Christopher Buck, Computing Strategies for Transliterating Syriac

With all of the advances in computing, for many academics there is still, ironically, no easy solution to the problem of transliteration. This paper will address this problem by reviewing some of the strategies and software for transliteration on both sides of the PC-compatible/Macintosh divide.

As a newcomer to Syriac Studies from the Phenomenology of Religion, I will generalize from my computing experience in Islamic Studies to Syriac Studies.

Generally, there are three main computing strategies for transliteration: (1) invoking typesetting formulae and their attendant "arguments" for overstriking and subscripting characters with diacriticals; (2) accessing specialized extended character sets through academic, multilingual wordprocessing programs; (3) using specialized transliteration fonts as well as so-called "accent fonts".

Other strategies, such as modifying system resources and keyboard layouts, are too arcane to be discussed here.

An example of the first solution is the use of typesetting commands in Microsoft Word. The transliteration capabilities of Nota Bene and WordPerfect will be compared as examples of the second solution. Transliteration fonts, such as Jaghbub (Mac freeware) and New World Transliterator for the Mac and Windows [reviewed by Kevin Reinhart, MESA Bulletin 27 (1993): 294] will be discussed as examples of the third solution.

New World Transliterator is being adapted for Syriac transliteration by the present author, who hopes to test the font on a few laptop computers furnished by volunteer beta testers in the audience.

Cross-platform solutions to transliteration may be possible through TrueType technology, developed by Apple for the Mac and licenced to Microsoft for Windows, subject to emerging conventions. TrueType technology, based on quadratics rather than cubics (which define Bezier curves), has now evolved into an new imaging architecture called QuickDraw GX.

Apple's QuickDraw GX is now the cutting edge in computing typography. Combined with Apple's WorldScript technology and Apple's announced support for Unicode, GX-savvy fonts promise both programmable transliteration capabilities in combination with system-level multilingual wordprocessing. These "intelligent fonts" can store up to 64,000 resident "glyphs" and offer control over ligaturing and other demands of bidirectional, contextual wordprocessing. Besides their obvious transliteration capabilities, GX-fonts are also capable of storing sound, graphics, and even QuickTime animation.

But developers have not caught up with this technology. For the time being, transliteration fonts appear to be the most universal solution, as they are application-independent and, in theory, capable of cross-platform use. Application-encoded extended character sets appear to offer the greatest convenience to those who can afford the software.

It is hoped that input from this Syriac computing forum will result in some further developments in Syriac transliteration.