*The Hindu : "Cracking the Konkani code"*
http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/karnataka/article2783403.ece
*The Konkani language is curious in many ways. Although interesting from a
cultural perspective as it is spoken by a cross-section of people, creating
online content in the language is challenging because it is written and
read in multiple scripts.*
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*Written in Kannada, Devanagari, Malayalam, Arabic and Roman scripts, the
challenge for technologists is presenting the same content in multiple
scripts.*
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*Now, a group of people that includes Wikipedians are fine-tuning a
transliteration tool straddling the multiple scripts of Konkani. If the
tool succeeds, it can be used for other multiple-script languages such as
Kashmiri, Santhali and Chinese. “Reviving the language is a challenge, but
we can overcome the script barrier with the transliteration tool, said Santhosh
Thottingal, Wikimedia Foundation engineering staff.*
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*Wikipedian Hariprasad Nadig said the tool could be used beyond Wikipedia
by any website to enable its readers to view Konkani in Kannada and
Devanagari scripts. The tool uses a software module written for the Serbian
Wiki. “The problem is the same…with Indian languages the problem is
escalated as there are more complex scripts and phonetic differences,” Mr.
Nadig said. The tool has two parts: one, to enable the reader to read in
the script he prefers, and two, enabling the reader to add text in his
preferred script. Currently, the tool enables reading Konkani content in
Devanagari and Kannada, but it has to be perfected. The second part
involves using a base script (Devanagari or Kannada) to change content into
other reader-preferred scripts, which is yet to be done.*
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*MIXED THOUGHTS*
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*U.K.-based software developer Roshan Pai Ramesh has mixed thoughts on
whether the tool will help or obstruct the cause of Konkani in the long
term. While it fosters inclusiveness of scripts, which is good, it will
further add to the non-standardisation of the language.*
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*“Devanagari as the single standard script is probably good for the Konkani
language in the long term. Not having a single standardised script hurts a
language's development when one sees the bigger picture,” he said.*
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*Amir Elisha Ahroni, Israel-based software developer, linguist, and
participant at Wikimedia's India Hackathon 2011 held in Mumbai in November,
said Konkani was “particularly an interesting case” because no particular
script dominates and all the scripts are used by a significant number of
people.*
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*“I strongly believe that all languages are equal and all languages must be
supported equally in all software. English is the most frequently used
language in software, but there's no reason why it should have any
exclusive privilege,” he said.*
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*Besides a diaspora, Konkani has 3.6 million native speakers, said Mr.
Thottingal. People along the western coast, across religions, and tribes,
such as the Siddi, speak Konkani, said Gurudath Bantwalkar, Mangalorean
Wikipedian and Assistant Director, World Konkani Centre, Mangalore.*
Regards
Tinu Cherian
press(a)wikimedia.in
http://wiki.wikimedia.in/In_the_news