BabelStone Fonts

BabelStone Goblin

Description

BabelStone Goblin and BabelStone Goblin Vertical are two versions of a font based on North Polar Bear's Goblin alphabet in J. R. R. Tolkien's Father Christmas Letters (1976). See Moon Runes and Goblin Alphabet for more information.

BabelStone Goblin is designed for horizontal layout, whereas BabelStone Goblin Vertical is designed for vertical layout. Note that the glyphs of the vertical font will be rotated counterclockwise with respect to normal reading orientation when used in horizontal contexts (see Vertical Layout in IE8 for information about how to achieve vertical left-to-right layout in HTML).

Unlike most fictional writing systems, Tolkien's Goblin script is not a mere substitution cipher for the English alphabet, but has forty-three individual phonetic letters, an and sign, a letter reduplication mark and a complex system of ligatures. In the BabelStone Goblin fonts the twenty-six Goblin letters corresponding to A-Z are mapped to the Basic Latin letters A-Z and a-z (there is no case distinction in Goblin), and the glyphs for letters corresponding to digraphs in English (AI, AU/AW, CH, CK, EA, EE, EI, EU/EW, GH, LL, NG, OA, OI, OO, OU/OW, PH, QU, SH, TH, WH) are contextually generated using OpenType technology (i.e. the font automatically transforms the character sequence <A I> to the AI glyph, etc.). Likewise, the font automatically generates special glyph forms for doubled letters. You may use a ZWNJ (ZERO WIDTH NON-JOINER) character to inhibit this behaviour where it is not wanted (e.g. across word boundaries, or in the case of Polar Bear's letter where luck has been written as four letters). In addition to these contextual substitutions which the font applies automatically, there are a number of optional ligatures that the font only applies if explicitly requested by connecting the letters with a ZWJ (ZERO WIDTH JOINER) character. For example, the character sequence <S zwj E zwj E> will be transformed into the special SEE ligature glyph by the font.

Thus any sequence of Goblin text can be represented at the character level by means of the letters A-Z and/or a-z, the ampersand sign (or the plus sign for an alternate form of the and character), and the two format characters ZWNJ & ZWJ. However, as not all systems and/or applications support the advanced OpenType features used in the font, I have also mapped the digraph and ligature glyphs to the PUA at U+E000 to U+E027. On Microsoft Vista and later operating systems correct rendering of all OpenType features in both the BabelStone Goblin and BabelStone Goblin Vertical fonts is seen in basic text editors such as Notepad and BabelPad, and also in Internet Explorer version 8+. Not unexpectedly, Microsoft Word 2007 does not apply any of the OpenType features in the Goblin fonts (same applies to WordPad), and so if you really must use Word, then you will have to manually enter digraph and ligature glyphs as PUA characters.

The BabelStone Goblin fonts extend Tolkien's original Goblin alphabet to cover all characters in the Basic Latin block of Unicode with specially devised glyphs. This allows you to use punctuation marks and digits in writing Goblin if you wish to do so, or not to if you are a Goblin puritan.


Samples

BabelStone Goblin (48 points)


BabelStone Goblin Vertical (48 points)


Character Repertoire

The tables below render each character in the BabelStone Goblin font, either using the font installed on your local machine or using a WOFF font if the font is not installed on your local machine.


Basic Latin [0000..007F]

Code Point Character Name Glyph
U+0009 TAB
U+0020 SPACE
U+0021 EXCLAMATION MARK !
U+0022 QUOTATION MARK "
U+0023 NUMBER SIGN #
U+0024 DOLLAR SIGN $
U+0025 PERCENT SIGN %
U+0026 AMPERSAND &
U+0027 APOSTROPHE '
U+0028 LEFT PARENTHESIS (
U+0029 RIGHT PARENTHESIS )
U+002A ASTERISK *
U+002B PLUS SIGN +
U+002C COMMA ,
U+002D HYPHEN-MINUS -
U+002E FULL STOP .
U+002F SOLIDUS /
U+0030 DIGIT ZERO 0
U+0031 DIGIT ONE 1
U+0032 DIGIT TWO 2
U+0033 DIGIT THREE 3
U+0034 DIGIT FOUR 4
U+0035 DIGIT FIVE 5
U+0036 DIGIT SIX 6
U+0037 DIGIT SEVEN 7
U+0038 DIGIT EIGHT 8
U+0039 DIGIT NINE 9
U+003A COLON :
U+003B SEMICOLON ;
U+003C LESS-THAN SIGN <
U+003D EQUALS SIGN =
U+003E GREATER-THAN SIGN >
U+003F QUESTION MARK ?
U+0040 COMMERCIAL AT @
U+0041 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A A
U+0042 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER B B
U+0043 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER C C
U+0044 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER D D
U+0045 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER E E
U+0046 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER F F
U+0047 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER G G
U+0048 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER H H
U+0049 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER I I
U+004A LATIN CAPITAL LETTER J J
U+004B LATIN CAPITAL LETTER K K
U+004C LATIN CAPITAL LETTER L L
U+004D LATIN CAPITAL LETTER M M
U+004E LATIN CAPITAL LETTER N N
U+004F LATIN CAPITAL LETTER O O
U+0050 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER P P
U+0051 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER Q Q
U+0052 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER R R
U+0053 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER S S
U+0054 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER T T
U+0055 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER U U
U+0056 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER V V
U+0057 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER W W
U+0058 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER X X
U+0059 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER Y Y
U+005A LATIN CAPITAL LETTER Z Z
U+005B LEFT SQUARE BRACKET [
U+005C REVERSE SOLIDUS \
U+005D RIGHT SQUARE BRACKET ]
U+005E CIRCUMFLEX ACCENT ^
U+005F LOW LINE _
U+0060 GRAVE ACCENT `
U+0061 LATIN SMALL LETTER A a
U+0062 LATIN SMALL LETTER B b
U+0063 LATIN SMALL LETTER C c
U+0064 LATIN SMALL LETTER D d
U+0065 LATIN SMALL LETTER E e
U+0066 LATIN SMALL LETTER F f
U+0067 LATIN SMALL LETTER G g
U+0068 LATIN SMALL LETTER H h
U+0069 LATIN SMALL LETTER I i
U+006A LATIN SMALL LETTER J j
U+006B LATIN SMALL LETTER K k
U+006C LATIN SMALL LETTER L l
U+006D LATIN SMALL LETTER M m
U+006E LATIN SMALL LETTER N n
U+006F LATIN SMALL LETTER O o
U+0070 LATIN SMALL LETTER P p
U+0071 LATIN SMALL LETTER Q q
U+0072 LATIN SMALL LETTER R r
U+0073 LATIN SMALL LETTER S s
U+0074 LATIN SMALL LETTER T t
U+0075 LATIN SMALL LETTER U u
U+0076 LATIN SMALL LETTER V v
U+0077 LATIN SMALL LETTER W w
U+0078 LATIN SMALL LETTER X x
U+0079 LATIN SMALL LETTER Y y
U+007A LATIN SMALL LETTER Z z
U+007B LEFT CURLY BRACKET {
U+007C VERTICAL LINE |
U+007D RIGHT CURLY BRACKET }
U+007E TILDE ~

Latin-1 Supplement [0080..00FF]

Code Point Character Name Glyph
U+00A0 NO-BREAK SPACE
U+00B7 MIDDLE DOT ·
U+00C0 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH GRAVE À
U+00C1 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH ACUTE Á
U+00C2 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH CIRCUMFLEX Â
U+00C3 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH TILDE Ã
U+00C4 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH DIAERESIS Ä
U+00C5 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH RING ABOVE Å
U+00C6 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER AE Æ
U+00C7 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER C WITH CEDILLA Ç
U+00C8 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER E WITH GRAVE È
U+00C9 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER E WITH ACUTE É
U+00CA LATIN CAPITAL LETTER E WITH CIRCUMFLEX Ê
U+00CB LATIN CAPITAL LETTER E WITH DIAERESIS Ë
U+00CC LATIN CAPITAL LETTER I WITH GRAVE Ì
U+00CD LATIN CAPITAL LETTER I WITH ACUTE Í
U+00CE LATIN CAPITAL LETTER I WITH CIRCUMFLEX Î
U+00CF LATIN CAPITAL LETTER I WITH DIAERESIS Ï
U+00D0 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER ETH Ð
U+00D1 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER N WITH TILDE Ñ
U+00D2 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER O WITH GRAVE Ò
U+00D3 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER O WITH ACUTE Ó
U+00D4 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER O WITH CIRCUMFLEX Ô
U+00D5 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER O WITH TILDE Õ
U+00D6 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER O WITH DIAERESIS Ö
U+00D8 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER O WITH STROKE Ø
U+00D9 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER U WITH GRAVE Ù
U+00DA LATIN CAPITAL LETTER U WITH ACUTE Ú
U+00DB LATIN CAPITAL LETTER U WITH CIRCUMFLEX Û
U+00DC LATIN CAPITAL LETTER U WITH DIAERESIS Ü
U+00DE LATIN CAPITAL LETTER THORN Þ
U+00DF LATIN SMALL LETTER SHARP S ß
U+00DD LATIN CAPITAL LETTER Y WITH ACUTE Ý
U+00E0 LATIN SMALL LETTER A WITH GRAVE à
U+00E1 LATIN SMALL LETTER A WITH ACUTE á
U+00E2 LATIN SMALL LETTER A WITH CIRCUMFLEX â
U+00E3 LATIN SMALL LETTER A WITH TILDE ã
U+00E4 LATIN SMALL LETTER A WITH DIAERESIS ä
U+00E5 LATIN SMALL LETTER A WITH RING ABOVE å
U+00E6 LATIN SMALL LETTER AE æ
U+00E7 LATIN SMALL LETTER C WITH CEDILLA ç
U+00E8 LATIN SMALL LETTER E WITH GRAVE è
U+00E9 LATIN SMALL LETTER E WITH ACUTE é
U+00EA LATIN SMALL LETTER E WITH CIRCUMFLEX ê
U+00EB LATIN SMALL LETTER E WITH DIAERESIS ë
U+00EC LATIN SMALL LETTER I WITH GRAVE ì
U+00ED LATIN SMALL LETTER I WITH ACUTE í
U+00EE LATIN SMALL LETTER I WITH CIRCUMFLEX î
U+00EF LATIN SMALL LETTER I WITH DIAERESIS ï
U+00F0 LATIN SMALL LETTER ETH ð
U+00F1 LATIN SMALL LETTER N WITH TILDE ñ
U+00F2 LATIN SMALL LETTER O WITH GRAVE ò
U+00F3 LATIN SMALL LETTER O WITH ACUTE ó
U+00F4 LATIN SMALL LETTER O WITH CIRCUMFLEX ô
U+00F5 LATIN SMALL LETTER O WITH TILDE õ
U+00F6 LATIN SMALL LETTER O WITH DIAERESIS ö
U+00F8 LATIN SMALL LETTER O WITH STROKE ø
U+00F9 LATIN SMALL LETTER U WITH GRAVE ù
U+00FA LATIN SMALL LETTER U WITH ACUTE ú
U+00FB LATIN SMALL LETTER U WITH CIRCUMFLEX û
U+00FC LATIN SMALL LETTER U WITH DIAERESIS ü
U+00FD LATIN SMALL LETTER Y WITH ACUTE ý
U+00FE LATIN SMALL LETTER THORN þ
U+00FF LATIN SMALL LETTER Y WITH DIAERESIS ÿ

General Punctuation [2000..206F]

Code Point Character Name Glyph
U+200B ZERO WIDTH SPACE ​
U+200C ZERO WIDTH NON-JOINER ‌
U+200D ZERO WIDTH JOINER ‍

Private Use Area [E000..F8FF]

Code Point Character Name Glyph
U+E000 PRIVATE USE CHARACTER-E000
U+E001 PRIVATE USE CHARACTER-E001
U+E002 PRIVATE USE CHARACTER-E002
U+E003 PRIVATE USE CHARACTER-E003
U+E004 PRIVATE USE CHARACTER-E004
U+E005 PRIVATE USE CHARACTER-E005
U+E006 PRIVATE USE CHARACTER-E006
U+E007 PRIVATE USE CHARACTER-E007
U+E008 PRIVATE USE CHARACTER-E008
U+E009 PRIVATE USE CHARACTER-E009
U+E00A PRIVATE USE CHARACTER-E00A
U+E00B PRIVATE USE CHARACTER-E00B
U+E00C PRIVATE USE CHARACTER-E00C
U+E00D PRIVATE USE CHARACTER-E00D
U+E00E PRIVATE USE CHARACTER-E00E
U+E00F PRIVATE USE CHARACTER-E00F
U+E010 PRIVATE USE CHARACTER-E010
U+E011 PRIVATE USE CHARACTER-E011
U+E012 PRIVATE USE CHARACTER-E012
U+E013 PRIVATE USE CHARACTER-E013
U+E014 PRIVATE USE CHARACTER-E014
U+E015 PRIVATE USE CHARACTER-E015
U+E016 PRIVATE USE CHARACTER-E016
U+E017 PRIVATE USE CHARACTER-E017
U+E018 PRIVATE USE CHARACTER-E018
U+E019 PRIVATE USE CHARACTER-E019
U+E01A PRIVATE USE CHARACTER-E01A
U+E01B PRIVATE USE CHARACTER-E01B
U+E01C PRIVATE USE CHARACTER-E01C
U+E01D PRIVATE USE CHARACTER-E01D
U+E01E PRIVATE USE CHARACTER-E01E
U+E01F PRIVATE USE CHARACTER-E01F
U+E020 PRIVATE USE CHARACTER-E020
U+E021 PRIVATE USE CHARACTER-E021
U+E022 PRIVATE USE CHARACTER-E022
U+E023 PRIVATE USE CHARACTER-E023
U+E024 PRIVATE USE CHARACTER-E024
U+E025 PRIVATE USE CHARACTER-E025
U+E026 PRIVATE USE CHARACTER-E026
U+E027 PRIVATE USE CHARACTER-E027

OpenType Features


Script Language Features Explanation
Latin <latn> Default <dflt> Glyph Composition Decomposition <ccmp> Contextual ligatures of Goblin letters

Version History

Font Version Date Notes
BabelStone Goblin
BabelStone Goblin Vertical		 1.00 2008-12-31 Initial release
BabelStone Goblin
BabelStone Goblin Vertical		 1.01 2013-11-06 Licensed under SIL Open Font License 1.1

Download

BabelStone Goblin is licensed under the SIL Open Font License 1.1, which means you are free to use it for personal or commercial purposes, and to redistribute it by itself or as part of a free or commercial software package, just as long as you do not sell the font on its own. The license also allows you to modify the font in any way you like, as long as the modified font does not use "BabelStone" in its name. Please read the license for details.



BabelStone Moon Runes

BabelStone Fonts