In our continuous effort to provide better and more language support, we are expanding several of our type families. Before the end of the year we will release Adelle Sans Latin Extended, which includes some 700 extra glyphs and provides support for all Latin-based languages in Africa and for Vietnamese.
Adelle Sans Extended includes Vietnamese, that, unlike most Asian character-based writing systems uses the Latin alphabet. A good starting point to better understand the history and the typographic challenges of Vietnamese is Donny Trương’s online book Vietnamese Typography.
The PanAfrican extended set for Adelle Sans includes the Afroasiatic language family, (1) around 375 languages which are spoken by over 350 million people in the Middle East, North Africa and parts of the Sahel. These languages are also known as Afro-Asiatic, Afrasian or Hamito-Semitic / Chamito-Semitic; the Khoisan family (2), the languages share click consonants, and are spoken in Tanzania, Namibia, Botswana, South Africa, Angola, Botswana, and Zambia by about 346,000 people; the Kadu languages, also known as Kadugli–Krongo or Tumtum, (3) and are spoken in central Sudan by about 75,000 people, they have or they can be classified also as Niger-Congo or as Nilo-Saharan; Niger-Congo languages, (4) one of the world's major language families, they are spoken in most of sub-Saharan Africa by around 600 million people; Nilo-Saharan languages (5), around 200 languages that are spoken in central and east Africa by about 50 million people.
This new family has seven weights, from thin to heavy with matching italics and all the new characters include their small cap shapes. Enjoy, or how they say it in Yoruba: gbadun!
(1) Afroasiatic language family includes: Chadic languages (Marba, Hausa / Boko); Cushitic languages (Afaan-Oromo, Afar, Beja,* Somali*); Omotic languages (Bench*), Dizin, Wolaytta); Semitic languages (Turoyo / Ṭūroyo*).
(2) Khoisan languages (Khoekhoe /Nama).
(3) Kadu / Kadugli–Krongo languages (Kadugli, Kanga, Katcha, Kamda, Keiga, Krongo, Kufa, Miri).
(4) Niger-Congo languages: Atlantic-Congo languages (Bandial, Efik, Ibibio, Kambari, Laalaa, Mankanya, Mbum, Noon, Safen, Supyire,Yemba); Bak languages (Mankanya); Bantu languages (Bemba, Chichewa, Comorian*), Duala, Ewondo, Luganda,* Herero, Ikizu, Jita,Kikuyu, Kinyarwanda, Kirundi, Kongo, Lingala, Loma*), Lozi, Makonde, Mandekan, Maore, Mende (Mɛnde yia), Nkore (Runyankore) Northern Ndebele (South Africa), Northern Ndebele (Zimbabwe), Northern Sotho, OshiWambo, Ronga, Sena, Shona, Soga,Southern Ndebele, Southern Sotho, Swahili*, Swati, Tshiluba, Tsonga,Tswana, Tumbuka, Umbundu, Venda, Xhosa, Yao, Zigula, Zinza, Zulu; Bantoid languages (Awing, Pinyin); Gur languages (Dagaare, Dagbani, Mossi); Kwa languages (Akan, Ga, Twi); Mande languages (Bambara, Busa, Kpelle,* Loma,* Mandinka,* Maninka, Mende,* Soninke, Susu); Senegambian languages (Adamaua Fulfulde*), Fula(ni)*), Serer*), Wolof*); Talodi languages (Acheron, Dengebu, Lumun, Tocho); Volta-Niger languages (Edo, Ewe, Fon, Igbo, Kupa, Yorùbá).
(5) Nilo-Saharan languages (Acholi, Alur, Aringa, Avokaya, Baka, Bari, Beli, Bongo, Dholuo, Dinka, Dongotono,Fur, Jur Modo, Kanuri, Karamojong, Keliko, Lotuko, Lokoya, Lopit, Lugbara,Maasai, Ma'di, Morokodo, Moru, Narim, Nuer, Olu'bo, Shilluk, Toposa, Wa'di,Zarma).
* Refers to Latin script only.
Sources: Omniglot, Wikipedia, Graphemica.
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