ScriptSource: Making Information on the World's Scripts and Languages Accessible

Abstract

Although there is plenty of script information on the web, there has been a need for a web site to present the information authoritatively and clearly, making it easier to understand the often complex relationships between scripts, characters and languages. ScriptSource has been designed to meet that need and to answer questions such as: ‘Which scripts can be used to write that language?’, or, ‘Which writing systems use this Unicode character?’. ScriptSource imports language data from the Ethnologue, character data from Unicode and locale data from the CLDR (Common Locale Data Repository). ScriptSource also provides a place where people can document languages and scripts for the benefit of everyone. Registered users can add information in the form of entries, which may include links to other sites. They can also post ‘needs’ to enlist help in solving script-related problems. This session will cover some of the needs ScriptSource has been designed to meet, as well as showing the depth of information available on the site. SIL's Ethnologue website, covering the world's languages, will also be presented.