{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.maghrebi-script","code":"thing-q1519562","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q1519562/","name":"Maghrebi script","alternateNames":[],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.1.0-research.1","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Activities and processes","entryKind":"thing","plane":"ACT","domain":["ACT.ACT"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"Maghrebi script is a family of Arabic handwriting and calligraphic styles historically associated with the Maghreb and al-Andalus, distinguished by characteristic letterforms, proportions and dotting conventions.","purpose":"Enable an agent to recognize, describe, compare and transcribe Maghrebi script while preserving uncertainty about its variety, historical attribution and individual letter readings.","scope":{"in":["Diagnostic letterforms, connections, proportions and pointing conventions","Named varieties and competing classifications of Maghrebi script","Evidence linking particular hands to places, periods and scribal traditions","Differences between main text, headings, marginalia and later additions","Script-sensitive transcription, comparison and digital reproduction"],"out":["Arabic language grammar and Maghrebi spoken dialects","The Arabic writing system's general character inventory and joining rules","Manuscripts as physical objects, including ownership and conservation","The textual or religious authority of works written in the script","Biographies of calligraphers and histories of institutions","Font engineering and general optical character recognition infrastructure"],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Test the distribution of dots on securely identified fa and qaf against the characteristic Maghrebi convention of fa with a dot below and qaf with one above; record positional exceptions and missing dots before classifying.","Compare descending bowls and sweeping extensions with documented Maghrebi exemplars; their combination is more useful than roundness alone. [Met manuscript example](https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/447367)","Compare several positional letterforms and connections against both Maghrebi and eastern Arabic reference hands rather than identifying the script from one letter.","Require visible evidence of writing conventions: a North African origin, Arabic-language text or Moroccan subject does not independently establish Maghrebi script.","Distinguish script variety from page function: the same manuscript can use different styles for its body and headings. [NLM script analysis](https://www.nlm.nih.gov/hmd/arabic/script_analysis.html)"],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"family-and-variety","name":"Family and variety","description":"Establishes what a Maghrebi attribution means and how narrower labels are justified.","layers":[{"id":"family-boundary","name":"Family boundary","description":"Defines the evidence needed to place a sample within Maghrebi writing traditions.","findings":[{"id":"supported-family-attribution","name":"Supported family attribution","description":"Record the proposed attribution alongside diagnostic image regions, alternative identifications and the authority using the label.","questions":[{"text":"What does the cited authority include under Maghrebi or Maghribi script?","id":"supported-family-attribution-q01","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Which visible features distinguish this sample from plausible eastern Arabic hands?","id":"supported-family-attribution-q02","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"variety-terminology","name":"Variety terminology","description":"Preserves named styles without assuming that all catalogues classify them alike.","findings":[{"id":"qualified-variety-label","name":"Qualified variety label","description":"Retain the source's variety label and its criteria. The NLM identifies mujawhar and other styles in Moroccan manuscripts, demonstrating the need for attribution below family level. [NLM script analysis](https://www.nlm.nih.gov/hmd/arabic/script_analysis.html)","questions":[{"text":"Which source calls this hand mabsut, mujawhar or another named variety, and by what criteria?","id":"qualified-variety-label-q01","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Does the proposed label describe a consistent hand, a display register or only a short passage?","id":"qualified-variety-label-q02","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]},{"id":"letterforms-and-pointing","name":"Letterforms and pointing","description":"Records the graphic evidence that supports recognition and correct letter identification.","layers":[{"id":"positional-form-evidence","name":"Positional form evidence","description":"Compares letters in equivalent joining positions and at a comparable scale.","findings":[{"id":"diagnostic-form-set","name":"Diagnostic form set","description":"Document bowls, shafts, terminals and connections across several letters, including exceptions within the same hand.","questions":[{"text":"Which positional forms of nun, kaf, sad, fa and qaf can be securely sampled?","id":"diagnostic-form-set-q01","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"Which combination of forms agrees with the chosen Maghrebi exemplars, and which forms disagree?","id":"diagnostic-form-set-q02","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"pointing-evidence","name":"Pointing evidence","description":"Separates observed dots from expected conventions and inferred letter identities.","findings":[{"id":"fa-qaf-and-unpointed-forms","name":"Fa, qaf and unpointed forms","description":"Record fa and qaf points by position and distinguish visible omission from fading, cropping or uncertainty.","questions":[{"text":"How consistently are fa and qaf pointed in initial, medial, final and isolated positions?","id":"fa-qaf-and-unpointed-forms-q01","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"Where points are absent, what evidence supports a reading without silently adding them?","id":"fa-qaf-and-unpointed-forms-q02","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"historical-and-scribal-context","name":"Historical and scribal context","description":"Connects observed writing to historical evidence and separates hands within an artifact.","layers":[{"id":"attribution-evidence","name":"Attribution evidence","description":"Distinguishes production evidence from later movement and stylistic comparison.","findings":[{"id":"place-and-date-argument","name":"Place and date argument","description":"Keep stated dates and places separate from inferred ones. The Met associates its example with North Africa and southern Spain, a context rather than a dating rule. [Met manuscript example](https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/447367)","questions":[{"text":"Does the proposed place or date come from a colophon, external documentation or comparison of letterforms?","id":"place-and-date-argument-q01","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Could the apparent regional connection reflect later ownership or deliberate imitation?","id":"place-and-date-argument-q02","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"hands-and-registers","name":"Hands and registers","description":"Locates changes in handwriting without automatically assigning a different scribe.","findings":[{"id":"localized-script-changes","name":"Localized script changes","description":"Record the extent of each hand or register and test whether changes follow headings, annotations, repairs or later interventions.","questions":[{"text":"Where do forms, pointing or proportions change between main text, headings and margins?","id":"localized-script-changes-q01","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"What evidence distinguishes one scribe changing register from another scribe adding text?","id":"localized-script-changes-q02","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]},{"id":"reading-and-transcription","name":"Reading and transcription","description":"Turns script evidence into accountable readings while preserving ambiguity.","layers":[{"id":"reading-signs","name":"Reading signs","description":"Interprets points, vocalization and other marks in their local context.","findings":[{"id":"local-sign-functions","name":"Local sign functions","description":"Associate each mark with an observed shape, placement and proposed function; use color as evidence only when the image preserves it reliably.","questions":[{"text":"Which marks identify consonants, indicate vowels or serve another reading function in this sample?","id":"local-sign-functions-q01","kind":"definition"},{"text":"What repeated examples or documented conventions support each interpretation?","id":"local-sign-functions-q02","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"transcription-decisions","name":"Transcription decisions","description":"Separates observed writing, interpreted letters and editorial normalization.","findings":[{"id":"traceable-letter-readings","name":"Traceable letter readings","description":"Link uncertain readings to image regions and retain alternatives before producing normalized Arabic text.","questions":[{"text":"Which readings depend on lexical context because Maghrebi forms or missing points leave multiple possibilities?","id":"traceable-letter-readings-q01","kind":"boundary"},{"text":"Which letter or mark distinctions must the diplomatic transcription preserve before normalization?","id":"traceable-letter-readings-q02","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"digital-use-and-review","name":"Digital use and review","description":"Determines whether recognition and reproduction tools handle the observed Maghrebi conventions adequately.","layers":[{"id":"recognition-validation","name":"Recognition validation","description":"Tests machine readings against manually verified examples from the relevant hand.","findings":[{"id":"script-specific-error-profile","name":"Script-specific error profile","description":"Track errors involving fa and qaf, absent points, deep bowls and crowded connections using a reviewed sample.","questions":[{"text":"Which letter confusions occur in the reviewed sample, and how frequently?","id":"script-specific-error-profile-q01","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"Which unresolved forms require a better image or specialist reading before transcription proceeds?","id":"script-specific-error-profile-q02","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"reproduction-fidelity","name":"Reproduction fidelity","description":"Checks whether the rendered result preserves the intended letter identities and script appearance.","findings":[{"id":"checked-maghrebi-rendering","name":"Checked Maghrebi rendering","description":"Compare reproduced text with selected exemplars, checking positional forms and pointing separately from the underlying character sequence.","questions":[{"text":"Does the chosen rendering reproduce the intended fa and qaf points, connections and descending forms in context?","id":"checked-maghrebi-rendering-q01","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"Should the deliverable provide normalized searchable text, a faithful visual reproduction or both?","id":"checked-maghrebi-rendering-q02","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"evidence-and-external-alignment","name":"Evidence and external alignment","description":"What the world already says about this thing, gathered so the model can be checked against it.","layers":[{"id":"reported-evidence","name":"Reported evidence","description":"Findings from the breadth pass, kept separate from the structural claims.","findings":[{"id":"evidence-confidence-notes","name":"Check these first","description":"Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these check these first hold for the sense of Maghrebi script this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-confidence-notes-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-kinds","name":"Kinds and varieties","description":"Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these kinds and varieties hold for the sense of Maghrebi script this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-kinds-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-identifiers","name":"Identifiers and schemes","description":"Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these identifiers and schemes hold for the sense of Maghrebi script this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-identifiers-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-standards-and-regulation","name":"Standards and regulation","description":"Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these standards and regulation hold for the sense of Maghrebi script this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-standards-and-regulation-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-real-world-use","name":"Real-world use","description":"Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these real-world use hold for the sense of Maghrebi script this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-real-world-use-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-failure-modes-and-hazards","name":"Failure modes and hazards","description":"Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these failure modes and hazards hold for the sense of Maghrebi script this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-failure-modes-and-hazards-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-regional-variation","name":"Regional variation","description":"Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these regional variation hold for the sense of Maghrebi script this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-regional-variation-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-neighbours","name":"Neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart","description":"Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart hold for the sense of Maghrebi script this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-neighbours-q01","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Describe Maghrebi script, its features and history from reliable sources.","Help catalogue and transcribe manuscripts written in it, noting uncertain readings."],"mustNot":["Handle original manuscripts without the custodian's permission.","Present a transcription or translation of a sacred text as authoritative without expert review.","Treat the script as a decorative style detached from the religious and cultural texts it carries."],"requiresHuman":["Publishing transcriptions of religious manuscripts."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Manuscripts in this script carry sacred and scholarly texts that communities revere.","Many collections were removed under colonial rule; provenance matters."],"affectedParties":["Communities of North Africa","Manuscript custodians","Scholars"]},"owners":{"steward":"Nobody owns the script; libraries and owners hold each manuscript.","roles":[],"masterSystems":[]},"relations":[{"target":"Q33260112","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.maghrebi-script","Wikidata: Q1519562 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1519562)"]},"properties":{"applicability":"not-applicable","items":["Attributed variety: Source-attested label, such as mabsut or mujawhar; mixed; unresolved","Fa and qaf pointing profile: Dot number and placement by letter and positional form; absent; obscured; uncertain","Letterform profile: Observed positional forms linked to image regions and identified reference exemplars","Descending bowl proportion: Maximum depth below the local baseline divided by local median letter-body height, with sampled glyphs identified","Historical attribution: Proposed production place and date interval linked to colophon evidence, catalogue attribution or comparative argument","Mark interpretation: Consonant point; vowel sign; other reading sign; ornament; correction; unresolved","Reading readiness: Sufficient for classification; sufficient for partial transcription; expert review needed; image insufficient","Rendering fidelity: Image-linked diplomatic record; normalized text; visually checked reproduction; unchecked rendering"]},"recognition":{"applicability":"optional","items":["Traditional Maghrebi dotting commonly places one dot below fa and one dot above qaf, unlike common eastern Arabic conventions.","Rounded letter bodies and broad sweeping curves are characteristic of many examples.","Some descending strokes extend deeply below the baseline, although proportions vary by style and scribe."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["Classify a writing sample provisionally using multiple diagnostic features and explicit counterevidence.","Compare a hand with dated and localized Maghrebi exemplars.","Separate script changes across body text, headings, marginalia and additions.","Produce image-linked transcriptions with alternatives for ambiguous letters and marks.","Evaluate whether a digital rendering preserves the selected Maghrebi conventions.","Request targeted images or specialist review when a diagnostic feature cannot be resolved."]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Misreading regional dotting conventions can substitute letters and alter the meaning of a transcription.","Automatic text recognition can omit or misclassify unfamiliar letterforms and diacritics.","Attributing a manuscript's date or origin from script alone can produce misleading catalogue records."]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["ISO 15924, issued by the International Organization for Standardization, provides the Arab code for Arabic script, under which Maghrebi writing is classified without a separate style code."]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Maghrebi script is encountered in manuscripts, religious texts, correspondence and calligraphy associated with North Africa and historical al-Andalus.","Its study supports transcription, manuscript description and comparison of regional writing traditions."]}},"sources":[{"title":"Wikidata item Q1519562: Maghrebi script","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1519562","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"Wikipedia: Maghrebi script","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maghrebi_script","note":"general description of the item"}],"openQuestions":["Which scholarly and practitioner classifications best reconcile named Maghrebi varieties, and where do their boundaries conflict?","How should Andalusi and West African writing traditions be related to this registry entry without assuming that every regional hand belongs to the same family?","Which letterform combinations reliably distinguish Maghrebi varieties across dated corpora, and which apparent diagnostics are widespread Arabic features?","How do positional dot omission and reading-sign conventions vary by period, region, text genre and individual scribe?","Which digital transcription and rendering practices preserve the relevant distinctions while retaining interoperable Arabic text?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q1519562/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q1519562/spec.json"],"providers":["Codex"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-12T11:07:02Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"not-applicable","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-07T10:10:26+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 2 live sources; review by codex: pass","interaction.properties":"Plane ACT: no invented physical properties."},"score":1.0}}