Make word-spacing: <percentage> additional rather than absolute. See <http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/www-style/2012Jan/0147.html>.

Author: fantasai

css3-text/Overview.html

@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ <h2 class="no-num no-toc" id=longstatus-date>Editor's Draft 6 January 2012</h2>
     <dt>This version:
 
     <dd><a href="http://dev.w3.org/csswg/css3-text/">$Date: 2012/01/06
-     05:12:54 $ (CVS $Revision$)</a> <!--
+     22:37:37 $ (CVS $Revision$)</a> <!--
       <dd><a href="http://www.w3.org/TR/2012/WD-css3-text-20120106/">http://www.w3.org/TR/2012/WD-css3-text-20120106/</a></dd>
     -->
 
@@ -2564,16 +2564,16 @@ <h2 id=spacing><span class=secno>8. </span> Spacing</h2>
     title="&lt;spacing-limit&gt;:&lt;length&gt;">&lsquo;<code
     class=css>&lt;length&gt;</code>&rsquo;</dfn>
 
-   <dd>Specifies extra spacing <em>in addition to</em> the normal spacing.
-    Values may be negative, but there may be implementation-dependent limits.
-    
+   <dd>Specifies extra spacing <em>in addition to</em> the normal optimum
+    spacing. Values may be negative, but there may be
+    implementation-dependent limits.
 
    <dt><dfn id=ltpercentagegt
     title="&lt;spacing-limit&gt;:&lt;percentage&gt;">&lsquo;<code
     class=css>&lt;percentage&gt;</code>&rsquo;</dfn>
 
-   <dd>Specifies the spacing as a percentage of the affected character. Only
-    valid on &lsquo;<a href="#word-spacing0"><code
+   <dd>Specifies the additional spacing as a percentage of the affected
+    character. Only valid on &lsquo;<a href="#word-spacing0"><code
     class=property>word-spacing</code></a>&rsquo;. Negative values are not
     allowed.
   </dl>
@@ -2655,18 +2655,18 @@ <h3 id=word-spacing><span class=secno>8.1. </span> Word Spacing: the
   <p>This property specifies the minimum, maximum, and optimal spacing
    between &ldquo;words&rdquo;.
 
-  <p>Spacing is applied to each word-separator character left in the text
-   after the <a href="#white-space-rules">white space processing rules</a>
-   have been applied, and should be applied half on each side of the
-   character.
+  <p>Additional spacing is applied to each word-separator character left in
+   the text after the <a href="#white-space-rules">white space processing
+   rules</a> have been applied, and should be applied half on each side of
+   the character.
 
   <div class=example>
    <p>The following example will make all the spaces between words in Arabic
     be rendered as zero-width, and double the width of each space in English:
 
 
-   <pre>:lang(ar) { word-spacing:   0%; }
-<!--    -->:lang(en) { word-spacing: 200%; }</pre>
+   <pre>:lang(ar) { word-spacing: -100%; }
+<!--    -->:lang(en) { word-spacing: 100%; }</pre>
 
    <p>The following example will <em>add</em> half the the width of the
     &ldquo;0&rdquo; glyph to word spacing character [[CSS3VALUES]]:

css3-text/Overview.src.html

@@ -1856,12 +1856,14 @@ <h2 id="spacing">
         by the current font and/or the user agent. See <a href="#normal-spacing">below</a>.
       </dd>
     <dt><dfn title="&lt;spacing-limit&gt;:&lt;length&gt;">''&lt;length&gt;''</dfn>
-      <dd>Specifies extra spacing <em>in addition to</em> the normal spacing.
+      <dd>Specifies extra spacing <em>in addition to</em> the normal optimum
+        spacing.
         Values may be negative, but there may be implementation-dependent
         limits.
       </dd>
     <dt><dfn title="&lt;spacing-limit&gt;:&lt;percentage&gt;">''&lt;percentage&gt;''</dfn>
-      <dd>Specifies the spacing as a percentage of the affected character.
+      <dd>Specifies the additional spacing as a percentage of the affected
+        character.
         Only valid on 'word-spacing'. Negative values are not allowed.
       </dd>
   </dl>
@@ -1936,7 +1938,7 @@ <h3 id="word-spacing">
     <p>This property specifies the minimum, maximum, and optimal spacing
       between &ldquo;words&rdquo;.
 
-    <p>Spacing is applied to each word-separator character
+    <p>Additional spacing is applied to each word-separator character
       left in the text after the <a href="#white-space-rules">white space
       processing rules</a> have been applied, and should be applied half on
       each side of the character.
@@ -1945,8 +1947,8 @@ <h3 id="word-spacing">
       <p>The following example will make all the spaces between words in Arabic
       be rendered as zero-width, and double the width of each space in English:
 
-      <pre>:lang(ar) { word-spacing:   0%; }
-<!--    -->:lang(en) { word-spacing: 200%; }</pre>
+      <pre>:lang(ar) { word-spacing: -100%; }
+<!--    -->:lang(en) { word-spacing: 100%; }</pre>
 
       <p>The following example will <em>add</em> half the the width of the
         &ldquo;0&rdquo; glyph to word spacing character [[CSS3VALUES]]: