールド・ワイド・ウェブを世界中に広げましょう
   전세계의 월드 와이드 웹으로 만들기

   [5]
https://www.w3.org/
 — 10 December 2019 — The World Wide Web
   Consortium (W3C) announced today that CSS Writing Modes Level 3
   is now an official web standard, enabling text on the Web to be
   laid out horizontally or vertically, as well as setting the
   direction in which lines are stacked.

      [5] 
https://www.w3.org/


   "Today’s publication of CSS Writing Modes Level 3 as a W3C
   Recommendation marks an essential milestone in the journey
   started in 2004 when the CSS Working Group started work on text
   layout," declared Dr. Jun Murai, W3C Steering Committee Member
   and Professor of Keio University. "Thanks to incredible
   Internationalization work and the help of many Asian countries
   working together, we have reached the momentous point where CSS
   enables international writing modes on the Web."

  CSS support of a wide range of written languages

   [6]CSS Writing Modes Level 3 is a specification that defines
   CSS support for various international writing modes, including
   horizontal left-to-right text (such as in English or Hindi),
   horizontal right-to-left text (such as Hebrew or Arabic), and
   vertically set text (such as for Japanese or Mongolian). It
   also specifies how to support combinations of the above, such
   as bidirectional mixtures of Arabic and English text, or
   English or Hebrew in vertically set Asian text.

      [6] 
https://www.w3.org/TR/css-writing-modes-3/


   These new CSS features allow a mixture of horizontal and
   vertical text regions on the same page. The specification also
   adds support for such things as isolation in bidirectional
   text, glyph orientation controls, and short, inline horizontal
   runs in lines of vertical text. Vertical text supports line
   stacking from right to left (as needed for Chinese, Japanese,
   and Korean), as well as from left to right (as is needed for
   Mongolian).

  Local experts and community impact the entire web platform

   The publication of this Recommendation is a testament to the
   power of local communities to shape the Web so that it responds
   to their needs.

   In addition to contributions from experts around the world, the
   engagement from local experts, particularly from Japan, and
   support from the local community was crucially important in
   researching, specifying and implementing the needed features.
   The involvement of local communities is essential to convince
   browser makers to expand their features, so that the World Wide
   Web is usable worldwide.

   W3C is actively seeking feedback and support from communities
   around the world to meet local needs for language support. The
   [7]language matrix captures an overview of where work is
   needed.

      [7] 
http://w3c.github.io/typography/gap-analysis/language-matrix.html


About the World Wide Web Consortium

   The mission of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is to lead
   the Web to its full potential by creating technical standards
   and guidelines to ensure that the Web remains open, accessible,
   and interoperable for everyone around the globe. W3C well-known
   standards HTML and CSS are the foundational technologies upon
   which websites are built. W3C works on ensuring that all
   foundational Web technologies meet the needs of civil society,
   in areas such as accessibility, internationalization, security,
   and privacy. W3C also provides the standards that undergird the
   infrastructure for modern businesses leveraging the Web, in
   areas such as entertainment, communications, digital
   publishing, and financial services. That work is created in the
   open, provided for free and under the groundbreaking W3C Patent
   Policy. For its work to make online videos more accessible with
   captions and subtitles, W3C received a 2016 Emmy Award. And for
   its work to standardize a Full TV Experience on the Web, W3C
   received a 2019 Emmy Award.

   W3C's vision for "One Web" brings together thousands of
   dedicated technologists representing more than 400 [8]Member
   organizations and dozens of industry sectors. W3C is jointly
   hosted by the [9]MIT Computer Science and Artificial
   Intelligence Laboratory (MIT CSAIL) in the United States, the
   [10]European Research Consortium for Informatics and
   Mathematics (ERCIM) headquartered in France, [11]Keio
   University in Japan and [12]Beihang University in China. For
   more information see [13]
https://www.w3.org/.


      [8] 
https://www.w3.org/Consortium/Member/List

      [9] 
https://www.csail.mit.edu/

     [10] 
https://www.ercim.eu/

     [11] 
https://www.keio.ac.jp/

     [12] 
http://ev.buaa.edu.cn/

     [13] 
https://www.w3.org/


   End Press Release

Media Contact

   Amy van der Hiel, W3C Media Relations Coordinator
   <[14]w3t-pr@w3.org>
  mailto:w3t-pr@w3.org

   +1.617.253.5628 (US, Eastern Time)
     __________________________________________________________

Testimonials from W3C members

   [15]BPS • [16]JEPA • [17]Kodansha • [18]Yahoo Japan Corporation

  BPS

     The Web is undoubtedly a global platform which interconnects
     information and people of various counties, as is also the
     reason why implementing more languages, and more importantly
     its culture, has become an increasingly important topic. As
     W3C member from Japan, as well as a software company
     developing web-based eBook solutions for the domestic
     audience, we are both proud and delighted to be involved
     with the Writing Modes specification especially for but not
     limited to, including vertical text and other native
     typographic features for users from Japan, Taiwan, and
     Mongolia. We look forward to the future in which the Writing
     Mode helps spread recognition and consideration of
     expressions from all languages on the World Wide Web.


    Hiroshi Sakakibara, Board Director, BPS Co., Ltd.

  JEPA

     During the dawn of the Japanese ebook business, the lack of
     vertical writing in the Open Web Platform was a serious
     hazard. Fortunately, CSS Writing Modes started at the last
     minute. Without the help of W3C, the Japanese e-book
     business could not have prospered.


    MURATA Makoto, Then-leader of the internationalization
    subgroup of the IDPF EPUB WG, Japan Electronic Publishing
    Association CTO

     日本の電子書籍ビジネスの黎明期において、OWPに縦 書きがないことは深刻な障害でした。幸いなことに、ぎりぎりのタイミ
     ングでCSS Writing Modesが始まりました。W3Cの援助なしには、日本の
     電子書籍ビジネスの繁栄はあり得なかったのです。


    村田 真、 IDPF EPUB WGの国際化サブグ ループの当時のリーダー 、一般社団法人 日本電子出版協会 CTO

  Kodansha

     講談社は今から百十年前に、当時は耳から聞こえるだけで消えてゆく演説や物語（講談）を、最新の印刷技術で記録し、世に広めよう
     として設立された歴史を持っています。現代に例えれば、ウェブ技術を大胆に取り入れたメディア活用といえるでしょうか。

     今回、W3CのCSS・WGによってウェブの標準技術としてブラウザー上で、縦書きという文字表記スタイルが勧告となったことは
     、日本に限らず世界の文化の多様性が、これまで以上に守られ、伝えられてゆくことを意味します。

     過去十年に及ぶW3C関係者の皆様のご努力と献身に、心から感謝を申し上げます。


    講談社・社長室 標準化担当 W3C ACレッ プ 吉井順一

  Yahoo Japan Corporation

     Yahoo Japan Corporation welcomes W3C’s recommendation of
     Writing Modes Level 3. Vertical writing is part of Japanese
     traditional culture and the recommendation of this
     specification is big news for the Internet in Japan. We
     believe that this will allow us to enhance the usability of
     our services.

     Writing Modes Level 3 is an excellent example of W3C’s
     activities that respect the cultures of each country and at
     the same time pursue increased usability. We are certain
     that these activities will continue in W3C, and that they
     will make people’s lives more convenient around the world.


    Chiaki Fujimon, Director, EVP, Managing Corporate Officer,
    CTO, Yahoo Japan Corporation
     __________________________________________________________

   [19]Translations | [20]W3C Press Release Archive

     [19] 
https://www.w3.org/Press/Releases-2019#css-writing-modes-rec

     [20] 
https://www.w3.org/Press/

Received on Tuesday, 10 December 2019 13:03:08 UTC