Vital Statistics

[Bharat Gupt]

Lars Martin Fosse wrote:
> Thank you for correcting my slightly messy statement! It illustrates that a
> script system does not have to make note of every possible sound in the
> phonetic system. It is enough to be reasonably unambiguous. Context and
> linguistic competence will take care of the rest.

I would venture to suggest ," a script system cannot make note of
every..."
It was with this view that I questioned Thiru Ganesan's enthusiastic
desire to replace
all Indian scripts by Roman for the sake of global convenience .

I am also surprised that whereas in the age of paper-print multiplicity
of scripts was a
hurdle in communication, in the age of electronic interface every variety
can be
preserved and made to appear at the press of a single key. Even Granthi
and Sharda can
be made available and the demand of some quarters that might have seemed
preposterous
once is now a child's play.  If old scripts from different parts of the
world are
avaialable they shall continue to contribute towards the creation of new
ones.

It is not uniformity that is needed, but variety and software experts are
keen enough to
provide it to us who are soft-headedly yielding to uniformity.

Ten years ago C-DAC, Pune had provided a font that shall convert any
Indian script into
any other incuding Roman with diacriticals. Much more can be done.
Bharat Gupt