Font fallback should allow selection of a Nastaliq font

[r12a]

This issue is applicable to Urdu, Kashmiri, and other Arabic script orthographies.

Languages such as Urdu and Kashmiri are written in a nastaliq style of Arabic, and authors will typically want any font fallback to select another nastaliq font, rather than a naskh or other font.

More:

• Arabic & Persian Layout Requirements
• Urdu (Nastaliq Arabic) Orthography Notes/Font styles
• Nastaliq system fonts

The GAP

Currently there is no way to tell the browser to fall back to a nastaliq font, rather than a naskh or other font.

Neither Gecko, Blink, nor Webkit support this. Before they can, CSS needs to provide a way for authors to indicate that a nastaliq generic font should be used.

Priority

This is a high priority for languages such as Urdu and Kashmiri, where nastaliq fonts are the norm, and incorrect substitutions may cause readability and cultural issues. It is also a useful feature for other languages, such as Persian or Kurdish, where nastaliq styles may be used for certain types of text.

Tests & results

Interactive test, font-family:generic(nastaliq) will apply a nastaliq font in Urdu

Action taken

Discussion document: Generic font families

CSS discussion threads:

• Specify what generic font family maps to nastaliq

Bug reports:
Gecko • Blink • Webkit

Outcomes

The CSS Fonts 4 spec now defines a generic(ident) syntax which will be used for newly-introduced, and especially for script-specific, generics.

generic(nastaliq) has been added as one of the generic family names.

Browsers are not yet supporting that.

[r12a]

The first comment in this issue contains text that will automatically appear in one or more gap-analysis documents as a subsection with the same title as this issue. Any edits made to that comment will be immediately available in the Editor's draft of the document. Proposals for changes or discussion of the content can be made by adding comments below this point.

Relevant gap analysis documents include:
Arabic/Persian • Kashmiri

[r12a]

Added bug reports.

[avidseeker]

Note that the opposite of this issue also holds, where Arabic speakers are not used to Nastaliq font, which is sometimes used erroneously by improper fontconfig on Linux. See Font config Gitlab issue.

Redhat pushed the fixed fontconfig, but other distros may face this issue like Arch Linux issue. The fontconfig fix is listed on the Arch Wiki

CCing @tonijarjour