Dear Sukhdev,

> So I am kind of screaming and splashing around a bit but I have
> resloved to learn to swim. That goes for the unicodes too.

Sounds like fun -- good luck ! Basically, the unicode question concerns
computer standards rather that what one actually sees on the monitor screen.
As I said, one can generate unlimited fonts with appropriate diacritics with
no reference to unicode -- but they will just be idiosyncratic.

> Meanwhile, I have just found and downloaded some useful "swimming
> aids" amongst the files ie. <<<MP3 sound files - pronunciations of
> 600 Pali words, recorded by Ven. Mettavihari sound files>>>.

Excellent ! I would imagine that you should find the actual pronunciations,
if not the transcriptions, fairly easy to master if you speak some Punjabi
or Hindi.

Best wishes,
Stephen Hodge