I have been suggesting improvements to the PTA website for many years. As Independence day approaches, there’s a ray of hope. PTA has started a project to enhance the site and provide an Urdu version of the whole site.
The RFP talks about search enhancement, home page redesign and content management system. Technologies are PHP and MySQL. Many users have noticed performance issues and errors so there is a definite need to improve database performance and an ability to catch errors and to show user-friendly error messages, not SQL errors.
Ufone has launched its Urdu SMS services and that’s what I call convenience with simplicity. We all keep sending messages in roman Urdu but keeping in mind that the mobile usage has gone way beyond the very basic literacy level, we need solutions that keep things in Urdu or even use picture illustrations for getting a message through. As far as I remember, Ufone is not the first one to launch such translation service, for example Mobilink is already running their SMS translation services.
How it works
For all your message recipients, who cannot understand English script, Ufone has come up with this very useful yet simple service. Simply send a message to 424 written in roman Urdu and you will receive a response translated in Urdu text. If you want to send the message to someone else, type [recipient number] [space] [message in roman] and the service will attempt its best to translate it word by word in Urdu script.
To give it a shot I sent a simple message from a Ufone number to a non-Ufone one and it was delivered within a few milliseconds. Here was a simple test run:
Source Message:
Received at destination as:
Most cell-phones out there in the market do not have Urdu-keypad and do not have Urdu typing support in their firmware/OS, but they have capacity to display Urdu messages. In these circumstances, the service can be a hit.
The only problem in this service is the use of roman combination and users’ habits. Ufone has a software at the back end that is translating these English character combinations to Urdu. In case it doesn’t find your desired combination, or you spell a certain word differently, the translation will not work perfectly. For example I’ve seen people using “Hay”, “He”, “Hey” and “Hy” for the same word “??” in Urdu. But once people start using it, they will learn the right syntax. I was expecting a detailed guideline or user-manual on Ufone’s website, that I couldn’t find.
Each message translated will cost Rs. 2+ Tax. Here are the details:
Google has been working with books for a while. I like the trend of bringing books to the mobiles. Right now the collection is very small but I think it has immense potential for learning and spreading knowledge in a scalable way. There are already some people in Pakistan who are working on cool Urdu applications – may be they can adapt the new trends and combine them with their research?
Google launched mobile versions of more than 1.5 million public-domain books, available on iPhones and Android phones. Google Book Search already supports a huge library of scanned books, which can be searched and read online if they’re in the public domain, or previewed if they’re still subject to copyright. But the company says that the existing versions of these books (images of scanned pages) didn’t work well on mobile devices.
The (new) technology allows Google to automatically understand the structure of the book–headers, paragraphs, and in-line illustrations–so that it can be reformatted for mobile devices.
But what particularly sets the system apart is its scale. The mobile versions of these books are full of small, clever touches. For example, the system loads up the next few pages of a book in advance, reducing lag time when the user turns the page.
Our recent poll about technology based distance learning has shown positive results. The majority – 66% of voters – believes that e-learning is the way forward. This is in line with our thinking. At TelecomPk.net we are passionate about technology, education and community to solve problems and make progress. With this goal in mind we are starting a series of posts about e-learning opportunities and challenges in Pakistan.
I have written about schools and role of telecom industry in education. I am personally involved with supporting a few schools in the private (NGO) sector. There are some great efforts going on despite the challenges of funding, finding good teachers and defining curriculum. Despite the great intentions, it is very hard to scale such efforts. I have come to the conclusion that technology is the way to scale the education so that it can reach the masses, in the way that it makes sense to them (for example, using Urdu or other local languages). Technology is also valuable to engage and motivate different groups which are involved with education.
Some people expressed concerns in the poll about infrastructure and cost issues associated with e-learning. It is a valid point and one that needs to be carefully addressed. The trends in Pakistan are clearly in favor of technology based learning – the cost of devices and connectivity keeps on decreasing, while efforts by organizations such USF continue to make connectivity more widespread.
For the youth, technology based learning comes as natural. It is the decision makers who need to understand and realize the potential. One thing is for sure - the future of Pakistan hinges on providing a scalable, well-managed and balanced education environment for all. Let’s get working on it.
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is a California based not-for-profit corporation created on September 18, 1998. ICANN is responsible for coordination and policy making of two most critical Internet resources i.e Domain Names and IP addresses. Some of the major tasks performed include Internet Protocol (IP) address space allocation, protocol identifier assignment, generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs) and country code Top Level Domains (ccTLDs) name system management, and root server system management functions. Presently ICANN is going through a transition period of becoming an independent private sector lead organization based on a multi-stakeholder model. In this regard U.S. Department of Commerce has signed a Joint Project Agreement (JPA) with ICANN for the purpose of the joint development of the mechanisms, methods, and procedures necessary to effect the transition of Internet domain name and addressing system (DNS) to the private sector. The agreement was signed in December 2006 and will terminate on September 30, 2009. A broad consultative work for re-shaping post JPA ICANN in underway.
ICANN organizational structure mainly comprises of Board of Directors, Supporting Organizations and Advisory Committees. There are three supporting organizations namely Generic Naming Supporting Organization (GNSO) dealing with generic top-level domains (.com, .net, .org etc), country code Names Supporting Organization (ccNSO) dealing with country-code top level domains (.uk, .pk, .ae etc) and Address Supporting Organization (ASO) dealing with IP addresses. Primary role of these supporting organizations is to assist ICANN’s policy making process. To cater the concern and needs of various stakeholders ICANN also relies on different advisory committees. These committees include Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC), composed of representatives of national governments around the world; At-Large Advisory Committee (ALAC), composed of individual Internet users or groups; the Root Server System Advisory Committee (RSSAC) advising on the operation of the DNS root server system; Security and Stability Advisory Committee (SSAC), composed of Internet security experts and the Technical Liaison Group (TLG), composed of international technical organizations.
Two of the most significant activities presently being carried out by ICANN are a) Introduction of Internationalized Domain Names and b) new generic Top-Level Domains (gTLD) program. Both of these activities along with associated matters were topics of hot debate during the 33rd ICANN International Public Meeting held at Cairo, Egypt.
An important aspect of true internationalization of the Internet involves support of major languages such as Urdu. Dr Sarmad Hussain of National University has recently achieved a big success with the inclusion of Urdu on the Internationalized Domain Names evaluation site. A big kudos to Dr. Sarmad and his team for getting to this milestone.
Urdu is on a tier 2 list of languages that are being evaluated. Dr. Sarmad has asked people to visit the Urdu Wiki pagesfor Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs) and give feedback on the points requested.
I was able to browse to the original link which has the Urdu alphabet in IE and Firefox. However I could not use it directly in this post because I need to set wordpress up to support Urdu. Follow this link to go the wiki page.
Read on to see the list of few thing that you can do to test the behavior based on your own working environment. Read more »
Over the years I have presented different views and ideas on how to improve the very low number of broadband users in Pakistan (here and here). Here’s another view by Dr Amir Mateen (Cisco) from TeleCON 2008. His presentation looks at the problem in a different way and provides some brutal, honest analysis such as “Not digital divide, just the old divide carried over into the digital world”. His recommendation: Redefine success criteria for broadband in Pakistan.
“productive usage” vs “# of connections”
results vs usage of broadband internet (catch the mobility wave)
Urdu on the web (in normal Urdu script)
Tee Emm attended the event and shared some great commentary on Dr. Mateeen’s presentation which is worth repeating here:
Some presentations were really good and thought provoking like the one given by Dr Amir Mateen of Cisco Systems Pakistan where he talked about how great the broadband vacuum is in Pakistan and how unprepared the local contents are and that in the absence of structured local contents, people will make up their own contents (read social networks) and in doing so, there is a real danger of a whole new generation getting carried away in the roman Urdu flood and how this threatens the Urdu script and the associated heritage.
I share the same concerns about how we are treating Urdu language in Internet and telecommunication age. This is something which needs to be discussed in more detail.
Here’s an Urdu related entry – Urdu SIM service from Warid. It so happens that the previous story about Urduwas also related to Warid. The whimsical mix of English and Urdu terms in this FAQ (Amoomi Sawalat) follows the same pattern as discussed earlier and my previous criticism is equally valid here. The Urdu menu service seems to be useful I would think that Urdu sms will be supported as well. Overall it is a good first step towards localization.
Nokia has made a welcome move to further tap into the Islamic VAS market, as reported here and at many other blogs. The N73 phone from Nokia was introduced in Middle East this week. It is packed with Islamic content and applications. This special edition should become popular in South Asia too, as it supports Urdu and has many desired features.
The new Nokia N73 Special Edition includes a unique portfolio of pre-loaded applications including a collection of Azkars for the morning and the evening, an Islamic Organizer with audible alarms for the five daily prayers, a Qibla direction indicator and a Hijri calendar. The Hajj and Umrah application provides simple step-by-step descriptions for the Hajj and Umrah, while the Ramadaniat application explains all the instructions and rules for the Holy month of Ramadan. Also included with these on the 2GB miniSD card are two Islamic e-books and a Universal Dictionary application which supports English, Arabic, Farsi, Urdu and French.
‘In addition the Nokia N73 Special Edition offers unique Ramadan Greetings, a very special customized e-card application that enables families and friends to send greeting cards through SMS or MMS in celebration of this Holy month’ said Neil Gordon, Vice President for Multimedia, Nokia, Middle East & Africa, ‘This new edition is a reflection of Nokia’s commitment to continuously provide consumers with tailored services, based on their needs and requirements.’
In addition to the pre-loaded content consumers using the Nokia N73 Special Edition can also download other additional applications. Downloadable content includes the Name of Allah application, exclusively available for Nokia users as well as a third e-book.
N73 is available in 3G, quadband EDGE/GSM networks.
If you or someone you know has used this phone, please share your feedback with other readers of this blog.
Thanks to TM for sharing these at his blog. I loved these ads for their topic, message, presentation, and the fresh approach to marketing. As Atif pointed out with a few other ad campaigns covered here and here, this is a great way to provide a public service message and promote your brand. The fact that it is a departure from the usual ads in Pakistan makes it even more fun.
As Independence Day is approaching, Mobilink again has taken lead by erecting Independence Day billboards in Lahore & other cities. Mobilink has always been on the forefront of societal marketing activities and have always been very keen on Corporate Social Responsibility. The copy statement on this billboard states “Hum Bolein Azadi Ki Zuban” (Translation: We speak the language of freedom) which is very well integrated with Mobilink’s brand image statement i.e. “Reshaping Lives”, thus posing a brand personality of someone who is aggressive, mature & independent, thinks very well and cares, all of which further ensures brand loyalty and adds value to brand equity.
As far as Mobilink’s Independence Day campaign is concerned, specifically this particular Billboard and generally the whole campaign (including the TV commercial) is not promoting the company or any of its particular product or package but it is all about Pakistan, people of Pakistan, their hopes, issues and their lives besides the message of unity and love and the one who is communicating this message looks much familiar.
The cute little girl with Pakistani Flag in the background catches one’s attention at once. Besides freedom, the message in Urdu is also trying to remind the nation that we need to reassure commitment to our country that we will keep our promise with Mr. Muhammad Ali Jinnah & our land to make it prosperous one day. The Billboard has been applauded by all here in Lahore.
I wish others would also get inspiration, especially Government institutions, PTCL, NBP etc must also respond and I would wonder if they take lead next time. Even if it is all about business, two thumbs up to Mobilink and other private companies who struggle for subscriber base through social activities. Compare this to Government institutions who had a monopoly since the beginning and our nation has always been on the giving end.
I often wonder how the lay person in Pakistan feel about all the technical jargon thrown at them. By the way this is a global issue. There are plenty of confusing technical terms in today’s world and telecommunication industry, for one, is notorious for not doing a good job at explaining its products, services or bills in a user friendly way. On top of it, when all this jargon is exported, along with the technology, to other countries it can add to the confusion. Pakistan suffers from this imported problem too.
Here’s what got me started on this track. I was looking at the Urdu section of a bilingual service brochure from one of the mobile company in Pakistan (click image to see full resolution version). I found it odd to see the English terms written verbatim in Urdu. What good is an Urdu section if it is indiscriminately peppered with English terms? Of course each term needs to be handled on case by case basis because for some terms it makes sense to assimilate the term and for other cases the correct Urdu term (or both English and Urdu) should be used.
SIM card is a good example where the term is better used as is. For other terms (for example menu, services, setting) can’t these phone companies get some good Urdu copy writers and translators? May be they can recruit from the Urdu TV channel staff :)
A related trend is the increasing use of Urdu in the cyberspace in general and Blogistan(as Adil Najam calls it) in particular. And now there are quite a few phones – such as Nokia 6030 - available with Urdu menu and font support. I have also heard that authentic Urdu text messaging (not just roman text) is gaining popularity. Perhaps with all this surge of activity in Urdu (such as Urdu blogs and newspapers) there will be a return to Urdu phrases as well. While searching for Urdu keyboard software, I recently discovered many good Urdu sites, one of which is particularly interesting and I recommend visiting it: CRULP – Center for Research in Urdu language Processing.
Back to the brochure above - a few questions which came to mind after looking at the brochure:
In the image above ‘Chatting’ is written in both Urdu and English in parenthesis. Using both languages helps to some extent. Is this something which should be used more often?
Has anyone tried to translate other terms such as value-added services or SMS in Urdu? But I doubt that anything like will replace from the vernacular!
The new Nokia N73 Special Edition includes a unique portfolio of pre-loaded applications including a collection of Azkars for the morning and the evening, an Islamic Organizer with audible alarms for the five daily prayers, a Qibla direction indicator and a Hijri calendar. The Hajj and Umrah application provides simple step-by-step descriptions for the Hajj and Umrah, while the Ramadaniat application explains all the instructions and rules for the Holy month of Ramadan. Also included with these on the 2GB miniSD card are two Islamic e-books and a Universal Dictionary application which supports English, Arabic, Farsi, Urdu and French.
is a good example where the term is better used as is. For other terms (for example menu, services, setting) can’t these phone companies get some good Urdu copy writers and translators? May be they can recruit from the Urdu TV channel staff :)
will replace 
from the vernacular!
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