Sunday, September 18, 2011

One language, two scripts

#Tamaziɣt is one of the #Berber languages of North Africa. It is written in two scripts; the Latin script and the Tifinagh script.

As there is a project in the Incubator for a Tamazight Wikipedia, it is relevant to consider if and how the two scripts can be transcribed from one into the other. This is what SPQRobin has done; he has written a program that converts a text between these two scripts.

Transcription is not new to MediaWiki; Serbian and Chinese are two languages where articles can be available in two scripts. It is awesome when we can transcribe in both directions as this allows people to read and write in their preferred script. When a language is also written in for instance the Arabic script, this is impossible because vowels are often not indicated.

With both scripts supported, we hope that the converter will be soon available in the Incubator. This may stimulate more people to learn to write their language and contribute to the dissemination of all knowledge to all people.
Thanks,
       GerardM



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