Localization CRULP or the Center for Research in Urdu Language Processing, has been working on the challenge to reduce the barrier for the average Pakistani computer user to be able to access the internet in a language he actually understands. “There is no doubt that the internet has become a tremendous reservoir of knowledge-sharing which more people need to have access to” says Dr. Sarmad Hussain, Professor and Head of CRULP.
“The ability to communicate in one’s native language is a fundamental freedom and is closely tied to economic growth and human development because language is one of the key ways to realize cultural diversity. Over the years Internet has become a major source of information sharing. With the increasing use of internet, it is important if we can have information on internet in local languages. It will help to develop the digital literacy through the use local languages, research and development in local language computing, and adoption of local language technology by the communities.”
The information, according to Dr. Sarmad, is available online, but people are unable to access it because of the language barrier. If you are wondering how this works, the IDN or Internationalized Domain Names allows the user to type the URL in an ‘internationalized’ script which, in this case, is urdu. “Whether I know the language of the internet or not isn’t the point anymore. This technology announcement enables me to have a chance at representing my language, my culture and my identity.”
There has been a tremendous amount of work done by CRULP on the development of the Urdu script to make it easier to use as part of the bits and bytes of the field of computing. As the CRULP website describes the language: Urdu is a rich language with a multilingual and multi cultural heritage. Its roots in Arabic, English, Persian, Sanskrit and other languages give Urdu a diverse body of sounds and underlying linguistic structure. Similarly, multi cultural background introduces a varied tradition of calligraphy, prose poetry, and other forms of art in Urdu. This rich heritage makes Urdu far more computationally interesting and challenging than any other language. This is also true for Pakistan’s other regional languages including Sindhi, Pushto, Balochi and Brohvi. These challenges pose a vast unexplored training field for research students in computer science. For more details, you can visit www.crulp.org
