On 16 Feb 2005 16:55:34 +0100, Henrik Theiling <theiling@...> wrote:

> BTW, I did use Metafont for my earliest conlang Fukhian. I programmed
> several font styles in one file. Very easy to select attached serifs,
> etc. Some font samples are here:
>
> http://www.theiling.de/conlang/s1/compiled/hitchhiker.gif
> http://www.theiling.de/conlang/s1/fuch.gif
> http://www.theiling.de/conlang/s1/sample.gif

I looked at those -- The glyphs are lovely, I think! They immediately
reminded me of the text in the Codex Seraphinianus, although the latter
differs considerably from yours. I think I like yours better; as well, the
meaning in your text can be figured out.

From the standpoint of a type designer, does Metafont offer an environment
that has what type designers want and like, or is it a poor fit to the
task? I'm presuming the best, because Knuth is a very capable fellow.
Nevertheless, the apparent scarcity of Metafonts might suggest that type
designers are not flocking to use it to design fonts. Of course, that
might simply be because a significant amount of effort is needed to learn
it.

This brings up a thought: For languages with no history of a written form,
should talented designers create an alphabet for them? I think that while
it would be nice, probably not.


--
Nicholas Bodley /*|*\ Waltham, Mass.
The curious hermit -- autodidact and polymath
Freedom from hypocrisy is a very good idea.