Warichu
Encyclopedia
Warichū is the Japanese word for the traditional Chinese and Japanese typographic
device of typesetting in small double lines editorial comments, notes, parenthetical comments, and other annotations that may or may not belong to the text proper. Functionally, it is thus roughly equivalent variously to the English parenthesis, the square bracket, or the footnote
. The word “warichū” itself is used in some computer program
s that deal with CJK
typesetting, and in discussions about CJK typography.
by setting the annotation using small type
that is about half size, cutting it into two equal parts, stacking them on top of each other, and then putting the resulting stacked lines into the space of a normal line of text.
Because Han characters are typically typeset with equal width and height, the two halves of a warichū annotation should contain exactly the same number of characters if the annotation itself contains an even number of characters. If the annotation contains an odd number of characters, the first half should have exactly one character more than the second half.
If the annotation is too long, line wrapping may occur. In that case, the warichū itself will behave like two or more tiny pages, wrapping the annotation inside several parts of the line-wrapped warichū.
typography, warichū is still sometimes used, in dictionaries for example. However, it has fallen into disuse in Chinese
typography to such an extent that Chinese
people will most likely either find it archaic, or will not know what it is when they see it.
Warichū tend to be used only in vertical writing.
, it is called “warichu”; some other programs (for example, OpenOffice.org
) avoid the word by calling it “writing in double lines”, describing the visual appearance of warichū.
Some programs claim to support warichū but fail to do it correctly. For example, some programs cannot split the annotation into equal halves.
Adobe Illustrator allows one to create warichū which consists of more than two lines, though warichū is traditionally always split into only two lines.
Warichu is also a social annotation tool for Internet Explorer and Firefox/Mozilla derivative browsers.
Typography
Typography is the art and technique of arranging type in order to make language visible. The arrangement of type involves the selection of typefaces, point size, line length, leading , adjusting the spaces between groups of letters and adjusting the space between pairs of letters...
device of typesetting in small double lines editorial comments, notes, parenthetical comments, and other annotations that may or may not belong to the text proper. Functionally, it is thus roughly equivalent variously to the English parenthesis, the square bracket, or the footnote
Footnote
A note is a string of text placed at the bottom of a page in a book or document or at the end of a text. The note can provide an author's comments on the main text or citations of a reference work in support of the text, or both...
. The word “warichū” itself is used in some computer program
Computer program
A computer program is a sequence of instructions written to perform a specified task with a computer. A computer requires programs to function, typically executing the program's instructions in a central processor. The program has an executable form that the computer can use directly to execute...
s that deal with CJK
CJK
CJK is a collective term for Chinese, Japanese, and Korean, which is used in the field of software and communications internationalization.The term CJKV means CJK plus Vietnamese, which constitute the main East Asian languages.- Characteristics :...
typesetting, and in discussions about CJK typography.
Visual appearance
The warichū is typesetTypesetting
Typesetting is the composition of text by means of types.Typesetting requires the prior process of designing a font and storing it in some manner...
by setting the annotation using small type
Sort (typesetting)
In typesetting by hand compositing, a sort is a piece of type representing a particular letter or symbol, cast from a matrix mould and assembled with other sorts bearing additional letters into lines of type to make up a forme from which a page is printed.-See also:* History of western typography*...
that is about half size, cutting it into two equal parts, stacking them on top of each other, and then putting the resulting stacked lines into the space of a normal line of text.
Because Han characters are typically typeset with equal width and height, the two halves of a warichū annotation should contain exactly the same number of characters if the annotation itself contains an even number of characters. If the annotation contains an odd number of characters, the first half should have exactly one character more than the second half.
If the annotation is too long, line wrapping may occur. In that case, the warichū itself will behave like two or more tiny pages, wrapping the annotation inside several parts of the line-wrapped warichū.
Modern use
In JapaneseJapanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
typography, warichū is still sometimes used, in dictionaries for example. However, it has fallen into disuse in Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
typography to such an extent that Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
people will most likely either find it archaic, or will not know what it is when they see it.
- In Japanese dictionaries, warichū may be used as an alternative to rubyRuby characterare small, annotative glosses that can be placed above or to the right of a Chinese character when writing languages with logographic characters such as Chinese or Japanese to show the pronunciation...
, sometimes providing several alternative pronunciations in the same warichū. When multiple pronunciation keys are given in the same annotation, the annotation can be cut into unequal halves. - In the Chinese Union VersionChinese Union VersionThe Chinese Union Version is the predominant Chinese language translation of the Bible used by Chinese Protestants. It is considered by many to be the Chinese Protestant’s Bible....
of the Bible, warichū is used for editorial comments and other annotations which do not belong to the text proper. This is probably the only widely-encountered Chinese book commonly in use today that still uses warichū to typeset its annotations.
Warichū tend to be used only in vertical writing.
Warichū in computing
Some of the typesetting programs and word processors support typesetting warichū if support for “Asian” typography is turned on. In Adobe IllustratorAdobe Illustrator
Adobe Illustrator is a vector graphics editor developed and marketed by Adobe Systems. Illustrator is similar in scope, intended market, and functionality to its competitors, CorelDraw, Xara Designer Pro and Macromedia FreeHand....
, it is called “warichu”; some other programs (for example, OpenOffice.org
OpenOffice.org
OpenOffice.org, commonly known as OOo or OpenOffice, is an open-source application suite whose main components are for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, and databases. OpenOffice is available for a number of different computer operating systems, is distributed as free software...
) avoid the word by calling it “writing in double lines”, describing the visual appearance of warichū.
Some programs claim to support warichū but fail to do it correctly. For example, some programs cannot split the annotation into equal halves.
Adobe Illustrator allows one to create warichū which consists of more than two lines, though warichū is traditionally always split into only two lines.
Warichu is also a social annotation tool for Internet Explorer and Firefox/Mozilla derivative browsers.