v138 · miscellaneous

Ignore Letter Spacing in Cursive Scripts

This feature adds logic to ignore the letter-spacing setting for cursive scripts as specified by the web author, in line with the spec, to ensure that letter spacing does not disrupt word structure and aims to produce better user experience for users relying on cursive scripts.

concepts

  1. Cursive letter-spacing

    letter-spacing now no-ops in cursive scripts (Arabic, Devanagari, etc.) where it visually breaks character joining. Aligns Chrome with Safari and the script's typographic rules.

  2. Mixed-script paragraph

    The intervention is per-run, not per-block: a single paragraph with Latin, Arabic, Devanagari and CJK runs is rendered with spacing on Latin and CJK only, all under one CSS rule.

  3. Script coverage grid

    Ten side-by-side rows across cursive (Arabic, Urdu, Hebrew, Devanagari, Thai) and non-cursive (Latin, CJK, Cyrillic, Greek) scripts. Slide letter-spacing 0–8px; cursive rows hold their joins, non-cursive rows expand.

  4. Letter spacing live editor

    Adjust letter-spacing and font size and watch 9 scripts respond in real time. Cursive scripts (Arabic, Devanagari, Hebrew, Thai, Urdu) ignore the value to preserve ligatures; non-cursive scripts apply it. Type your own mixed-script text to test any combination.

why it shipped

Cursive scripts do not admit gaps between their letters for either justification or letter-spacing. The following Unicode scripts are included: Arabic, Hanifi Rohingya, Mandaic, Mongolian, N’Ko, Phags Pa, Syriac.

references