I haven't had the chance yet to look at the following, but pass it on now. (Thanks to Rui Correia for forwarding)

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: google.public.translators group <noreply@googlegroups.com>
Date: 4 Nov 2007 09:02
 
* Google in Hausa help! - 1 new
  http://groups.google.com/group/google.publ.../t/08f486863f2ab46b
 
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I tried myself to translate Google in Hausa but still a lot work to do, so
please do something if you think you are concerned. Thank you very much. - Sat
3 Nov 2007 20:53
1 message, 1 author
http://groups.google.com/group/google.publ.../t/08f486863f2ab46b

Hi Andrew, Belated thanks for this feedback /m109 . You raise some interesting points. In principle, as you note, getting Hausa Boko right on computers and the web is not at all complicated technically.

A tool for correcting ASCII versions of Hausa would be useful. Using that for new content when users could just compose with the extended characters (the hooked letters) would be a fallback. For the latter, maybe the hurdle is the lack of a keyboard standard that is widely known and available.

Don

Hi Don,

I can't comment on the feasibility, although I assume that it comes down to how many confusable words would be present in Hausa.

Such a tool if feasible would be useful for converting existing data into the standard orthography, and would allow the conversion of a large amount of material.

But I'd be reluctant to use it as a tool for creating new content.

The way I see it, such a tool would be a stop gap measure. A more important issue is the creation of standards compliant web sites and web services in Hausa (using the correct orthography).

Hausa doesn't need smart fonts, it doesn't use complex rendering like numerous African languages, and form the point of view of languages in developing countries in other parts of the world processing Hausa is simple. From the point of view of fonts and input systems, Hausa is an easy language to accommodate on computers.

The question is how do Hausa web developers move forward? And what are the currently blockages? Since the blockages to developing web pages and displaying websites in Hausa aren't technically based?

Andj.

Edited by author 09-20-2007 04:51 PM
Last year, a new language resources site began called "African Language Technology" or "AfLaT" at http://www.aflat.org/ . One of the utilities they had available was one for the Gikuyu language that would insert the tilde mark (~) over appropriate vowels (some i's and u's) in text that a user copied in or typed in - http://aflat.org/?q=node/8

I thought this could be adapted as a utility that would replace plain b, d, k (and y in Niger) with the hooked letters ɓ, ɗ, ƙ and ƴ in the appropriate places. Sort of like a spellchecker, but limited to correcting the orthography.

Such a utility for Hausa could be developed for use in two ways:

1. Similar to the Gikuyu utility, allowing a user to plunk in a good ASCII version of a Hausa text and get the correct boko version. This could be useful for creation of documents or creating or upgrading web content or blogs in Hausa
2. Also allow a user to enter the URL of a Hausa webpage (such as the blogs in /m104 or radio pages in /m107 ) and get a corrected version of the page in Hausa boko to look at. This would be very similar to what you can do at online translation sites for other languages like Systranet and Babelfish, but much simpler technically to set up.

In a way, such a utility would make expanded use of Hausa much easier, on both the user side and the content creation side.

Any interest, feedback?

Don Osborn
Bisharat.net
PanAfriL10n.org

FYI, there are 5 countries outside of Africa that have shortwave broadcasts in Hausa and webpages in Hausa concerning their broadcasts and general news:

• Deutschland (RDW) http://www2.dw-world.de/hausa
• France (RFI) http://www.rfi.fr/langues/statiques/rfi_hausa.asp
• United Kingdom (BBC) http://www.bbc.co.uk/hausa/
• United States (VOA) http://www.voanews.com/hausa/
• Zhongguo (CRI) http://hausa.cri.cn/

(Note that the text in all cases is in ASCII, not Hausa boko as used in Nigeria and Niger.)

The "Hausa Online" site at http://hausaonline.wordpress.com/ has some interesting material, including links to other sites at http://hausaonline.wordpress.com/links/

Don

FYI, the Teaching and Learning with Technology site of the Pennsylvania State University has a page on "Computing With Hausa" at http://tlt.its.psu.edu/suggestions/interna...language/hausa.html

(there is an error: it calls the implosive d "implosive g"; also it does not mention the Nigerian usage of 'y for the ƴ. Also, technically I think the ƙ and ƴ or 'y are "ejective" and not "implosive")

Don Osborn
Bisharat.net
PanAfriL10n.org

Sannu, Thanks for the feedback.

I meant to mention earlier that Abdalla Uba Adamu posted information about some blogs in and about Hausa on the H-Hausa list.* These are:

• Bahaushe Mai Ban Haushi! http://www.ibrahim-sheme.blogspot.com/
• Sha'irai (Hausa Poets) http://www.shairai.blogspot.com/
• Nishad'in Hululu (Hausa Popular Culture) http://arewanci.blogspot.com/

There was a brief discussion on H-Hausa about the non-use of the hooked letters for implosive consonants (and ejective, which for specialists is I think the term for ƙ ).

Don Osborn
Bisharat.net
PanAfriL10n.org

*The H-Hausa list is at http://www.h-net.org/~hausa/

Hello, (Barka da warhaka)

I realy appreciate what I came across and surely I have contributions to make.

Sai anjima

Re /m100, thank you. If there are any changes / additional information you think is necessary for the Hausa page (see /m98) or the NG-L10n page (see /m99), please let us know.

Don Osborn
Bisharat.net
PanAfrican Localisation project

Hi!
Nice design on www.panafril10n.org, good info, thank you.

Edited by author 02-17-2007 02:01 PM
Just modified the board name from Hausa charsets & keyboards to Hausa charsets and keyboards. The ampersand was making a problem for the RSS feed, strangely enough. Now the feed works. See: http://www.panafril10n.org/wikidoc/pmwiki.php/NG-L10n/L10nForums

Don Osborn
Bisharat.net
PanAfrican Localisation project

The PanAfriL10n.org page on Hausa has been updated. See http://www.panafril10n.org/wikidoc/pmwiki.php/PanAfrLoc/Hausa (corrections, more updates are invited).

Don Osborn
Bisharat.net
PanAfrican Localisation project

Happy New Year 2007! Hope the holiday season was good (whichever holidays you observed)!

I've opened up a new "wikigroup" on the PanAfriL10n.org website/wiki for Nigerian localisation: http://www.panafril10n.org/wikidoc/pmwiki.php/NG-L10n/HomePage

The object is to provide a more flexible space for Nigerian localisers to list their contact details, websites, and projects. This is in some ways an online "virtual plaza/market," interactive, with the added advantage that it links with the larger PanAfrican Localisation wiki and other country-specific "wikigroups."

Among other things, I am trying to set up an RSS feed from this forum to the new wikigroup.

Don Osborn
Bisharat.net
PanAfrican Localisation project

Kwamfyutar Cinya Ɗaya ga Kowani Yaro
http://laptop.org/index.ha.html