Breaking the language barrier - Review Quillpad.com

Since the time I started learning computers, most teachers have stuck to English to reveal the wonders of the PC. As a result, most of us still think in the Queen’s language while using computers, what to speak of typing in local languages. Though some companies have come up with coloured stickers of local language fonts and even charts that tell you which key stands for specific characters, the mix of consonants and syllables in Indian languages makes using them an uphill task. The job is even tougher if you don’t need to type in a local language every day and hence cannot rely on practice to see you through.

This is where Quill Pad (www.quillpad.com) comes to your rescue. Quill Pad was built by Ram Prakash H and K S Sreeram from IIT Madras in September 2006. Three years on, the website supports 10 Indian languages—Hindi, Bangla, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Nepali, Punjabi, Tamil and Telugu.

Since my words can’t do justice to the ingenuity of the two, I suggest that those of you who can read or write any of the 10 languages try out the website. You can use the Quill Pad editor—which they call my-mother-can-easily-type-interface—without registering. Type the text you want and then copy-paste it to a Word document or e-mail. There is even a mobile interface, similar to the T9 Dictionary, which helps users type in the local language without having to bother about learning the alphabet layout.

Some of my employees who write emails to me in Hindi using the Roman script are happy with this new discovery. They type the way they spell the words in English, and within a jiffy the words reappear in Devnagri script, often correcting their spelling errors. Some Facebook friends with whom I tried a few Quill Pad tricks have started updating their status in local languages.

I encountered a small problem, though. I could not mix two languages—so if you want to compose an English document with a bit of Hindi in it, Quill Pad is not for you. But, then, you can’t ask for the world.

Localisation is the key for the expansion of the Internet. It can no longer afford to limit its content to English. And this is where initiatives like Quill Pad are the key. So, go ahead, type out that letter to your grandmother in your mother tongue.

For trying out or using Quill Pad, click www.quillpad.com

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The above review appeared in the Indian Express, Dated 30th August 2009