Playwrite is a typeface engine designed to create cursive fonts specifically for primary school education. This focus stems from the Slovakian Ministry of Education's publication of the Rámcový Učebný Plán (Framework Curriculum) in 2020, which mandates a specific cursive script based on the 1932 Zjednodušená psací latinka (Simplified Latin script).
This mandated script, characterized by its slanted, continuous cursive with medium to short extenders, presents unique challenges for digital implementation. Playwrite addresses these challenges by accurately reflecting the script's nuances, including the distinctive capital letters (like the unusual 'Q' and the 'S' with a vertical spine), the looped lowercase extenders, and the absence of knots except in the German-style 't'. Notably, the lowercase 'z' adheres to a plain italic style without a descender, further illustrating the script's intricacies.
Playwrite's significance is amplified by the history of cursive script implementation in Slovakian schools. Since 1993, the lack of an official digital version of the mandated script led private publishers to develop their own interpretations for textbooks. This resulted in variations in how the script was presented to students. Playwrite aims to standardize and preserve the integrity of this unique cursive script for future generations.
Copyright 2023 The Playwrite Project Authors (https://github.com/TypeTogether/Playwrite)
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Playwrite SK
Playwrite Slovensko
https://primarium.info/countries/slovakia/
In 2020, the latest iteration of the Rámcový Učebný Plán, or Framework Curriculum, was published by the Ministerstvo. It provides a sample of fully-joined, cursive writing based on Zjednodušená psací latinka, or Simplified Latin script, which was ratified by the government of erstwhile Czechoslovakia in 1932. According to the curriculum, students must learn to write based on this model, following its letter shapes as well as slant.
The Ministerstvo has been sharing this model with private publishers since 1993, and in the absence of an official digitisation, publishers have produced their own versions for use in their textbooks. Until 2020, schools only received government funding for purchasing textbooks if they did so from state-verified publishers, though that is no longer the case.
Playwrite Slovensko Characteristics
This slanted continuous cursive features medium to short extenders and is executed at a slow stroke speed. The capital letters maintain a cursive, mostly unadorned structure, with distinctive traits such as an unusually constructed 'Q' and a vertical spine in 'S'. Lowercase letters have loops on extenders but lack knots, with the exception of the German-style 't'. Several lowercase letters begin with curved entry strokes. The letter 'z' is styled in a plain italic form and does not have a descender.
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