It is great to hear that the Bangladesh government is taking steps to preserve and digitise 40 ethnic languages, including 14 endangered ones. The discussion meeting titled 'Font and keyboard construction of ethnic languages of Bangladesh' that was held on May 7, 2023, at the Bangladesh Computer Council (BCC) seminar room of ICT Tower in Dhaka, shows that there is a commitment to this initiative.

The speech by Mohammad Enamul Kabir, the former director of BCC, emphasizing the need to protect cultural heritage and diversity while digitalising, is particularly noteworthy. Professor Muhammad Zafar Iqbal's stress on the importance of protecting and developing ethnic languages for generations to come is also commendable.

The challenges and uncertainties in the digitization of ethnic languages were discussed, and Mahbub Karim, the project president, expressed the hope for cooperation in the initiative. The resource persons from different languages who spoke about the problems they face while using digital platforms in their own language and offered recommendations to expand the opportunities of using their languages were also insightful.

It is encouraging to know that the Bangladesh Computer Council under the ICT Department has been implementing the 'Digitization of Ethnic Languages of Bangladesh' initiative since January 2022, and that 37 out of the 40 scheduled languages have already been sampled. The construction of fonts and keyboards for languages with their own alphabets has aslso been started. The involvement of software company Dream 71 Bangladesh Limited in providing technical support in the implementation of this component is commendable.

Overall, this initiative shows a commitment to preserving and promoting linguistic diversity, which is crucial for the cultural heritage of a nation.

Source: The Daily Star

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