Sea of Tangut Characters

𗼇𗏇𘝞𗗚

FAQ

How do I get Unicode Tangut to display on Twitter?

Here are some ideas based on my experience on a Windows 10 laptop (I will add more suggestions for other devices when I have them).

1. Download and install a Unicode Tangut font such Tangut Yinchuan.
2. If you're using Firefox you should be all set.
3. If you are using any other browser then you need to configure it to use your installed Tangut font for Tangut text displayed in Twitter.
4. For Chrome I set the "Standard font" under the "Customise Fonts" setting to "Tangut Yinchuan" (which is OK as it only uses Tangut Yinchuan when all else fails, so it does not affect the display of non-Tangut text)

How do I learn Tangut?

Here are some resources for learning Tangut (I will add more later):

• Tangut resources on BabelStone.
• Translating Chinese Tradition and Teaching Tangut Culture by Imre Galambos.

What is the system of Tangut readings?

The Tangut readings are a system of phonetic transcription developed by Marc Miyake (@MarcMiyake). Miyake's scheme is intended to precisely represent phonetic distinctions, but it is not a system of phonetic reconstruction, so does not use IPA symbols. Where it is not certain what exactly a particular distinction represents phonetically, Miyake attempts to symbolize the distinction agnostically, for example using grade numbers and a prime sign. The principles of Miyake's scheme are outlined in his Tangut Phonetic Database version 1.0, and are summarized below.

• Prefixed numbers 1-2 (superscripted in my usage) represent tones. Some Tangut phonological texts mention four tones, corresponding to the four classical Chinese tones (píng 平 'level', shàng 上 'rising', qù 去 'departing', and rù 入 'entering'): 1) 'level' (𗗔); 2) 'rising' (𗨁); 3) 'departing' (𗶷); 4) 'entering' (𘃽). However, the correspondence with Chinese tones may have been artificial, and Tangut tones may not have been exactly analogous to the corresponding Chinese tones. Furthermore, the extent volumes of the Tangut dictionary Sea of Writing classify Tangut characters according to only 'level' and 'rising' tones (tones 1 and 2), which casts doubt on the existence of 'departing' and 'entering' tones.
• Postfixed numbers 1-4 (subscripted in my usage) represent 'grades'. Grades are not explicitly noted in Tangut phonological texts, but modern linguists have identified correlations between certain Tangut rimes and the four grades of traditional Chinese phonology, although it is not clear what phonetic qualities each grade represents.
• 'y' represents a schwa [ə] except in the sequence 'wy' which is a labio-palatal glide.
• Final -q indicates tension (often indicated with a dot below the vowel in other phonetic reconstructions).
• Final -r indicates retroflexion.
• Final -n indicates nasalization of the preceding vowel.
• Final -w indicates labialization of the preceding vowel.
• Final -' (prime) indicates a distinctive phonetic quality of unknown value.

The latest version of Miyake's phonetic database may be downloaded as an Excel spreadsheet from here.

How many Tangut characters will you tweet?

I will endeavour to tweet one character a day from the Tangut dictionary called the Sea of Writing. The only extant woodblock edition of the Sea of Writing is incomplete, and only includes 3,063 entries (plus 6 partial entries with the head character missing), which account for a little over half the known Tangut characters. But that should be enough to keep me going for nearly 8½ years!

What order are the characters tweeted in?

The characters are tweeted in random order. I selected the character for the first tweet, but thereafter I randomize the list of entries in the Sea of Writing, and tweet the first new character in the randomized list, regardless of whether it is interesting or dull, easy to explain or obscure.

Is there an index of tweets?

Yes

Sea of Tangut Characters (@TangutSea)