Foundation Projects
Enhancing Communication and Co-operation across South Asia: An ICT Solution to Script Barriers
Punjabi University
Sindhi in Arabic script is recognized as the language of Sindh in Pakistan with a fairly developed print culture in the form of newspapers, magazines and other publications and University departments researching the language.
It has its own True type fonts that are cheap and easily accessible. However, literature or electronic Sindhi produced in Sindh was not available to the Sindhi population in India, which was scattered and unable to read the Arabic script, writing in Devanagri script.
The aim of the project was to facilitate electronic and written communication between Sindhi people living in India and Pakistan through the development of a bi-directional web based Sindhi Language Transliteration Tool. The target groups were Media organizations (such as magazines/newspapers), literary and literacy promotional organizations, writers and NGOs involved in dissemination activities amongst the urban and rural poor, virtual Sindhi speaking communities, schools, and colleges. This project developed a complete machine transliteration system for Sindhi scripts to facilitate the use of these technologies on the web, thus enhancing networking between India and Pakistan.