[Assam] Grant for varsity research project

[Buljit Buragohain]

        Grant for varsity research project 
    A STAFF REPORTER       April 23: The ministry of communication and information technology has sanctioned a grant of Rs 1.52 crore to Gauhati University for a research project aiming at “northeastern language technology” development. 
  Shikhar Sarma, reader in the university’s department of computer science, conceptualised and proposed the project. 
  The project will develop the necessary technology, standards and knowhow to utilise Assamese and Bodo languages for computer applications.
  Sarma said in the emerging scenario of computers, Internet and worldwide web, it has become necessary to use local languages as a medium in the digital world. 
  “While computers and the Internet are reaching the grassroots, language has emerged as a barrier to the effective utilisation of information technology,” a university release said.
  The ministry of communication and information technology has sanctioned the project under its Human-Centred Computing Division. 
  Congratulating Sarma on his success at obtaining the research grant within two months, Gauhati University vice-chancellor Amarjyoti Choudhury expressed the university’s commitment towards the overall development of the region. 
  He said the project would help people use computer technology, Internet and worldwide web in vernacular languages. 
  Sarma said the first phase of the project would propose and finalise the digital standards of these languages before an appropriate international forum like Unicode. 
  The fonts of the languages, including the Assamese diphthong (vowel sound), would be included in the first phase, he added. 
  The second phase would design and develop monolingual corpora and prototype spellchecks. 
  The final phase will develop basic grammar checks for the two languages. 
  “With the completion of this three-year project, it is expected that Assamese and Bodo languages will be technologically on a par with other languages like English. This would lead to the generation of technology and tools for computerised translation of English-Assamese and vice versa. The research will also lead to the development of tools for Internet searching in Assamese and Bodo,” Sarma said.
   
  (The Telegraph,24.04.2008)
   
  http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080424/jsp/guwahati/story_9179283.jsp



       
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