5 April 2016: Urdu has become the 4th language to become available in an Oxford living dictionary as part of Oxford Dictionaries’ global languages initiative.
Oxford Global Languages (OGL) is a new initiative from Oxford Dictionaries or Oxford University Press which was launched in September 2015. Aiming to build dictionaries and lexicographical resources for around 100 of the world’s languages and to make them available online, or digitally, the project’s objective is to increase access to availability of language content globally.
“The Oxford Global Languages has a special focus on those languages which we know are widely spoken but are digitally under-represented,” explained Judy Pearsall, Director for Oxford Dictionaries. “We recognise that the internet is dominated by English and other major global languages. We are at a critical time of how the internet is influencing language and its impact on its diversity. Oxford Global Languages will ensure that many undeserved languages gain a vital digital foothold.”
A key feature of Oxford Global Languages is community involvement, with users being able to submit words and influence the future content of individual dictionary sites. This activity is led by specially appointed Language Managers who are native speakers of the language being developed and also often users of language resources in a teaching or professional role.
“Hundreds of millions of people speak Urdu but its online presence is limited…the inclusion of Urdu in the Oxford Global Languages project is a very positive development. I hope that, we will be able to create a vibrant community to enhance Urdu’s digital presence. This will strengthen our language not only online but offline as well.” Zafar Syed, Urdu Language Manager, Oxford Global Languages
“There are a few individual efforts to enrich Urdu’s digital resources” he explained.
Each language is also supported by a Language Champion who will provide strategic advice and help grow awareness of the initiative. Ashfaque Ahmad is the Urdu Language Champion for Oxford Global Languages.
“The Urdu living dictionary will help to both reach the digitally active Urdu community and grow the potential digital Urdu Community”
The Oxford Global Languages initiative will also build a new type of language database which enables multiple links between languages and other content.
“As English speakers we take so much for granted,” said Pearsall. “Functionality such as predictive text and being able to search effectively are only possible when a language is digitally recorded and accessible for a range of technologies. The Oxford Global Languages initiative will enable this too.”
The Urdu site can be found at http://ur.oxforddictionaries.com.
For more information on the Oxford Global Languages Project follow this link:
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/words/oxfordlanguages
For more information please contact
Oxfordgloballanguages@oup.com
Notes to the editor:
Oxford University Press (OUP) is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University's objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide. OUP is the world's largest university press with the widest global presence. It currently publishes thousands of new publications a year, has offices in around fifty countries, and employs nearly 7,000 people worldwide. It has become familiar to millions through a diverse publishing programme that includes scholarly works in all academic disciplines, bibles, music, school and college textbooks, children's books, materials for teaching English as a foreign language, business books, dictionaries and reference books, and academic journals.
As the makers of the world-famous Oxford English Dictionary and a department of Oxford University, UK, Oxford is already a world leader in the dissemination of English language materials, and publishes language resources in more than 40 languages. In partnership with language technologists, Oxford’s lexicographers and language researchers are leading the way in creating language content built for the digital world, providing language content tailored for the world’s major technology companies. Now, a new team at Oxford is focusing on global languages and those language communities that have less resource and access to digital language tools and are in danger of getting left behind in the digital race. Oxford’s new programme is designed to help millions all over the world create, maintain, and use the language materials they need while at the same time developing ground-breaking digital-ready content formats to support the growing language needs of technology companies worldwide. The model attempts to create a win-win situation for everyone involved: communities contribute content, licensees get the content and new digital formats they need, and Oxford generates enough money to publish and keep the services free to all.
To support this ambitious endeavour, Oxford technologists are building an innovative system to integrate and link together language content.