Let the devnagari script be lost forever. Let everyone in the world convert to one language, one script, one religion, etc. I don't see why one should care?
The purpose of language and script is to facilitate communication. So if everyone uses the same script, thats excellent. Fewer scripts to learn and easier communication.
I don't understand why people fight over choice of religion, scripts, languages, and so on. Just pick one and go with it. Live and let live. Let natural selection take its course and the better language or script win (or the more cost-effective, considering "Path dependence").
This piece of news does no surprise me really. Many countries have attempted that, and also have simplified their scripts with varying degrees of success. While this may simplify Indic languages of north India, the flip side is that we would lose a valuable repository of past knowledge that is written in their original scripts.
Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose had visualized this scenario a long time back when he suggested that (as in his Provisional Government of Free India) the "Hindustani" language could be implemented with a Roman script and Devanagari/ Hindi/ Urdu words. His ideas seem to be relevant even to this day.
RE:Hindi in English script soon?
by Dr.Dhanakar Thakur on Oct 29, 2006 09:31 PM Permalink
RE:A complex issue taken so easily by a very important person needs structured reply. Thanks for accepting indic scripts will not lose out and Devanagiri is a very structured script . Harder to master than roman script is unfounded as the easiness of the script is lost while pronunciation of a word in a myriad ways . Chinese has a pictorial presentation of every word , still used by the maximum number of the people of the world. More important is preservation of culture. Tribes of north-east have lost their culture imbibing Roman script for their dialects. I am not a computer-man to comment on boards but have come to know that devices for automatic typing of spoken words have come and so keyboards will be vestigial. Use of Devanagiri in India is much more than 30% - Marathi,Maithili,Sindi,Nepali have accepted it. A roman transliteration may convey ease but not ideas. Sanskrit is the "best" language to use for computers maybe classical.Panini's Ashtadhyayi,not much difficult. Convey of idea and structure of language and its retentivity in mind is more important-Computer is to help us
This is really unfortunate that people are using more and more English script to write hindi.Shame to all of us.I have seen lots of Korean and Japanese they never use English if they have to write something in their language.Our society as a whole is fundamentally wrong about one fact that people who use devnagari to express themselves are uneducated and less intelligent than English speaking people.This feeling is everywhere be it a small town,big cities,universities, and corporate world.Biggest failures are BOLLYWOOD People.Most actors and Actresses they prefer speaking offscreen in English than hindi.Comon you guys represent Hindi cinema. There is need to incorporate pride about our script,language,culture,music etc to younge people on a wider scale so that 50 years down the lane we dont loose what we didnot in last 5000 years.wake up indians wake up.......
A very immature articulation in the topic and I feel as Roman Empire is in archeological shelves sometime their script too though we are using it today. Not because it is coming from the west or other country but because Sanskrit's script Devnagari is the most scientific script of the world (I have a certificates in Russian , French and Urdu and my mother tongue is Maithili,the mother of Bengla,Assmese,Oriya) which I could know from my study of various languages and I still can recall what as a Sanskrit student I had read 40 years back and my 90 year father can chant shloka of Aayurveda which though devoted around 4 times of his study in the course and am reading since then cannot for any disease and further I am suspicious that despite being used by millions of computer-mobile users it is not whole India and whether Maculey's 1835 verdict could make us English rather we uprooted them and still hardly 2 per cent can speak English in India and so using the gadgets probably Devnagari will use the maximization of computers and Sanskrit is said to be the best suited to it. Rather promote Devnagari for all Indian languages and now softwares are available for typing, as you like.
RE:English (Roman)script will never thrash out Sanskrit/Hindi(Devnagari) script from India
by Arun on Oct 28, 2006 08:11 AM Permalink
I agree with your assertion that devanagiri is a very structured script.It is harder to master than the roman script(traditional chinese anyone?),a keyboard for devanagiri would probably be extremely cluttered.HP india invented a touch-screen keyboard because of the way devanagiri is written(matras may be up/down/before/after).The other problem is, how many people actually use devanagiri in India?30%?I expect there to be both-some people may use a roman transliteration(those who picked up hindi rather than studied it) others will stick to indic scripts.
One thing:Sanskrit is not the "best" language to use for computers.Classical Sanskrit grammar exhibits some characteristics of "formal languages" just like programming languages.This is because classical sanskrit and devanagiri were created by a committee (Panini's Ashtadhyayi).Vedic Sanskrit(pre 400BC)is not-Panini et al cleaned up vedic sanskrit grammar(sanskrit means made good,a name panini gave).So sanskrit is a natural language closest to formal languages.Not the best programming language.
I dont think indic scripts will lose out.Their use is far too widespread.
dear its ok that we can use english as a script, thats a very bad idea, some people think eatiing chiken and mutton, or rice is sufficient for filling the stomach, why the hell all other food stuff is being prepare, it is for the palatablity and taste, and the nativity which decides the food. if every thing is made english, why all other languages lets have a universal endorsement that everybody should use english as script and this is because to fill the bloody stomach. Mind you there are many persons who live not to earn money only, as you are doing to implement english to earn a livelihood and to meet two ends. your type of mentality is Sick mentality which is drowning India of its origanility. I would have been happy if you could have made efforts to declare english as one of the languages of india alongwith other languages and english as official language
Is is an interesting artcle. and I agree with the writer that since it is easy to use we all use english script. However many people still love to read devagiri script including me. So I might chat and mail in english script Hindi but I would not want to read newpaper on the net or otherwise in the same way.
I think if an Indian company comes up with a good Speech to text converter for hindi many people would use it. Anyone from Microsoft India reading this?
