re /m40

Don, I suspect thats whats happened. Despite the fact that Google interface is unicode, web designers choice of fonts overriding orthographic considerations?

Andrew

re /m39

with some of our internal keyboard development projects here, we've shifted our logic somewhat.

We see a need for "regional" keyboards and for language specific keyboards.

At the moment we are expanding the language support on a couple of our regional keyboard layouts. For instance the southern sudanese keyboard. Regional keyboards are useful in environments where a range of languages are spoken/written.

Although, if extensive typing is being done in only one language, then sometimes it is better to develop language specific keyboard layouts, esp if additional behaviours suited to a particular language are involved.

As an example, one language we work with has long breathy vowels, so a long breathy a is represented by two a-diaeresis characters (ää). I could type

'a' + 'diaeresis' + 'a' + 'diaeresis' -> ää

But in this language you never have a letter combination 'aä' or 'äa' only 'aa' or 'ää' so it was possible to construct a keyboard sequence

'a' + 'a' + 'diaeresis' -> ää

which is quicker and easier to type.

Likewise the behavour of the backspace key could be changed to delete a breathy character (ie ä) or a long breathy character (ää) in one keystroke, similarly shift delete could delete the diaeresis, ie convert a breathy vowel (with diaeresis) to its none breathy equivalent (without diaeresis).

These are some of the benefits that could be brought to a language specific keyboard that would probably not be possible or desirable on a regional keyboard.

Andrew

Kyekyeku, Thanks for the follow up. You didn't send your inquiry to the wrong address (Unicode list), but it also is on-topic for these fora that have a Ghana or Africa-wide focus. Each have somewhat different readership (although some overlap).

I think John and Andrew answered the proprietary issues re development of the fonts in question, but you raise an interesting question of whether the agreements between MS and various governments like the one you mention for Ghana include font and keyboard capacity for all languages in the countries concerned.

Don Osborn
Bisharat.net


Quoting QuickTopic daily digest <qtopic+16-9xffAXi7whnv@quicktopic.com>: > --QT-------------------------------------------------------------
> Messages for the topic "Ghanaian languages & ICT" for 03-11-2004.
> Reply by email or visit
> http://www.quicktopic.com/16/H/9xffAXi7whnv
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> From: Kyekyeku Opoku-Pong Time: 06:54 AM
> Thank you for your responses to my question even I sent to wrong
> address.
>
> Our keyboard has been tested on Windows 2000 and Windows XP. The
> problem is that if the keyboard would be adopted soon in Ghana,
> most of the users will have Windows 2000 and XP. Does Microsoft
> own the Standard fonts? If so would be possible for my colleague
> and I to have their permission to add the Ghanaian characters? I
> will try to find out from Microsoft home page if there is any
> one I can talk to about the font modification.
>
> I understand Microsoft is working to include most of the Unicode
> characters in the future OS. Is there anyway of finding out if
> the Ghanaian characters will be included? Would there be anyway
> of making sure that the Ghanaian characters are included?
>
> Recently Microsoft signed an IT Research and developemnt pact
> with Ghana so that could be one channel for influencing this
> font issue.
>
> These are the questions we do not have answers to. If anyone can
> help we will be grateful.
>
> Thank you
> ------------------------------------------------------------
...

The following concerning Kyekyeku's work appeared today on the GINKS list (associated with http://www.ginks.org/) and was forwarded to me by Kelly Morris. DZO

A Keyboard for Ghanaian languages

Two Software Engineers at Nokia Corporation, Finland, Kyekyeku Opoku-Pong and Isaac Quarshie have come up with a keyboard design for Ghanaian languages. The keyboard in its prototype state can be used for most of the Ghanaian languages including Akan, Ga, and some of the northern languages. The keyboard modifies the standard 101 QWERTY keyboard to include the "open letter o" pronounced "ooh" in Akan and the "open letter e" pronounced "eeh" in Akan and the "eng" character used in Ga, Adangbe and some of the northern languages. This means that the user Ghana type English as usual and also type in the Ghanaian languages at will. The keyboard also the cedi sign.

According to the designers, their aim was to contribute to the ICT revolution in Ghana. Kyekyeku Opoku-Pong and Isaac Quarshie remarked that in the beginning of this endeavour, they had no idea how to implement the keyboard but with perseverance, they have now achieved what one day will give every Ghanaian the chance to type freely any Ghanaian language on the computer.

The keyboard has been tested on Windows 2000 but should work with Windows XP. The designers hope that Ghana government all the right authorities will support their efforts. The sort of help they will include the recommendation of the right layout by an authority in Ghana, the set characters that will make the final design good for most or all of the major languages in Ghana and the funding and promotion of the keyboard.

Source: GHP

The following announcement was posted on H-West-Africa. The search window permits use of two extended Latin characters when the Akan keyboard checkbox is ticked in the online search window: q=>Ɛ and x=>Ɔ

Don Osborn
Bisharat.net

kasahorow
ONLINE dictionary of standard written Akan

The kasahorow dictionary is a popular dictionary of the Akan language group. It is meant to help improve the accessibility of written material meant for oral communication to all who can comprehend any of the Twi/Fante varieties of Akan.

The public may contribute entries via the internet to the dictionary. All contributions are verified by the Kasahorow Editor.

1. http://www.yale.edu/akan
This version contains all verified entries of the dictionary. It is updated every five minutes with the latest verified entries.

2. http://kasa.ghanathink.org/akan
This version contains all entries, verified and unverified. Entries are accepted from all visitors to the page. Contributors willing to be listed on the project page may sign up and contribute as members of the online GhanaConscious community.

Dictionary Features :
• Multi-lingual entries
   o Standard Akan
   o Twi
   o Fante
   o English Synonyms
• Uniform Spelling Rules
• Single Orthography
• Multi-lingual search
   o Simple Search
   o Advanced Search

The dictionary has been designed to be as flexible for the user as possible. There is no need for any special software apart from a modern browser. The dictionary works best in Mozilla Firefox 1.0 or Internet Explorer 6.

Simple Search: To look up a word, type into the search box whatever information about the word that comes to mind, in Akan, Twi, Fante, or English.

How to use the dictionary

To look up a word, you search for it by typing in the search box on the web page. There are two ways of searching the dictionary:

1. Simple Search: This is a multilingual search of the dictionary. Your search term could be the Standard Akan spelling; the Twi spelling; the Fante spelling; the English synonym; a phrase in the entry's meaning, example or notes; or the general subject area of the term.

2. Advanced Search: To narrow down the search results results significantly by selecting specific values for the various fields of an entry. The searchable fields are as follows:
a. Standard Akan (AK)
b. Twi
c. Fante
d. English Synonym (EN)
e. Part of Speech - A K, EN
f. Definition - AK
g. Example - AK
h. Terminology - AK, EN
i. Notes - AK, EN

This is an example of an entry search by an English user.

kilomita, n- [General]

[Twi: kilomita] [Fante: kilomita]

SI nsusuho a ?kyer? b?y? kwansin ?ha-mu-eduesia-ebien

[English Synonyms: kilometer, kilometer]

Kofi nantew kilomita anan anapa biara de k? skuul.

Notes: SI: Système Internationale d'Unités

Users can toggle between the Akan keyboard layout ( '?' replaces 'Q' and '?' replaces 'J') and their own language layout by toggling the Keyboard Layout checkbox.
 
Default (checked): Akan keyboard layout

Nea onnim no sua a, ohu
 
kasahorow
Yale University Council on African Studies
34 Hillhouse Avenue
P O Box 208206
New Haven, CT 06520-8206
USA

The Dictionaries Project
The GhanaThink Foundation Tsooboi Projects
P O Box 397197
Cambridge, MA 02139
USA
c/o P O Box MC1904
Takoradi
Ghana

http://kasa.ghanathink.org/akan
kasa@ghanathink.org


The kasahorow Akan dictionary is supported by the Yale University African Studies Council. It is supervised by Dr. Ann Biersteker <ann.biersteker(at)yale.edu> Director of the African Languages Program at Yale.

It is a part of the Dictionaries Project of GhanaThink Tsooboi http://tsooboi.ghanathink.org/ . The current editor of the dictionary is Paa Kwesi Imbeah imbeah(at)ghanathink.org

Edited by author 04-30-2005 08:27 AM
The Ghana Localization Project seeks to translate Open Office into Akan. See http://kasa.ghanathink.org/localization/index.php?idx=0 (With thanks to Guido Sohne for his help in finding this information.)

Don Osborn
Bisharat.net

Hi Don,
Thanks for introducing me to this list. I'm one of the collaborators on the GhanaThink projects mentioned below. Anyone is invited to collaborate--private person or for-profit entity. The more ideas thrown in the better the resulting work we believe.

The kasashorow online dictionary is based on work done by CASAS (that's where the "Standard Akan" entry comes from). The long-range idea is to provide standardized dictionaries (based on work that CASAS has already done) for as many dialects as possible, or at least provide a model for doing so.

The localization project is pretty much engaged with providing tools to make this work easier. So it is also trying to arrive at what might be considered a standard keyboard layout. Current thinking is to define these layouts around language groups based on alphabet similarity. An interesting observation that comes up when working with the existing language orthorgraphies is that they are a very literal. Thus all the hue and cry about diacritics support may sometimes not be necessary. For example, CASAS concluded that indicating vowel nasalization in Akan wasn't necessary because the word could always be inferred from context. I agree with their reasons.

It is important to distinguish between linguistic needs for the representation of a language (such as is required for linguistic PhD work for example) and what the native speaker really needs. Such work as by Prof Nakuma (/m27) instinctively strikes me as a step in the right direction.

And oh, I forgot to mention that for example, in Akan, the keyboard solution I use for working on the dictionary addresses the regular needs/linguistic needs problem by using a key combo (ALT-GR + Key) to generate letters with diacritics to please the linguists. The regular user never ends up worrying about remembering special key combinations as everything that is needed is directly represented on the layout.

I'll be interested to find out what Mr Kyekyeku's solution ends up being like.

On the topic of locales:

Paa Kwesi and GhanaThink have an OpenOffice locale filed and also listed at http://kasa.ghanathink.org/locales/akan

I understand from Dwayne Bailey, co-facilitator (with Simos Xenitelis) of the localization track at Africa Source 2 http://wiki.africasource2.tacticaltech.org...in/02byGhqKUCvtkqTo that one of the Ghanaian participants there was also working on a locale for Twi.

Interfacing these two wold seem logical, but the issue of wider or more narrow locales (that is wider for an interintelligible language group such as Akan, or more specific such as separate ones for Twi, Fante, etc.) is one that will be faced by a number of languages in Africa.

Don Osborn
Bisharat.net

Would there be any interest in organizing a Ghanaian localization meeting/workshop in 2006 (which is the Year of African Languages, by the way)? The focus would be FOSS and ongoing or potential translations into Ghanaian languages. Naturally such an event would be at the initiative of one or more groups within Ghana, but if there is need for technical support, facilitators, or (dare I mention it) funding, then I'd be willing to help source those.

Don Osborn
Bisharat.net
PanAfrican Localisation Project

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Me kyia mo nyina!

I am an African American and an AVID student of the Twi language and Akan culture. Thank you for leading me to the online Twi dictionary at Kasahorow. I'm interested in learning anything I can about Twi and the Akan people.

Meda mo ase.