Perhaps the time for Indic languages is now: mobile Internet and e-commerce are driving Internet penetration to towns that earlier didn't find much need for it. India, as someone mentioned during #NAMA Indic, is an English-tolerant country, and our devices don't mandate Indic language support. However, we don't understand why this country needs to wait for a generational change for more people to get access to the Internet. The language barrier needs to be addressed. #NAMA: The Digital Future of Indic Languages was a discussion that should have happened when we first tried to organize it, in 2009, but it's never too late to do the right thing. It's not a topic that is particularly "hot", but it is an important one. We're thankful to Google India for supporting it. Do read our coverage from the compelling discussions that took place. Below is a summary of key points made: Devices & Fonts - Parity is the word: if I can use a device in English, we should make it easy for everyone to use the same way in Indic languages - People don't have money for desktops. Tablets and mobile phones and soft keyboards have made a difference. - Google has released some exceptionally high quality Indic fonts. - Work required in Indic language interface. - Fonts don't go back to legacy devices. - Fonts don't render properly on different screen sizes, across devices. "What we develop for a bigger size device is not suitable for lower size device. Sizes change…
