Tulu-Tigalari script added to Unicode, marking major milestone for Tulu language

Tulu-Tigalari script added to Unicode, marking major milestone for Tulu language

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangaluru, September 9, 2024: Amidst ongoing calls to include the Tulu language in the 8th Schedule of the Indian Constitution, the Tulu-Tigalari script has now been added to Unicode. This is a significant development as it follows the availability of Tulu translations on Wikipedia and Google, making Tulu accessible in Unicode.

Tulu has been incorporated into Unicode version 16, with 80 characters included so far. The inclusion of Tulu in Unicode opens up possibilities for natural language processing, text-to-speech, speech-to-text, and artificial intelligence applications. With Google already offering English-to-Tulu translations, the addition of Tulu to Unicode is expected to unlock various new opportunities.

When Tulu Wikipedia was launched on August 6, 2016, the Tulu Literary Academy formed a committee in 2017 to finalize Tulu characters due to the need for Unicode. Software engineer U.B. Pavanaj provided technical advice, leading to the compilation of a list of 80 characters. This list, along with a separate proposal for the Tigalari script, was submitted to Unicode. After several rounds of correspondence, both scripts were eventually included under the name Tulu-Tigalari in Unicode.

Realizing a Long-Awaited Dream

The recognition of the Tulu script by Unicode has fulfilled a long-standing dream. Since 2017, the Tulu Academy has worked with experts on this matter. At that time, Academy President A.C. Bhandari formed a committee of experts for coordination. The Academy provided support, and experts consistently advocated for the inclusion of the Tulu script in Unicode, leading to its acceptance. Notable contributors to this effort include K.P. Rao, U.B. Pavanaj, Vaishnavi Murthy, S.A. Krishnaiah, Radhakrishna Belluru, Bhaskar Sherigar, S.R. Vighnaraj, and Akash Raj said Taranath Gatti Kapikad, President, Karnataka Tulu Literary Academy.

Need for Conversion Software

"There is a need to develop an open type font that includes Tulu Unicode characters and to create a keyboard software for Tulu Unicode information. Additionally, a conversion tool is required to translate data recorded in Kannada script into this new encoding," stated software engineer Dr. U.B. Pavanaj.