Kashida
Encyclopedia
Kashida is a type of justification
used in some cursive
scripts, particularly Arabic
. In contrast to white-space justification, which increases the length of a line of text by expanding spaces between words
or individual letters, kashida justification is accomplished by elongating characters at certain chosen points. Kashida justification can be combined with white-space justification to various extents.
The analog in European (Latin-based) typography (expanding or contracting letters to improve spacing) is sometimes called expansion, and falls within microtypography
. Kashida is considerably easier and more flexible, however, because Arabic-Persian scripts feature prominent horizontal strokes, whose length is accordingly flexible.
Kashida can also refer to a character representing this elongation (ـ) (also known as tatweel or taṭwīl - تطويل taṭwīl), or to one of a set of glyph
s of varying lengths that are used to implement this elongation in a font
. The Unicode
standard assigns codepoint U+0640 as "Arabic Tatweel".
Kashida or Keshida is a Persian
word meaning extended or drawn.
Justification (typesetting)
In typesetting, justification is the typographic alignment setting of text or images within a column or "measure" to align along both the left and right margin...
used in some cursive
Cursive
Cursive, also known as joined-up writing, joint writing, or running writing, is any style of handwriting in which the symbols of the language are written in a simplified and/or flowing manner, generally for the purpose of making writing easier or faster...
scripts, particularly Arabic
Arabic alphabet
The Arabic alphabet or Arabic abjad is the Arabic script as it is codified for writing the Arabic language. It is written from right to left, in a cursive style, and includes 28 letters. Because letters usually stand for consonants, it is classified as an abjad.-Consonants:The Arabic alphabet has...
. In contrast to white-space justification, which increases the length of a line of text by expanding spaces between words
Word spacing
Word spacing in typography refers to the size of the space between words. It should be distinguished from letter spacing and sentence spacing...
or individual letters, kashida justification is accomplished by elongating characters at certain chosen points. Kashida justification can be combined with white-space justification to various extents.
The analog in European (Latin-based) typography (expanding or contracting letters to improve spacing) is sometimes called expansion, and falls within microtypography
Microtypography
Microtypography is the name given to a range of methods for improving the readability and appearance of text, especially justified text. The methods reduce the appearance of large interword spaces and create edges to the text that appear more even.- Methods :...
. Kashida is considerably easier and more flexible, however, because Arabic-Persian scripts feature prominent horizontal strokes, whose length is accordingly flexible.
Kashida can also refer to a character representing this elongation (ـ) (also known as tatweel or taṭwīl - تطويل taṭwīl), or to one of a set of glyph
Glyph
A glyph is an element of writing: an individual mark on a written medium that contributes to the meaning of what is written. A glyph is made up of one or more graphemes....
s of varying lengths that are used to implement this elongation in a font
Font
In typography, a font is traditionally defined as a quantity of sorts composing a complete character set of a single size and style of a particular typeface...
. The Unicode
Unicode
Unicode is a computing industry standard for the consistent encoding, representation and handling of text expressed in most of the world's writing systems...
standard assigns codepoint U+0640 as "Arabic Tatweel".
Kashida or Keshida is a Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
word meaning extended or drawn.