The Unicode cookbook for linguists: Managing writing systems using orthography profiles

Reviewed by Elena Babatsouli, Assistant Professor, ULL on 11/9/19

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

The textbook has an easy to follow structure that includes both a theoretical and practical component, as also evidenced in its table of contents. The theoretical component discusses topics in text coding/encoding and principles of writing systems, while also presenting a comprehensive historical background on the development and advances of the Unicode Standard and the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). What this text really does is to wed the perspectives and practices of linguistics and information technology in a serious effort to bridge the gap between them for the purpose of informing interested but less computer-savvy linguists.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

The text illustrates analytical thinking and a well-thought out approach with accurate information.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

The content is up-to-date. However, due to the nature of topic being one that continually involves, some of the suggested practical proposals may need to be updated in due time.

Clarity rating: 4

The text is written in lucid, accessible prose, using easy to comprehend terms, and providing definitions that are followed by their respective terms in technical terminological jargon along the way.

Consistency rating: 4

The text follows a clear, succinct and logical argument that builds in intensity and depth as the chapters succeed each other.

Modularity rating: 4

The textbook has a clear structure with several subdivisions.
The theoretical component discusses topics in text coding/encoding and principles of writing systems, while also presenting a comprehensive historical background on the development and advances of the Unicode Standard and the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). What this text really does is to wed the perspectives and practices of linguistics and information technology in a serious effort to bridge the gap between them for the purpose of informing interested but less computer-savvy linguists.

The practical component proposes specific procedures on how to use the Unicode Standard in the ‘daily practice of (comparative) linguistics’, making actual recommendations to linguists and computer programmers struggling with these tasks, outlining the likely challenges met, and lastly introducing two open source libraries, in Python and R, as a reference for tacking linguistic data, and phonetic and orthographic profiles.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

The textbook follows the intuitive and lucid structure outlined in its table of contents.

Interface rating: 4

The text does not have observable interface issues. It is easy to navigate and it includes clear, error-free tables that do not distract or confuse the reader.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

Not any that I have noticed.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The text is not culturally offensive; its topic does not permit such scope.

Comments

If a page full of gibberish like dkjP~oiu._io&ORE@Qds=Sask,jklutiud~zxs2&3r/fv@ or □□□□□?| □□□□□ ?| is something you have encountered but are clueless as to the workings involved, this is the book for you!

If you are a linguist working in today’s computerized world, you are already familiar with the exasperation involved in having orthographic and phonetic symbols represented in digital documents in a way that are consistently and universally readable across software, across computers, across languages, across offices or campuses, etc. on an international level.

Universals in digital writing systems in our globally multilingual world are as hard to grasp, categorize, make sense of, and tame just like the universal patterns in the worlds’ languages themselves. Learning to resolve these troubles is an on-going effort for those using language, those using computers and, overwhelmingly more so, for those whose work combines the two.

The present open textbook is a resource on computer multilingualism. It is a manual written by two scientists who have combined expertise in human language and information technology to create this resource aiming to inform and guide readers on the notion of encoding in terms of the Unicode, i.e. the digital code that permits interoperability between human and computer language. One could say that Unicode is an attempt to have a lingua franca for computers; just like a lingua franca is powerful in that it allows speakers of different languages communicate while also being limiting depending on the context(s) of its use(s) and user(s), the Unicode is a universal tool that facilitates linguistic interoperability across computers … enduring pitfalls notwithstanding.

The practical value of the manual is that the authors provide recommendations on how to tackle global linguistic diversity (orthographies, grammars, phonetic representations in the languages of the world) and the inevitable IT shortcomings that come with the process of translating such linguistic diversity in computer-readable form.

The textbook has an easy to follow structure that includes both a theoretical and practical component, as also evidenced in its table of contents. The theoretical component discusses topics in text coding/encoding and principles of writing systems, while also presenting a comprehensive historical background on the development and advances of the Unicode Standard and the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). What this text really does is to wed the perspectives and practices of linguistics and information technology in a serious effort to bridge the gap between them for the purpose of informing interested but less computer-savvy linguists.

The practical component proposes specific procedures on how to use the Unicode Standard in the ‘daily practice of (comparative) linguistics’, making actual recommendations to linguists and computer programmers struggling with these tasks, outlining the likely challenges met, and lastly introducing two open source libraries, in Python and R, as a reference for tacking linguistic data, and phonetic and orthographic profiles.

The presence of the term ‘cookbook’ in the title is somewhat disorienting in terms of the semantics involved, at least at a first glance, but as one reads the book, it becomes increasingly clear that authors mean it either as a jest, or suggestive of the need to have an instruction manual, a collection of ‘recipes’, that practically address difficult tasks, in the same way that a cookbook suggests lists of necessary ingredients and instructions to use in order to turn recipes into hands-on meals.

The readership aimed is wide-scoped in that the manual is straightforward enough to enlighten the interested layman, student, or non-expert, while also being adequately detailed and comprehensive to be effective for more experienced academics in these fields. The text follows a clear, succinct and logical argument that builds in intensity and depth as the chapters succeed each other, illustrating analytical thinking and a well-thought out approach, using easy to comprehend terms, and providing definitions that are followed by their terms in technical terminological jargon, along the way.

Although a complete answer toolkit is beyond the capabilities of present research, technological advances, and academic instruction, the manual freely put forth in this open textbook format, is certainly an excellent starting point for those concerned in the topics covered, and I am glad for its availability, for having read it, and the opportunity to review it. I certainly recommend this textbook to others.