LES RESSOURCES LANGAGIERES : CONSTRUCTION ET EXPLOITATION A universal Amazigh keyboard for Latin script and Tifinagh Paul Anderson [email protected] 1. Introduction Systems of Amazigh text encoding and corresponding keyboard layouts have tended to be narrowly aimed at specific user communities, because of differences in phonology and orthography across Amazigh language variants1. Keyboard layouts for language variants have therefore lacked orthographic features found in other regions. This restricted focus impedes users' experimentation with the writing of other Amazigh regional variants and converged literary forms where they differ in orthographic features or in script. So far there has been no way to type more than a handful of Amazigh variants intuitively on any one layout even within one script. This fragmented development has meant that keyboard driver implementations have often lagged behind advances in technology, and have usually failed to take into account general keyboard layout design, ergonomy and typing speed, and solutions from other Amazigh regions or non-Amazigh languages. Some users even preferred to improvise key definitions based on their own understanding, which often resulted in mistaken use of lookalike letters and diacritics. Keyboard layouts have also failed to provide for Amazigh minority populations around the world, and have considered the multilingual context of Amazigh language use only locally. Several scripts are commonly used to write Amazigh variants, and even within a script there are different orthographies in use. Some orthographies are formal 1 I use the term 'language variant' since distinguishing 'dialect' and 'language' is not necessary here. ~ 165 ~ LES RESSOURCES LANGAGIERES : CONSTRUCTION ET EXPLOITATION standards. In others, some features are obsolete but still in use, some features are still disputed, and some features are regional usages or personal initiatives, or are required only for writing more phonetically. Complete descriptions of phonology and orthographies are often difficult to find. It is therefore complex to determine, for each script, a sufficient and practical superset of features for writing a large set of language variants so that keyboard layouts can be harmonised. This project began because I was creating a Kabyle dictionary document for my own use and existing Amazigh keyboard layouts did not produce a suitable set of letters. Keyboard layout design ties in closely with Unicode encoding, fonts, and font rendering capabilities of software. To facilitate good design, the project spawned a separate but related investigation into the possible ways of encoding Tifinagh text based on the existing Tifinagh set in Unicode, and their effectiveness in representing different regional Tifinagh repertoires and orthographies. The results of the investigation (Anderson, 2010a) were submitted to the Unicode consortium and considered by the Technical Committee in late 2010. The investigation also led to two of the letters that were presented but deferred in the original Tifinagh Unicode proposal (Andries, 2004) being proposed (Anderson, 2010b) and accepted into the encoding process by the consortium. Quality Amazigh keyboard layouts would allow easy production of well-encoded text. Their widespread use, with fonts of equivalent standard, would promote good document production without mistaken use of look-alike characters or diacritics, and stimulate creative output. Quality layouts would also promote the use of Unicode, consistent with other languages, and show a solid base in technology for Amazigh, boosting its prestige. Further, if all regional keyboards could be used to type converged literary forms of Amazigh, there would be no technical barrier to prevent experimentation and adoption by potential users. Also, if keyboards could be used to type many regional forms, writers of a variant would easily be able to type it correctly even in a place that used a different standard orthography. It would be easier to become familiar with other variants. Freely available keyboard layouts (and fonts) that were reusable across Amazigh variants would allow resources to be pooled to achieve high quality more quickly. These tools would form a stable foundation for work in other areas of technology for the language and in language maintenance. ~ 166 ~ LES RESSOURCES LANGAGIERES : CONSTRUCTION ET EXPLOITATION This project's results are intended to fulfil those needs. Viewing the scripts and all the varied orthographic solutions within them as writing tools to be evaluated and adapted across all Amazigh variants, encourages technical evolution of the writing systems, and also creativity in Tifinagh typography. Local traditions become simply styles of writing Amazigh, rather than constraints. The Tifinagh script and its future belong entirely to writers of Amazigh. 2. Aims The project targeted typing Northern Amazigh in Latin script across Morocco and Algeria, and typing as many major Amazigh variants as possible in vowelled Tifinagh (to provide support for the latest orthographic advances). Prioritisation of Amazigh variants was by level of representation in modern Amazigh literature and by whether they are currently written in either the Latin script or Tifinagh. Arabic script was judged out of scope2, as an ordinary Arabic keyboard can be used, and Arabic Amazigh orthography is not official or prevalent (though it has significant representation in modern literature in Morocco, on Algerian state television and some official Algerian websites). Here, I use the loose term 'Northern Amazigh' to group language varieties having one short vowel and three long vowels, distinguishing them from the 'Tuareg' varieties with their richer vowel repertoire, while recognising that varieties such as Siwi and Ghadamsi evade these categories. As well as local Amazigh variants, the project considered Northern Amazigh as a whole, targeting the superset of orthographic features needed for both Ircam's standard Amazigh and possible future converged forms. Similarly, Tuareg was considered as a whole. The project also examined the extent to which orthographies and text encoding could be shared across all Amazigh variants. The Latin style used in Algeria for Tuareg transcription was a priority, to cover Algerian needs also for Tuareg. Another priority was to include experimental features to allow a Latin transcription even more consistent with Northern Amazigh orthography. Support for West African-style Latin script for Tuareg was only a secondary aim because the Tuareg zone has Amazigh variants as recognised 2 Versions of the project's Latin and Tifinagh layouts adapted to match Arabic keytops might however be a useful future development for those used to Arabic keyboards or Arabic Amazigh orthography. ~ 167 ~ LES RESSOURCES LANGAGIERES : CONSTRUCTION ET EXPLOITATION national languages and there is official support for them in Latin script (but not for Tifinagh). Provision for typing Tuareg Tifinagh in classical style with limited vowel marking and with ligatures was similarly desirable but non-essential. Other Amazigh variants were to be covered for Latin and Tifinagh to the extent that information was available, but not necessarily for typing intuitively (letters could be fitted in ad hoc), and for transcription rather than practical use where there was no local Latin or Tifinagh writing tradition. The project aimed to provide drivers for keyboard arrangements covering the writing of the targeted Amazigh variants in Tifinagh and Latin. Each arrangement, for a set of variants, was to enable a complete set of orthographic features for a script – hence 'universal' – while remaining intuitive for typing its supported variants. If possible the letters were to be laid out similarly for different regions and scripts, so that users could type different regional forms, in either Latin or Tifinagh, without confusion, but with the Tifinagh layout remaining natural for Tifinagh and the Latin layout natural for Latin. The ideal was a single arrangement per script sufficient for typing all targeted Amazigh variants, and intuitive enough to be preferred for that script by users. One secondary aim was provision of obsolete features, to encourage users to adopt the new keyboard layouts and learn to bring their writing up-to-date. Another aim was to provide the ability to mix non-Amazigh languages. Another was to ensure that keyboard driver installation provides both Latin and Tifinagh capability together, for widest usability and to make it easy for Latin script users to try typing Tifinagh. The layouts were to target primarily the French AZERTY physical keyboard found across North Africa, but also to contain intuitive adaptations for other physical keyboards used in countries outside Africa with significant Amazigh populations. All adaptations were to have equivalent Amazigh capabilities, so that any supported orthography could be typed on any adaptation. Compatibility with Ircam's Tifinagh keyboard was a priority as an established standard. Windows and Linux were to be the initial target platforms, in that order. Windows installations are widespread and familiar to users, and were the primary target. Linux is easy to contribute to, free, known in North Africa, and likely to grow in use there as technical knowledge of it increases, so it was the secondary target. ~ 168 ~ LES RESSOURCES LANGAGIERES : CONSTRUCTION ET EXPLOITATION Apple is significant in publishing, and in mobile devices. Consideration of implementations