The National Fonts (Thai: ฟอนต์แห่งชาติ[1]; RTGS: [font] haeng chat) are sets of freely-licensed computer fonts for the Thai script sponsored by the Thai government. The original National Fonts include three Thai typefaces released by NECTEC in 2001, while a follow-up program, more specifically known as the fourteen National Fonts, or colloquially SIPA fonts (Thai: ฟอนต์ซิป้า[2]), include fourteen typefaces distributed and used by the Government of Thailand as public and official fonts after they won a national competition held in 2007. The fonts and all of their subsequently developed versions are released by the Software Industry Promotion Agency (Public Organisation), or SIPA, together with the Department of Intellectual Property through f0nt.com, and can be downloaded freely on the website.[3]
History
The "Standard Fonts for Thai Public Sectors" Project
The competition was organised by Abhisit Vejjajiva's Council of Ministers, with a view to replacing all existing fonts the Thai Government had bought from the private sector, including Microsoft's Angsana New, Browalia New, Cordia New, and EucrosiaUPC, which were extensively used at that time, with fonts created by Thai nationals. The competition was part of the "Standard Fonts for Thai Public Sectors" Project (โครงการฟอนต์มาตรฐานราชการไทย) proposed by the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology. The Ministry was quoted as saying: "...Various fonts are now used among the public agencies, that's why the state papers have never become standard. The fonts are also from the private companies which monopolise the rights over them, so we cannot use them as much as we should...".[4]
On 7 September 2010, the Council of Ministers officially announced the thirteen fonts as the public fonts, naming them the "national fonts". The public agencies were ordered to use these fonts, especially TH Sarabun PSK, in their state papers. They were required to cease to use the private sector's fonts by 5 December 2010, King Bhumibol Adulyadej's 83rd birthday. The legislative branch and the judicial branch were also asked for cooperation.[5]
Revision by Cadson Demak and Google Fonts
In 2018, Cadson Demak (Thai: คัดสรร ดีมาก), a local font foundry worked with Google Fonts to revise all existing 13 National Fonts, providing them with more hinting, a wider range of weights, and better Unicode support. There is also a new font "Thasadith" which was inspired by TH Srisakdi. All of those fonts were released under Open Font License.[6][7] Cadson Demak expected that the release of these revised National Fonts to Google Fonts would result in higher adoption of Thai looped typefaces compared to Thai loopless typefaces. [8]
Addition of Chulabhorn Likhit
On 6 July 2021, the Council of Ministers officially approved the royal font set "Chulabhorn Likhit", the 14th Thai government standard font set as proposed by the Chulabhorn Royal Academy. The font is named to celebrate Princess Chulabhorn on the occasion of her 64th birthday and her graduation from the Doctor of Philosophy program in the Visual Arts Department, Faculty of Painting, Sculpture and Graphic Arts at Silpakorn University.[9]
Adoption
The font "TH Sarabun PSK" has been used in the Government Gazette of Thailand since January 2011, replacing Angsana New. The Gazette's first volume using such font is volume 128, part 1 A, dated 7 January 2011, in which the "Ministerial Regulation Determining the Criteria and Procedure for Acknowledging the Aircraft Type Certificates or Supplementary Type Certificates issues by the State Parties to the Conventions governing the Application for Certificates of Airworthiness or by the States with which Thailand has adopted the similar Agreements, BE 2553 (2010)" ("กฎกระทรวงกำหนดหลักเกณฑ์และวิธีการรับรองใบรับรองแบบอากาศยานหรือใบรับรองแบบส่วนเพิ่มเติมที่ออกโดยรัฐภาคีแห่งอนุสัญญาหรือประเทศที่ได้ทำความตกลงกับประเทศไทย เพื่อขอใบสำคัญสมควรเดินอากาศ พ.ศ. 2553") was published.[10]
The font "TH Sarabun PSK" is also used on the current logo of Thai Wikipedia. This version of the logo was designed by Pratya Singto (ปรัชญา สิงห์โต), a graphic designer who runs f0nt.com, and was adopted by the Community as it won a competition in 2008.[11]
List of fonts
The following table list all 14 National Fonts.[3] The revised versions by Cadson Demak and Google Fonts are shown in the rightmost column. Cadson Demak is credited as the designer of all of these revised fonts. With an exception of Sarabun, where Suppakit Chalermlarp, the designer of "TH Sarabun PSK" is credited as the author instead.
# | Name | Etymology | Designers | Samples | Notes | Revision |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | TH Sarabun PSK | The name "Sarabun" (สารบรรณ, RTGS: Saraban) means documentary affairs. | Suppakit Chalermlarp (ศุภกิจ เฉลิมลาภ) | "TH Sarabun New" is a new revision of the font by Suppakit Chalermlarp, initially released on August 19, 2011. The latest version of "TH Sarabun New" is the version 1.35 which fix issues with Microsoft Office for Mac, released on November 15, 2019.[12] | "Sarabun" | |
2. | TH Charmonman | The name "Chamornman" (จามรมาน, RTGS: Chamon Man) means the heart of a rain tree, known in Thailand as the symbolic tree of Chulalongkorn University. However, the designer is an alumnus of Bangkok University, not Chulalongkorn.[13] | Ekkalak Phianphanawet (เอกลักษณ์ เพียรพนาเวช) | Charmonman | ||
3. | TH Krub | The font is named after a Thai particle "Krub" (ครับ, RTGS: Khrap). | Ekkalak Phianphanawet | Krub | ||
4. | TH Srisakdi | The name "Srisakdi" (ศรีศักดิ์, RTGS: Si Sak) means prestige. | Aksaramethi Team (ทีมอักษราเมธี), consisting of Phairot Piamprachakphong (ไพโรจน์ เปี่ยมประจักพงษ์) Bowon Chonradon and (บวร จรดล) | The Thai scripts are in the "court style", a style of writing prominent during the Thonburi Kingdom and the initial period of the Rattanakosin Kingdom. Another font on Google Fonts by Cadson Demak, Thasadith, is based on TH Srisakdi. | Srisakdi | |
5. | TH Niramit AS | The name "Niramit" (นิรมิต) means being invented by magic. | Aksaramethi Team | Niramit | ||
6. | TH Charm of AU | "AU" is the abbreviation for Assumption University. | Kanlayanamit Noraratphutthi (กัลยาณมิตร นรรัตน์พุทธิ) | Charm | ||
7. | TH Kodchasan | The name "Kodchasan" (คชสาร, RTGS: Khotchasan) means an elephant. | Kansuda Piamprachakphong (กัลย์สุดา เปี่ยมประจักพงษ์) | Kodchasan | ||
8. | TH K2D July8 | The name "July8" refers to the Buddhist observance marking the beginning of Vassa, also known as Buddhist Lent. | Kan Rotsawat (กานต์ รอดสวัสดิ์) | K2D | ||
9. | TH Mali Grade 6 | It is the handwriting of a grade-6 girl named "Little Jasmine" or "Mali" (เด็กหญิงมะลิ), a character created by the designer. | Sudarat Leotsithong (สุดารัตน์ เลิศสีทอง) | Mali | ||
10. | TH Chakra Petch | The name "Chakra Petch" (จักรเพชร, RTGS: Chak Phet) means a crystal chakram. | Thirawat Photwibunsiri (ธีรวัฒน์ พจน์วิบูลศิริ) | According to Google Font's metrics, Chakra Petch is the most popular looped Thai typeface. | Chakra Petch | |
11. | TH Bai Jamjuree CP | The name "Bai Jamjuree" (ใบจามจุรี, RTGS: Bai Chamchuri) means 'the leaves of a rain tree'. | PITA Team, consisting of Rapee Suveeranont (รพี สุวีรานนท์) and Virot Chiraphadhanakul (วิโรจน์ จิรพัฒนกุล) | Bai Jamjuree | ||
12. | TH KoHo | "KoHo" refers to the first and last consonants of the Thai writing system, ko kai (ก ไก่) and ho nok-huk (ฮ นกฮูก). | Ko-Ho Group (กลุ่ม ก-ฮ), or A-Z Group, consisting of Kham Chaturongkhakun (ขาม จาตุรงคกุล), Kanokwan Phaenthaisong (กนกวรรณ แพนไธสง) and Khanittha Sitthiyaem (ขนิษฐา สิทธิแย้ม) | KoHo | ||
13. | TH Fah Kwang | The name "Fah Kwang" (ฟ้ากว้าง, RTGS: Fa Kwang) means 'the sky is wide' or 'the wide sky'. | Team Eleven (ทีมสิบเอ็ด), consisting of Kitti Sirirattanabunchai (กิตติ ศิริรัตนบุญชัย) and Niwat Phattharowat (วัฒน์ ภัทโรวาสน์) | Fahkwang | ||
14. | Chulabhorn Likhit | Named after Princess Chulabhorn. | Chulabhorn Royal Academy | |||
References
- ↑ ไทยรัฐออนไลน์ (2011-01-20). "ซิป้า จับมือ กรมทรัพย์สินฯ ทางปัญญา ยิ้มร่าอวดโฉม 13 ฟอนต์ไทย ใช้ในหน่วยงานราชการ". Archived from the original on 2011-01-30. Retrieved 2011-05-02.
- ↑ ไทยรัฐออนไลน์ (2010-12-13). "รัฐบาลกลัวละเมิดลิขสิทธิ์ ให้ส่วนราชการใช้ฟอนต์ไทยจากซิป้า". Archived from the original on 2011-05-31. Retrieved 2011-05-02.
- 1 2 ฟ๐นต์.คอม (2007-06-28). "13 ฟอนต์ฟรีมาตรฐาน จากสำนักงานส่งเสริมอุตสาหกรรมซอฟต์แวร์แห่งชาติ (SIPA)". Retrieved 2011-05-02.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ↑ ฟ๐นต์.คอม (2010-09-08). "สั่งราชการโละฟอนต์ต่างชาติ ใช้ฟอนต์ไทยแลนด์". Retrieved 2011-05-02.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ↑ กรมประชาสัมพันธ์ (2010-09-07). "ครม.เห็นชอบให้ทุกหน่วยงานภาครัฐ ดำเนินการติดตั้งฟอนต์สารบรรณเพิ่ม". Archived from the original on 2010-09-12. Retrieved 2011-05-02.
- ↑ Kosolkarn, Kamolkarn. "13+1 Thai Fonts - Cadson® Demak". cadsondemak.com. Archived from the original on May 5, 2019. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
- ↑ V, Poonlap (Mar 21, 2019). "Google Thai Fonts". Medium. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
- ↑ Kosolkarn, Kamolkarn. "ความนิยมในภาษาไทยมีหัว - Cadson® Demak". cadsondemak.com. Archived from the original on May 5, 2019. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
- ↑ สำนักนายกรัฐมนตรี (2021-06-07). "ครม.เห็นชอบให้ชุดแบบอักษรพระราชทาน "จุฬาภรณ์ลิขิต" เป็นชุดแบบอักษรมาตรฐานราชการไทยแบบที่ 14". Archived from the original on 2021-08-12. Retrieved 2023-12-16.
- ↑ ราชกิจจานุเบกษา (2011-01-07). "กฎกระทรวงกำหนดหลักเกณฑ์และวิธีการรับรองใบรับรองแบบอากาศยานหรือใบรับรองแบบส่วนเพิ่มเติมที่ออกโดยรัฐภาคีแห่งอนุสัญญาหรือประเทศที่ได้ทำความตกลงกับประเทศไทย เพื่อขอใบสำคัญสมควรเดินอากาศ พ.ศ. 2553" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on June 14, 2012. Retrieved 2011-05-02.
- ↑ ฟ๐นต์.คอม (2008-06-05). "กระจู๋: อันว่าด้วยโลโก้วิกิพีเดียไทย". Retrieved 2011-05-02.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ↑ "ฟอนต์.คอม » ฟอนต์สารบรรณ รุ่นปรับปรุงใหม่ "Sarabun New"". 2011-08-19. Retrieved 2023-12-18.
- ↑ "เอกลักษณ์ เพียรพนาเวช คนบ้าตัวอักษร". Who? Weekly Magazine. 2010. Archived from the original on 2011-01-28. Retrieved 2011-05-02.
External links
- SIPA fonts - f0nt.com
- "TH Sarabun New" - f0nt.com
- Suppakit Chalermlarp's idea in designing "TH Sarabun PSK" - Department of Intellectual Property
- Thai National fonts and other Thai fonts on Google Fonts