Sanskrit for coding? DU introduces course to explore ancient language's role in modern computing
NEW DELHI: Amid the debate around Sanskrit being a suitable language for coding - with some even citing Nasa's supposed use of the ancient language - Delhi University has introduced a course that brings the idea closer to the classroom.
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Offered by DU's Department of Sanskrit as a discipline-specific elective paper, titled "Computer Applications for Sanskrit", the course aims to equip students with modern computing techniques to develop tools using the Sanskrit language.
Discipline-specific electives are optional courses that students can select from a range of available choices. This particular course will be accessible as an elective option to all Sanskrit students enrolled across various colleges in DU.
Subhash Chandra, a faculty member at the Sanskrit department who developed the course and teaches computational linguistics, said the aim is to show students how Sanskrit can be integrated with technology.
"We also have a website where we display some tools that we have developed using coding in Sanskrit. Some of these include language analysers, grammar checkers, speech tools - similar to those in Hindi that convert speech to text - and a Sanskrit research database.
In this course, we will teach students coding to develop such tools," he said.
The course syllabus will cover web-based tools development, Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) and webpage creation, alongside Unicode typing in Devanagari, OCR applications, and text digitisation and preservation. It will introduce students to interactive Sanskrit learning platforms and discuss the need for such tools in Sanskrit education.
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The module also includes e-learning concepts and multimedia basics.
A dedicated section on Unicode will focus on typing in Devanagari script (alphabet used for Sanskrit, Hindi and other Indian languages), introducing students to relevant software and keyboard tools. Another unit is centred on the tools and techniques used for text processing and preservation of Sanskrit texts. The final unit explores Optical Character Recognition (OCR) applications for Sanskrit and other Indian languages, offering insights into the current technologies and developments in the field.
While the course does not teach full-fledged programming, it introduces basic coding and digital skills to help students create interactive tools and platforms in Sanskrit - aligning, in part, with the broader narrative of giving ancient Indian languages a technological future. It is open to fourth-semester students with a working knowledge of Sanskrit and draws from tools developed by DU's Computational Linguistics Group and texts on software theory and logic.
The objective of the paper, as stated in the syllabus, is to "introduce the current researches and developments in Sanskrit computing. The primary emphasis will be on tools and techniques developed under govt and private funding and on exploring new technologies for Sanskrit".
The learning outcomes add: "The students will get an overview of computational works undertaken in the field of Sanskrit and a clear idea about how a range of practical linguistic tasks of Sanskrit can be done by developing CL systems.
And, they will also know how CL tools can facilitate the learning and teaching process in the field of Sanskrit."
On May 4, chief minister Rekha Gupta, speaking at the closing ceremony of a 10-day Sanskrit learning initiative, voiced support for the potential the language holds in the field of coding. "Even Nasa scientists have written papers on Sanskrit and confirmed that it is a scientific language. Coding can be done in Sanskrit.
It is the most computer-friendly language," she said.
Such assertions have sparked renewed discussions on the applicability of Sanskrit in contemporary computing, with DU's course now offering a practical academic framework to explore the language's digital possibilities.
The Computational Linguistics Research and Development for Sanskrit initiative at DU's Department of Sanskrit was launched in 2014 under the supervision of Chandra. The group focuses on developing e-learning tools, creating digital content for Sanskrit scientific texts, building language analysis tools, and digitising Sanskrit literature for searchable online access. The department also runs a summer school that invites students from other universities to participate in a programme termed the "emerging intersection of Sanskrit and technology".
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