# Ruwudu font > An Arabic-script family from SIL in four weights, made for West African languages written in the Rubutun Kano style. Ruwudu is a typeface family from SIL International for Arabic-script languages of West Africa that are written in the Rubutun Kano style. Ruwudu has four weights, Regular, Medium, SemiBold and Bold, with 898 glyphs spanning Arabic and basic Latin. Ruwudu is released under the SIL Open Font License 1.1 and suits books, teaching material and other running text. ## Facts - Classification: [Serif](https://trendhub.net/fonts/category/serif) - Designed by: SIL International - License: SIL Open Font License 1.1 (https://openfontlicense.org/open-font-license-official-text/) - Styles: 4 (Regular 400, Medium 500, SemiBold 600, Bold 700) - Variable font: No - Glyphs: 898 - Character sets: arabic, latin - Last updated: 2025-05-30 - Official source: https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Ruwudu - Page: https://trendhub.net/fonts/ruwudu - Tagged for: Body text, Editorial ## About Ruwudu Ruwudu is an Arabic-script typeface family with a serif Latin companion. Its purpose, according to the official notes, is to give West African languages that use the Rubutun Kano style of Arabic writing an open font of their own; it contains the characters known to be used by those languages and may lack characters other languages need. Shaping rules built into the fonts adjust the form and position of characters automatically. The Latin letters in the specimen are an old-style serif with moderate contrast, bracketed serifs and a Q whose tail curls under the bowl. Four static weights are provided, Regular 400, Medium 500, SemiBold 600 and Bold 700, with no italic. The fonts hold 898 glyphs. SIL International is the publisher, the name table credits Becca Hirsbrunner Spalinger as designer, and the license is the SIL Open Font License 1.1. ## License SIL Open Font License 1.1. Copyright (c) 2015-2023, SIL International (http://www.sil.org/), with Reserved Font Names "Ruwudu" and "SIL". Allowed: - Use the fonts in personal and commercial work, in print, on the web and in apps. - Modify the fonts and build new versions from them. - Redistribute the fonts, on their own or bundled with software, as long as the license text and copyright notice go with them. Conditions: - The fonts cannot be sold by themselves. - A modified version must stay under the same license and cannot use a Reserved Font Name without the copyright holder's permission. - The authors' names cannot be used to promote a modified version without permission. Summary only, not legal advice. Full text: https://openfontlicense.org/open-font-license-official-text/ ## Where it works - **Books in West African Arabic script**: The character set was chosen for languages written in the Rubutun Kano style, so their texts can be set without substitute glyphs. - **Teaching and literacy material**: Regular and Medium give two text weights for readers, primers and worksheets, with Bold for headings. - **Bilingual Arabic and Latin pages**: A serif Latin alphabet in the same four weights sits beside the Arabic for glosses, page numbers and credits. - **Community publishing**: The open license lets local presses and websites bundle and redistribute the fonts with their publications. ## Things to know - **Regional Arabic coverage**: The Arabic repertoire targets languages using the Rubutun Kano style; the official notes warn that other languages may find characters missing. - **Four weights, no italic**: The cuts are 400, 500, 600 and 700. There is no italic or slanted style. - **Basic Latin only**: The Latin side covers the basic subset for languages such as English and French; Latin Extended letters are not included. - **Needs shaping support**: Character forms and positions are adjusted by rules inside the font, so the text must be set in software that applies complex-script shaping. ## FAQs ### Is Ruwudu free for commercial use? Yes, under the SIL Open Font License 1.1. Ruwudu may be used in personal and commercial projects, changed and passed on, but it cannot be sold on its own, and a modified version keeps the same license and may not use a Reserved Font Name without permission. ### Who designed Ruwudu? Ruwudu is published by SIL International, which holds the copyright; the font's name table credits Becca Hirsbrunner Spalinger as designer. ### What is Ruwudu designed for? Ruwudu is designed for West African languages that write Arabic script in the Rubutun Kano style, giving them an openly licensed font family. ### How many weights does Ruwudu have? Ruwudu has four weights: Regular 400, Medium 500, SemiBold 600 and Bold 700. ### Which languages does Ruwudu support? Ruwudu covers the Arabic-script characters used by languages written in the Rubutun Kano style, and on the Latin side the letters for English and Western European languages such as French, German and Spanish. --- Source: https://trendhub.net/fonts/ruwudu (trendhub)