Understanding script and font relation (character-map)

Question

When I use charactermap, I found that if I change font, only Latin script changes. Character by all other scripts sounds independent with change in font!

So, I want to know what is relationship between script and font (Why/How Latin is special)?

Answer 1

gucharmap is showing a selection of Unicode blocks (essentially sets of characters with special interest for different languages). It uses a font set (a set of fonts whose coverage of Unicode may overlap, and may include all of the characters of interest).

However, with TrueType fonts (which is what gucharmap uses) very few fonts cover more than a few hundred of the many thousands of Unicode values. What you see in the different Script settings is — except for characters found in many fonts — just a few possible pictures for the less-used characters.

Latin is found in many fonts (often even in fonts that are used for other Unicode blocks) and the program shows the variations which exist in the available fonts.

Certainly that seems to contradict the title of the page:

Resisting the Worldwide Hegemony of English!

but it's expected — given the fonts you are likely to have installed.

By the way, this old page, "Attic/Fonts" gives a hint of the scope of things in this area (including gucharmap).