Nepali Fonts Standard

Nepal Codes for Information Interchange White Paper v2 Font Standardisation Working Committee, 1997 page 7 5. Why we need a standard, and why we need it now. We need a common and agreed way of representing the languages of Nepal within the computer. Everybody should work to the same representation and internal codes, so that we can move information in Nepal’s languages between packages of software and between computers. We must do this now before too much information gets stored in the computer in unregulated and different ways. Of course this does not mean that everybody uses the same font or writing style, just that when you switch from one font to another you can still read the text. The representation of languages in computers is at a crucial stage now, with major new software expected from Microsoft working in concert with the Unicode consortium. The Unicode consortium aims to be able to represent all the languages and writing systems of the world, but currently does not recognise any of the languages of Nepal! It assumes that Nepali is written in Devanagari, and knows nothing about the other languages. Microsoft is aiming to implement Unicode in its Windows operating systems, and will do whatever is mandated by the Unicode Consortium. Nepal must promulgate a standard now to influence these developments. Our standard must be registered with and be accepted by the Unicode consortium and then be supported by Microsoft. We must do this now. References Acharya, Jayaraj (1991) A descriptive Grammar of Nepali and analysed corpus. Georgetown University Press, Washington DC, US. Bureau of Indian Standard (1991) IS 13194 Indian Script Code for Information Interchange - ISCII. Bureau of Indian Standards, Manak Bhavan, 9 Bahadur Shah Safar Mark, New Delhi 110002, India. Malla, Kamal P. (1989a) (editor) NEPAL, perspective on continuity and change, Center for Nepal and Asian Studies, Tribhuvan University, Kirtipur, Nepal Malla, Kamal P (1989b) Language and Society in Nepal, in Malla 1989a. Matthews, David, (1992) A course in Nepali. School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, UK. National Research Associates (1997), Nepal Record on Nepalese Development. Nepal District Profile. NRA Toba, Sueyoshi (1992) Language Issues in Nepal, Samdan Books and Stationers, PO Box 2199, Kathmandu, Nepal

Nepali Fonts Standard

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