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UNESCO Supports Development of Armenian Unicode System

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  • UNESCO Supports Development of Armenian Unicode System

    UNESCO Supports Development of Armenian Unicode System

    noticias.info (press release), Spain
    June 2 2004

    To commemorate the 1600th anniversary of the creation of the
    Armenian alphabet, UNESCO, through its project Initiative B@bel,
    and the Matenadaran Institute in Yerevan have launched a project
    to enhance access to information in the digital environment for the
    Armenian language.

    The project will develop a Unicode compatible font to overcome some
    current constraints in the use of the Armenian language in fields
    such as modern print and digital publishing.

    Currently there are many Armenian fonts, which use non-standard
    encoding systems which can make information exchange between users,
    for example e-mail, unreliable. Many of the available fonts have
    only limited styles and do not offer the possibility of recreating
    the rich detailed design features of the languages such as can be
    seen in older traditional Armenian manuscripts. This poses certain
    challenges and limitations for publisher and contemporary digital
    graphic artists. The project will therefore seek to address such
    esthetic, legal and standardization issues. Particular attention will
    also be given to the training of local font designers and working
    with local institutions to raise awareness of good practices.

    The Armenian alphabet was developed around 405 AD by Mesrop
    Mashtots a scholarly monk in the Royal Court. The original alphabet
    contained 36 letters but two additional characters were later added
    to facilitate the writing of foreign words. The development of this
    writing system spurred a cultural a renaissance in Armenia and for
    this reason St. Mashtots is credited with starting Armenia's golden
    age of literature.

    Today, some 3 million inhabitants of Armenia use the Armenian
    language. There is also a culturally aware Armenian diaspora of around
    4 million persons many of whom still write and speak Armenian. It is
    expected that this initiative will facilitate online information
    exchanges and content creation in Armenian and contribute to the
    preservation and promotion of the Armenian culture in the digital
    environment.

    http://www.noticias.info/Asp/aspComunicados.asp?nid=25425&src=0
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