Joining Group - Khaph

Khaph is a joining group that categorizes the Syriac letter Kaph, specifically the character ܟ (Syriac Kaph), along with its contextual forms in scripts that use cursive joining behavior. It defines how this letter connects to adjacent characters within a word, determining whether it takes isolated, initial, medial, or final shapes based on its position. In practical terms, Khaph indicates that the letter joins on both sides when in the middle of a word, but only joins to the preceding character when it appears at the end, and remains unconnected in isolation. This joining group is used by rendering engines to correctly shape text in languages like Syriac, ensuring that the visual form of the Kaph matches the intended grammatical and typographic context. Its behavior mirrors that of other similar joining groups, such as those for other Syriac letters, but Khaph specifically applies to this one letter’s distinct visual variants.