( This article of mine was published in The New Indian Express)
Even as the world celebrated International Mother Language Day on Sunday, the digital experience for non English speakers is highly diminished. Vernacular languages face several challenges on the digital front -- from not being supported by operating systems and mobile apps to a minuscule presence on the Internet, which is dominated by English.
Swathanthra Malayalam Computing (SMC) is a free software group which has spearheaded the movement to bridge the language divide in Kerala on the technology front and is today the biggest language computing community in the country. The volunteer-based group has created several Malayalam fonts, a keyboard for the blind, supported many government digital projects and a keyboard that can support Indian languages for android phones.
Even as the world celebrated International Mother Language Day on Sunday, the digital experience for non English speakers is highly diminished. Vernacular languages face several challenges on the digital front -- from not being supported by operating systems and mobile apps to a minuscule presence on the Internet, which is dominated by English.
Swathanthra Malayalam Computing (SMC) is a free software group which has spearheaded the movement to bridge the language divide in Kerala on the technology front and is today the biggest language computing community in the country. The volunteer-based group has created several Malayalam fonts, a keyboard for the blind, supported many government digital projects and a keyboard that can support Indian languages for android phones.
