Usage of Indic languages on computers

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Usage of Indic languages on computers
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Languages their scripts
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Read Indic Languages on your system
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How do you enable support for Indic languages ?

• Windows XP
• Goto Control Panel - Regional and Language
  Options
• Goto Languages tab in Regional and Language
  Options dialog
• Check the Install files for complex script and
  right-to-left languages (including Thai) checkbox
  
• Click Apply to complete installation

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• Windows 2000
• Goto Control Panel - Regional Options
• Goto General tab in Regional Options dialog
• Scroll down in the Language settings for the
  system listbox and check the Indic checkbox.
• Click Apply to complete installation

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• Ubuntu Dapper Ubuntu Edgy
• sudo apt-get install ttf-telugu-fonts
  ttf-indic-fonts language-pack-te
• wget http//abhiomkar.googlepages.com/fonts.cache-
  1
• sudo cp fonts.cache-1 /usr/share/fonts/truetype/tt
  f-telugu-fonts
• sudo fc-cache
• Ubuntu Feisty Fawn
• sudo apt-get install ttf-telugu-fonts
  ttf-indic-fonts language-pack-te
• wget http//abhiomkar.googlepages.com/lohit_te.ttf
  
• sudo cp lohit_te.ttf /usr/share/fonts/truetype/ttf
  -telugu-fonts/
• sudo fc-cache
• From http//abhinay.wordpress.com/2006/10/15/telu
  gu-rendering-in-ubuntu-linux/

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Write Indic Languages on your system
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Input Formats

• RTS (Rice Transliteration Scheme)

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Inscript Keyboard Layout
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Others

• ITRANS - http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITRANS
• ISCII

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Links to Language Tools

• http//www.baraha.com/ - Multiple languages
• http//www.iit.edu/laksvij/language/index.html -
  Multiple languages
• http//lekhini.org - Telugu
• http//thamizha.com/modules/mydownloads/viewcat.ph
  p?cid3 Tamil
• http//quillpad.in Many languages
• http//www.google.com/transliterate/indic -
  Multiple Languages
• http//groups.google.com/group/aksharamala -
  Multiple Languages
• Firefox Extensions
• http//padma.mozdev.org/ - Padma
• https//addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/397
  2 - Indic Input Extension

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Indic Languages on Operating Systems

• Windows Has native support for Indic languages
• Has Language interface packs for many languages
• Linux has interface support for many Indic
  languages. But in nascent stages
• Linux has a very organized way of contributing to
  the translations
• Ubuntu http//launchpad.net

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Unicode Non Unicode fonts

• Proprietary fonts used by many websites including
  online Newspapers
• Unicode fonts more generic and understandable by
  different Operating Systems and Browsers
• Easily searchable by Search Engines

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How do you contribute ?

• There are number of Open Source products and some
  commercial too which need community support for
  translation
• Linux (Ubuntu http//launchpad.net)
• Firefox
• Miro
• Wordpress etc
• Can do the work offline too. (po files)
• Can contribute to your regional wikipedia.
• http//te.wikipedia.org
• http//kn.wikipedia.org
• http//hi.wikipedia.org
• Can start a blog in your own language. Blogger,
  Wordpress etc.
• Can help NGOs and others setup various software
  in these languages.

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Blog Aggregators

• Numerous Language based Blog Aggregators
• http//koodali.org Telugu
• http//www.thenkoodu.com/ - Tamil
• http//narad.akshargram.com/ - Hindi
• http//www.sampada.net/ - Kannada
• http//www.chintha.com/malayalam/blogroll.php -
  Malayalam

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Webzines and websites

• http//poddu.net
• http//eemaata.com
• http//eenaadu.net
• http//news.google.com/nwshp?hlhinedhi_in

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Some URLs

• http//people.w3.org/rishida/scripts/indic-overvie
  w/ - An Introduction to Indic Scripts
• http//www.bhashaindia.com/ - Microsofts Indic
  Language Website
• http//www.guruji.com Indian languages based
  Search Engine
• http//www.indlinux.org/ - Linux localized for
  Indian languages has a live cd option.

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Advantages

• Appeals to the masses
• Satisfaction of writing in ones own language
• Penetration higher

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Issues and Problems

• Need to learn a new scheme or keyboard to type
• Not very intuitive
• Search is not mature
• Search mostly gives only Unicode content
• Need to setup the operating systems for proper
  display of fonts
• Not enough variety available in Unicode fonts
• Consistency in language and non availability of
  enough words for technical jargon.

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Discussion

• Why do you use Indic Languages ?
• How effective is it to communicate in regional
  languages ? and what makes it interesting ?
• Experiences with Indic languages what do you
  read/write in Indic Languages, what are the
  different ways you have worked to popularize it ?
• Blogging in regional languages in India.
• Indic languages on mobiles
• Resources for Indic Languages on the net -
  transliterators etc
• Open source efforts for Indic Languages
• Problems faced technical
• Roadblocks to popularizing Indic Languages on the
  net
• Need for a common resource centre for Indic
  Languages
• What can we do to popularize Indic Languages