Right to Left languages on Genkouyoushi

[Marybeth]

Someone asked me recently how right to left languages such as Arabic are written on genkouyoushi. The English rule is 2 characters per square, but I imagine this is difficult to do when you switch from vertical script to right to left, and Arabic is a joined script which I imagine makes it difficult to separate characters to a strict "2 per square" rule.

 

[Toritoribe]

It's written just as it is (horizontally right to left, but rotated 90 degrees to the right) with ignoring the lines of squares, thus, treated like a picture or something. If it's relatively long, it might be written horizontally at the end of the document as a footnote.

 

[Marybeth]

Thanks so much! I wonder if it wouldn't make more sense, since Arabic is a right to left language, to flip 90 degrees to the left instead of to the right, so you don't have to guess how much space you would need while writing?

 

[Julie.chan]

Not that it would actually go this way, but I can't help but imagine, intermingling English text with Arabic text that way and constantly flipping the paper over trying to read it.

 

[Toritoribe]

Thanks so much! I wonder if it wouldn't make more sense, since Arabic is a right to left language, to flip 90 degrees to the left instead of to the right, so you don't have to guess how much space you would need while writing?

It's for relatively short word, phrase or sentence, as I wrote, so it wouldn't impossible for the writer to guess the necessary space.