INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Tamil in cyberspace

The modalities of adapting Tamil for use in information technology have been worked out at an international conference hosted by the Tamil Nadu Government's Task Force on Information Technology.

D.B.S. JEYARAJ

TAMILNET '99, the stylistically titled international conference on the use of Tamil in Information Technology, was hosted in Chennai recently by the Tamil Nadu Government's Task Force on Information Technology. The two-day event attracted more than a hundred techno-linguistic inputs from participants across the globe. A similar conference, TamilNet '97, was held in Singapore. At the inaugural session, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi said that while the 1997 conference had identified the maladies affecting the Tamil computer sector, the current one would propose remedies.

The overall objective of the conference was to enlarge the scope of use of Tamil in computers, multimedia applications and the Internet. This was streamlined into the triple goals of defining universal standards for a Tamil keyboard, evolving a common standard in Tamil script character coding, and enhancing the use of Tamil in multimedia and the Internet. The participants were fully aware of their historic responsibility as Karunanidhi announced that the Tamil Nadu Government would implement the recommendations of the conference.

After stimulating rounds of discussions, the conference arrived at a consensus and resolved that a standard phonetic keyboard should be adopted for Tamil in computers. The phonetic keyboard was popular because it was user-friendly and minimised the effort involved. It was emphasised that the following features should be incorporated in a standard keyboard layout:

* Tamil characters used frequently should be placed in strong finger positions and others in light finger positions.

* The less frequently used grantha letters should be used in shift-key operations. Short and long vowels should be kept in adjacent positions for convenience.

* Tamil letters that normally appear conjointly should be adjacent to each other to facilitate easy operation.

It was also decided that various keyboards should be developed universally in accordance with this standard and documented for reference. Initiatives should be taken to promote worldwide use of this universal keyboard.

The conference also decided that during the transition period, the Tamil typewriter-based keyboard should continue to be in use. The keyboard should not deviate from the one proposed by the Keyboard Committee appointed by the Tamil Nadu Government in 1997. The conference also decided to adopt the Romanised keyboard as recommended by the Tamil Nadu Keyboard Committee as an alternative to a Tamil keyboard. This suggestion was for the benefit of persons who are familiar only with spoken Tamil and who prefer to use English characters while typing Tamil text.

The requirements of Tamil computing were categorised as:

(a) word processing and publishing; (b) communication and interfaces with ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange)-based software systems; and (c) language analysis and processing and system software-based applications. If adequate space is available, it will be possible to fulfil all the above requirements with a single character-encoding scheme. But in the case of Tamil there is a hitch. In an eight-bit system, there are 256 locations available of which ASCII occupies the 128 lower locations, leaving less than 128 locations for Tamil characters. This space is not enough to accommodate the Tamil script in its entirety - at least not now. It would be possible in the future if a two- or three-byte system, such as UNICODE, is implemented fully.

In these circumstances, the conference was compelled to accommodate more than one system of encoding. Thus character encoding system for bilingual as well as monolingual applications was adopted. These were devised for software based on monolingual and bilingual glyph encoding systems. A character encoding scheme with only Tamil characters in the same locations as in the devised scheme was also recommended for modifying the existing UNICODE.

Realising the critical importance of ensuring the transition from the codes currently in use, the proposed codes were recommended as a standard draft. The standard draft has now been made available universally at a Web-site specifically created for this purpose. Experts and specialists have been given 100 days from February 9 to make an assessment of the standard draft. During this period they will apply the draft codes through various software forum and media and gauge their compatibility as well as adaptability. The international feedback gained will be compiled and tabulated. The cumulative experience will greatly influence the final decision on draft standards. The decision is expected to be taken by June 1, 1999. A committee comprising experts from within and outside India is to be set up for the purpose. It was also resolved that once the codes are finalised the Tamil Nadu Government should provide support to enable existing software to adopt the new encoding system.

The conference resolved that the present system of Tamil character encoding used in UNICODE needs to be modified to suit the special features of Tamil characters. The Tamil Nadu Government has been asked to undertake necessary consultations with organisations concerned. It has been proposed that an expert group on UNICODE for Tamil should be constituted. In order to promote and develop the use of Tamil in computers, it was proposed that a Tamil Internet research centre (at the State level) and a worldwide Internet communication facility for Tamil be established.

THE conference noted that the entire heritage of Tamil literature and grammar should be made available on the Internet. It would be necessary to develop software for a Tamil dictionary, a Thesaurus, spellcheck systems, e-mail, optical character recognition for handwritten and other material, voice-driven data processing, natural language processing, palm leaf letter recognition and so on. Governments of countries that recognise Tamil as an official language, universities and private organisations were also urged to support these proposals. It was proposed to conduct another conference of this kind next year.

The conference ended on an upbeat note when Karunanidhi announced that his Government would implement a 10-point charter. The proposals made at the conference constituted the charter. They were:

* A virtual Tamil Internet University will be created, which would be accessible to all Tamil-speaking people;

* Tamil Nadu will become a member of the UNICODE consortium and obtain 512 locations to accommodate all Tamil letters in the encoding system;

* A committee comprising experts from Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry, Singapore, Malaysia and Sri Lanka will be appointed to finalise recommendations regarding monolingual and bilingual encoding systems. Its report has to be submitted within three months;

* A "Tamil Software Fund" is to be set up to encourage Tamil software development;

* Three research chairs will be created in Bharathiyar University, Coimbatore; Regional Engineering College, Tiruchi; and Anna University, Chennai;

V. GANESAN
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister
M. Karunanidhi at TamilNet '99, the international conference on the use of Tamil in Information Technology held in Chennai in February. At far left is Sam Pitroda, chairman of World Tel.

* Effective linkages between Tamil Nadu and the Tamil diaspora through the Internet will be promoted.

* A Tamil Internet research centre for English and Tamil users to be set up at the State level.

* A thousand community Internet centres will be established for both Tamil and English users;

* Forms for applications to be made to the State Government will be made available in Tamil and English over the Internet within a year; and

* The codes recommended as draft standards will be made available for 100 days on the Internet in order to facilitate a global evaluation. (This has been done already.)

The conference literature described Tamil's progress from palm leaf to the computer screen as a great leap forward. It is estimated that there are more than a million Tamil users of the Internet and their number is rapidly increasing. At least 3,000 Tamil Web-sites are in existence. Various media sites, including those of newspapers, magazines and radios, are available in Tamil. There are electronic discussion groups. Tamil electronic libraries are flourishing. Hundreds of Tamil fonts and multiple keyboards are in use.

The use of Tamil in computers is actively promoted by the Tamil diaspora in at least 65 countries. The conference noted that of the global Tamil population of 80 million, around 20 million people are outside Tamil Nadu. With the Tamil Nadu Government committed to propelling the State towards a computer revolution, the use of Tamil in computers is likely to explode in the new millennium.

The digital renaissance in Tamil, however, is in a state of disarray because of the proliferation of users and a lack of cohesiveness. The polyphony of electronic Tamil is in danger of deteriorating into a cacophony; unless this trend of diverse proliferation is harmonised into a constructive symphony it could result in chaos in Tamil cyberspace. TamilNet '99, therefore, is of paramount importance in this regard.

The presence of the Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry and Tamil Ministers from three foreign countries - the Minister of Livestock Development and Estate Infrastructure from Sri Lanka, S. Thondaman, the Minister of Works from Malaysia, Samy Vellu, and the Minister for Education and Science from Mauritius, Ramasamy Chidamparampi-llai - underscored the significance of the conference. Karunanidhi said at the conference that "a global Tamil village on the Internet is in the making". If the resolutions of TamilNet '99 are implemented efficiently, the new millennium could effectively herald it.