Akatab
“Two spoons don’t mix in the mouth” — a local proverb warning against having more than one boss or trying to accomplish more than one job at the same time. (Top line written left to right; bottom line written right to left. Latin transcription: Senatet tăsokalén wr teǧǧehnet émi.)
About
Akatab is a Unicode font for rendering Tifinagh¹ characters in the Tamahaq, Tamashek, and Tawallammat languages. Akatab (“writing”) is designed to reflect a handwriting style and even the “writing in sand” effect. This Akatab Type Sample document demonstrates the characters that are included in the font.
This font uses state-of-the-art OpenType font technology to provide accurate typography including the formation of bi-consonant ligatures. Variations of characters are included in the font to meet personal and regional preferences. Documentation included with the font package will show these variants and how to access them.
Historically this writing system has been written in both right-to-left and left-to-right orientations. Akatab has the necessary characters and technical features to write in both directions.
Inclusion of basic Latin repertoire is provided as a convenience, e.g., for use in menus or for displaying markup in text files. This font is not intended for extensive Latin script use.
¹The Tifinagh block was first added to Unicode 4.1 and subsequently amended up through Unicode 6.1. See the latest code chart.
Keyboarding
A Tuareg Tifinagh keyboard is now freely available at Keyman.com.
FAQs
Can I make a web page using this font?
Yes. You can create web pages that request that Akatab be used to display them. In the download package we provide a WOFF font. See Using SIL Fonts on Web Pages for instructions on using fonts on web pages.
Can I make changes to the Akatab font?
Yes! That is allowed as long as you abide by the conditions of the SIL Open Font License (OFL).
Downloads
License
This font is licensed under the SIL Open Font License (OFL).
Font
| Akatab 3.000 | for all platforms |
Release Notes for v3.000
- Added 4 weights: Medium, SemiBold, ExtraBold, and Black
- Added new features:
- Character Variants: cv08-cv15, cv19, cv20, cv41-cv48
- Required Contextual Alternates: rclt
- Required Ligatures: rlig
- Stylistic Sets: ss08-15, ss19, ss20
- Added UI name strings for Character Variants and Stylistic Sets features
- Added characters:
- U+2D33 TIFINAGH LETTER YAG
- U+2D58 TIFINAGH LETTER AYER YAGH (Adrar yaj, Tuareg staggered five-points)
- U+2D64 TIFINAGH LETTER TAWELLEMET YAZ (harpoon yaz)
- Added 8 variant characters and one right-to-left counterpart
- Added 9 bi-consonant ligatures, 21 ligature variants and 18 right-to-left counterparts
- Added glyphs for SIL vowels
- Fixed advance width of enspace, emspace, threeperemspace, fourperemspace and sixperemspace glyphs
- Removed Graphite support
Previous versions
| Akatab 1.000 | for all platforms | |
| Akatab 2.000 | for all platforms |
Release Notes for v2.000
- Added Akatab Bold
- Changed design of all Latin glyphs to use Source Sans Pro
- Added Latin characters to support Recommended characters for Non-Roman fonts
Source Code
Akatab is licensed according to the terms of the SIL Open Font License. The latest source files are available in a Github repository.
Support
As these fonts and utilities are distributed at no cost, we are unable to provide a commercial level of personal technical support. We will, however, try to resolve problems that are reported to us.
We do hope that you will report problems so they can be addressed in future releases. Even if you are not having any specific problems, but have an idea on how this system could be improved, we want to hear your ideas and suggestions.
Please note that these fonts are intended for use by experienced computer users. Installing and using these fonts is not a trivial matter. The most effective technical support is usually provided by an experienced computer user who can personally sit down with you at your computer to troubleshoot the problem.
Information for Contributors
We welcome contributions to this font project, such as new glyphs, enhanced smart font code, or bug fixes. The best way to begin the process is to file an issue in the Akatab Github repository or respond to an existing issue and express your interest. Then we can begin to correspond with you regarding what all might be required and discuss how to best submit your contributions.
To enable us to accept contributions in a way that honors your contribution and respects your copyright while preserving long-term flexibility for open source licensing, you would also need to agree to the SIL International Contributor License Agreement for Font Software (v1.0) prior to sending us your contribution. To read more about this requirement and find out how to submit the required form, please visit the CLA information page.
Contact
General troubleshooting information, including frequently asked questions, can be found in the documentation. Additional information is also available on the general Font FAQ page. If that fails to answer your question, send an email via this contact form.
Before requesting technical support, please:
- Carefully read all the documentation provided with the font and on this site.
Language Software Community
Support from other software users may be available through the SIL Language Software Community. This community will be growing to become the major source of software support.
If that fails to answer your question, or you have a bug report, feature suggestion, or need help using the software, please contact us using the form below.