Post by Laoupdate on May 3, 2005 0:12:14 GMT -5
Lao language software: need of the hour
Soulivan Vongmany
Lao software including font converter, spell checker and grammar checker will be used soon, said an ICT developer from the Science Technology and Environment Agency.
These programmes developed under the PAN Asia Network Localisation project supported by Canada 's International Development Research Centre and National University of Computer and Emergency Science of Pakistan.
A workshop, held last week at Don Chan Palace in Vientiane , highlighted the need of “localisation”, i.e., a Lao Language software platform.
Hosted by Science Technology and Environment Agency (STEA), the event attracted over 100 participants including members of National Language Processing Group, software developers from home and abroad, and various sectors of end users.
ITC aims to provide technology and skills to NLPG and others working on localisation software, and to conduct research on the following applications: Lao character set, Lao keyboard, Lao fonts, Lao syllabification and line breaking utility, Lao collation/sorting utility, find/replace function, lexicon, spell checker and grammar checker.
STEA's Information Technology Centre (ITC) has established a National Language Processing Group (NLPG), comprising software architects, programmers and linguistic experts.
Computer users face many problems when they use existing Lao language keyboards; font developers have created different systems and codes.
Also it is not possible to convert text documents from one font type to another; to use the text in another font type one has to type it all over again in the new font; also one cannot copy the document to another computer which does not have the required font – one has to first install the font onto that computer .
To solve this problem STEA's ICT team has created a converter software to convert old fonts such as Alice_0, Saysettha lao, Saysettha 2000 to Unicode font. This programme is available at the ICT centre. The team has also created a Lao-English-Lao software dictionary, which would help Lao people to learn foreign languages.
The team has also created programmes to solve logical problems using Lao language.
Information Communication Technology (ICT) offers a flexible means of publishing and disseminating information that can have a huge impact on social and economic development.
It is impossible to use ICT in Lao language, as current technology does not support its writing systems.
The current lack of localisation software has not prevented the use of informatics in commercial enterprises and government public service. Those who are likely to afford a computer and are educated to standard to use one are reported as able to read and write in English.
But as economic conditions continue to improve and government services become more widespread, including rural areas, the lack of a local language application might become a hurdle to development.
The event aimed to create public awareness about the importance of Lao localisation in order to bring together all direct and indirect stakeholders including various government organisations, academic institutes, private sectors, individual researchers and end users.
It also sought to identify and propose the best possible solution to the government for adoption as the national standard, while sharing research work done by the Information Technology Centre and the experience of the local and foreign developers present.
Science Technology and Environment Agency Vice President Dr Maydom Chanthanasinh attended the meet.
Source: vientianetimes
Photo: www.tlfq.ulaval.ca/axl/monde/images/alphabet-lao2.gif
Laoupdate.com ;D
Soulivan Vongmany
Lao software including font converter, spell checker and grammar checker will be used soon, said an ICT developer from the Science Technology and Environment Agency.
These programmes developed under the PAN Asia Network Localisation project supported by Canada 's International Development Research Centre and National University of Computer and Emergency Science of Pakistan.
A workshop, held last week at Don Chan Palace in Vientiane , highlighted the need of “localisation”, i.e., a Lao Language software platform.
Hosted by Science Technology and Environment Agency (STEA), the event attracted over 100 participants including members of National Language Processing Group, software developers from home and abroad, and various sectors of end users.
ITC aims to provide technology and skills to NLPG and others working on localisation software, and to conduct research on the following applications: Lao character set, Lao keyboard, Lao fonts, Lao syllabification and line breaking utility, Lao collation/sorting utility, find/replace function, lexicon, spell checker and grammar checker.
STEA's Information Technology Centre (ITC) has established a National Language Processing Group (NLPG), comprising software architects, programmers and linguistic experts.
Computer users face many problems when they use existing Lao language keyboards; font developers have created different systems and codes.
Also it is not possible to convert text documents from one font type to another; to use the text in another font type one has to type it all over again in the new font; also one cannot copy the document to another computer which does not have the required font – one has to first install the font onto that computer .
To solve this problem STEA's ICT team has created a converter software to convert old fonts such as Alice_0, Saysettha lao, Saysettha 2000 to Unicode font. This programme is available at the ICT centre. The team has also created a Lao-English-Lao software dictionary, which would help Lao people to learn foreign languages.
The team has also created programmes to solve logical problems using Lao language.
Information Communication Technology (ICT) offers a flexible means of publishing and disseminating information that can have a huge impact on social and economic development.
It is impossible to use ICT in Lao language, as current technology does not support its writing systems.
The current lack of localisation software has not prevented the use of informatics in commercial enterprises and government public service. Those who are likely to afford a computer and are educated to standard to use one are reported as able to read and write in English.
But as economic conditions continue to improve and government services become more widespread, including rural areas, the lack of a local language application might become a hurdle to development.
The event aimed to create public awareness about the importance of Lao localisation in order to bring together all direct and indirect stakeholders including various government organisations, academic institutes, private sectors, individual researchers and end users.
It also sought to identify and propose the best possible solution to the government for adoption as the national standard, while sharing research work done by the Information Technology Centre and the experience of the local and foreign developers present.
Science Technology and Environment Agency Vice President Dr Maydom Chanthanasinh attended the meet.
Source: vientianetimes
Photo: www.tlfq.ulaval.ca/axl/monde/images/alphabet-lao2.gif
Laoupdate.com ;D