Sindhi

Recommended Fonts | Keyboard Layouts | Mac vs. PC Rendering Issues | Credits

Recommended Fonts

The SALRC recommends the following fonts for Sindhi language pedagogy and Internet applications:

[Click on font names or samples for specific information and text samples for each font.]

[ A - G ] | [ H - Q ] | [ R - Z ]

Arabic Typesetting (arabtype.volt.ttf)

Available through signing up with the Microsoft VOLT users community as a self-extracting archive (voltsupplementalfiles.exe). A later, more complete version comes with Microsoft Office Proofing Tools 2003.

Note: Also supports Balochi, Brahui, Kashmiri, Lahnda, Panjabi Shahmukhi, Pashto, and Urdu.

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Arial (arial.ttf, arialbd.ttf, arialbi.ttf, ariali.ttf)

Commercial font supplied with the Service Pack 2 update for Microsoft Windows XP. Please Note: Earlier versions of Arial do not support Sindhi.

Note: Also supports Balochi, Brahui, Kashmiri, Lahnda, Panjabi Shahmukhi, Pashto, and Urdu.

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Lateef (LateefRegOT.ttf)

Free download from SIL International's Arabic script Unicode font page.

Note: This font is suitable for Parkari. Also supports Balochi, Brahui, Kashmiri, Lahnda, Panjabi Shahmukhi, Pashto, and Urdu.

Special Note: SIL International also provides an AAT version of Lateef for download (called "LateefRegAAT.ttf") that is suitable for use on Macintosh platforms.

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MB Fonts: MB Lateefi (MBLateefi.otf), MB Sindhi Web (MBSindhiWeb.otf)

These two fonts are included as part of Bhurgri's "MBSindhi2004.zip" package that provides Sindhi support on Windows XP platforms. To get this package, go to Bhurgri's Home Page and click on the second link from the left.

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MB Sattar Fonts: MB Bhitai Sattar (MBBhitaiSS5.ttf), MB LateefiM Sattar (MBLateefiM.ttf), MBLateefiBold Sattar (MBLateefiBold.ttf), MBSarang Sattar (MBSarang.ttf)

Free download from Abdul-Majid Bhurgri's Sindhi Unicode Fonts Page, which includes a number of other MB fonts.

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Nafees Pakistani Naskh(Nafees_Pakistani_Naskh.ttf)

Free download from the Center for Research in Urdu Language Processing (CRULP).

Note: Also supports Balochi, Punjabi Shahmukhi, Pashto, and Urdu.

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Input Schemes and Keyboard Layouts

For typing in Sindhi on Windows platforms, the SALRC recommends the following options:

  • Abdul-Majid Bhurgri's Windows XP Keyboard Layout: Microsoft Windows 2000/XP do not provide a 'native' Sindhi keyboard layout. However, Abdul-Majid Bhurgri has developed an application that provides Sindhi support in Windows XP. A new version ("MBSindhi2004.zip") is available from Bhurgri's home page; an older version ("MBSindhiXP2.exe" or "MBSindhiXP2.zip") is dowloadable from the Sindhi Computing MSN group's download pages (though this requires signing up for MSN!). Note: In Windows 2000, Arabic language support must be installed before using the Sindhi keyboard layout. (Click on "How to Install Fonts and Layouts" for more information). The keyboard may be viewed with the On-screen Keyboard Viewer (Start > Program Files > Utilities > Accessibility > On Screen Keyboard). See Microsoft's Keyboard Layouts page to view various layouts available for Windows XP/2000/Server 2003.
  • OpenOffice.org: A free, open-source office suite project that is Unicode-savvy, OpenType enabled, and able to run on Linux/Sparc, Mac OS X (with X11), and all modern Windows platforms, including Windows 95.

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Rendering issues: Mac vs. PC

The fonts recommended on this page have been tested for functionality on PCs running Windows XP/2000/2003/NT. They are unsuitable for use with Macintosh computers, because they make use of OpenType technology, developed jointly by Microsoft and Adobe, for displaying vowel signs (matras) and ligatures appropriately. While OS X also recognizes OpenType layout tables, it uses a different rendering engine (ATSUI), and these fonts are written for Microsoft's engine (called Uniscribe).

Will there is general Perso-Arabic script support in Mac OS X Tiger (10.4), Sindhi-specific characters are not properly rendered by the default font, and there is no keyboard available for Sindhi.

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Additional Resources and Credits

The content and design of this page rely largely on Alan Wood's Unicode Fonts and David Roger McCreedy's Gallery of Unicode Fonts; these sites are excellent and up-to-date resources to find fonts, text editors, browsers, and other Unicode resources. The statistics and other font details appearing on this page have been reproduced with their permission. Visit Penn State's South Asian Computing Information pages for additional Unicode support. Up-to-date discussion of Sindhi language processing issues may be found at the Sindhi Computing MSN group, Abdul-Majid Bhurgri's Homepage, and the Pakistani Typography community. Jennifer Cole (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign) and Manan Ahmed (University of Chicago) have provided invaluable assistance and guidance in the creation of this page.