Re: VL Gothic odd characters (Mark Alford)

Mark, I guess you consulted (relatively) young Japanese speakers only. My understanding is that the difference of the style you are talking is something like traditional vs modern preferences. It appears that, for whatever reason, the designer of VL Gothic chose the traditional style for this particular one. If you don't like his/her decision, that's fine. You can have your own opinion. However, I don't think it is a bug; it is a matter of preferences. I'm not sure what your teacher actually said, but I believe you misunderstood her explanation. I'm not sure what you want, but just as an example, you can download a PDF copy of the latest (revised last year) Joyo kanji hyo (List of regular use Kanji) from a web site of Bunka Cho (Agency for Cultural Affairs, a Special Body in Ministry of Education.) Although it is called "List", it is not just a list; it is a part of definitive document of modern Japanese orthography for legal/official uses, issued by the Prime Minister. The PDF is available on the following page: http://www.bunka.go.jp/kokugo_nihongo/kokujikunrei_h221130.html # The page is entirely in Japanese, and the "English" link on the upper # right doesn't lead you to a corresponding English page... On 24th page of the above PDF, you can see the character in question. You will find the document shows the shape you called a bug as the reference shape. Note that this PDF has all required fonts embedded, and the shape of characters you see is what authorities saw when they approved this publication. On 9th page, you can also see the same character under the item (6) (jsut above 3.) It is an example of the explanation beginning on the 7th page. I'm not sure you are able to read the explanation, but your teacher should. It essentially says the difference of the shapes you pointed out are both acceptable. In summary, the shape you called a bug is not a bug. It is perfectly acceptable. On the other hand, the shape you prefer is also acceptable, too. it is just a matter of preference. I myself has no strong preferences over any of these shapes for this particular character. I will not object if you get a majority support from Fedora community to modify the shape of this character. However, I don't agree to call it a bug. --- Masahiro Sekiguchi <seki(a)jp.fujitsu.com&gt;