Myanmar Extended‑A is a Unicode block that encodes additional characters used in the Myanmar script, which is employed for writing Burmese and several related languages of Myanmar (Burma). The block ranges from U+AA60 to U+AA7F and was introduced in version 5.2 of the Unicode Standard, released in October 2009.
Contents and Purpose
The block contains 32 code points, including characters such as:
- Myanmar letters and medials not present in the original Myanmar block (U+1000–U+109F)
- Additional tone marks, vowel signs, and diacritics needed for minority languages such as Khamti, Aiton, and Phake
- The “Myanmar sign shan sign” and other specialized signs for Shan and related scripts
These characters supplement the primary Myanmar block to enable accurate digital representation of the full orthographic range of languages that use the Myanmar script.
Historical Development
The need for an extended block arose from scholarly and community feedback indicating that the original Myanmar block lacked sufficient coverage for certain phonetic and orthographic elements, especially for minority languages. Unicode Technical Committee (UTC) documents, including proposal L2/08‑226 and subsequent revisions, outlined the characters to be added. The block was finalized and encoded in Unicode 5.2.
Implementation and Usage
Modern operating systems, fonts, and text rendering engines that support Unicode 5.2 and later include the Myanmar Extended‑A block. Fonts such as Noto Sans Myanmar, Myanmar Text, and Padauk provide glyphs for these characters. Input methods for Burmese and related languages have been updated to allow entry of the extended characters where needed.
Related Unicode Blocks
- Myanmar (U+1000–U+109F) – the core block for the script
- Myanmar Extended‑B (U+A9E0–U+A9FF) – adds further characters for historic and minority language use
Standard References
- The Unicode Standard, Version 5.2, Chapter 13 (South and Central Asia)
- Unicode Character Database (UCD) entries for the range U+AA60–U+AA7F
See also
- Burmese language
- Shan language
- Unicode blocks for Southeast Asian scripts
This entry reflects information available from the Unicode Consortium and related scholarly sources as of the latest Unicode release.