Beta version of Konkani transliteration software released

Mangalore, 11 Aug 2012: Five-different scripts for Konkani and four on board the Konkanverter - the first Konkani script conversion utility that was dedicated for universal use on Saturday. This sums up efforts by Team Vishwa Konkani at World Konkani Centre to bridge the script row and tear down walls that is keeping literature written in Devanagari, Romi, Kannada, Malayalam and Perso-Arabic from being read and appreciated by users of the other script.

 

This free to use beta version of the software can be accessed on www.konkanverter.com and is already being tried and tested by people for the last 48-hours ahead of the formal launch held today. The only person to have used this software extensively is poet Melwyn Rodrigues who has transliterated his Kannada works in to Devanagari script as part of the extensive field trials carried out by the World Institute of Konkani Language (WIKL) of the Centre.

 

U Ramdas Kamath, senior vice-president, Infosys Technologies said the Konkanverter is a technological tool in the hands of human beings for progress and to foster harmony among the users of various scripts. The software has given the opportunity to bring four out of five different scripts used for the language on to a common platform and the fifth script - the Perso-Arabic script used extensively by the Navayaths of Bhatkal will be on board soon.

 

Rev Fr Francis Rodrigues, editor, Raknno Konkani weekly hailed the efforts of Gurudath Bantwalkar, assistant director, WIKL and his team in bringing out transliteration software. Describing it as a bridge, Francis said works of literature in one script can now be read and understood by the other and this has come at a time when walls are being built among human beings in the name of religion, caste, creed and many other frivolous factors.

 

Basti Vaman Shenoy, president of WKC describing the launch of Konkaverter as a historical event said the software has to be popularised among all Konkani speaking population across the country for its efficacy to be felt. "We intend to hold familiarisation classes for writers of different scripts either at the centre or in their respective places," he added. Basti honoured Vinodh Rajan, a language transliteration expert who wrote the codes for Konkaverter.