Afghanistan L2/03-148 Computer Locale Requirements for ...The Pashto Alphabet. The table below lists...
Transcript of Afghanistan L2/03-148 Computer Locale Requirements for ...The Pashto Alphabet. The table below lists...
Computer Locale Requirements for Afghanistan
Background. In December 2002 the United Nations Development Programme CountryOffice for Afghanistan commissioned a report on the language support required for Pashtoand Dari, Afghanistan’s official languages. In addition, the Project Team (Michael Everson ofEverson Typography, Dublin, and Roozbeh Pournader of the FarsiWeb Project, Tehran) wassuccessful in collecting similar information for a number of other languages of Afghanistan,namely, Southern Uzbek and Brahui. (The survey sought information on other languages,such as Hazaragi, Aimaq, Southwest Pashai, Western Balochi, and Turkmen, but conclusiveresponses were not available.)
Need for support. The reason this report has been commissioned is that none of the majorcomputer software providers currently supports any of these languages – adequately or at all– and this causes serious constraints and problems for all aspects of information technologyfor the entire country. Language support involves inputting, display and printing,processing, and provision of a user’s locale format information.
Fonts: alphabets and glyph shapes. This document presents information on the lettersrequired to support the languages of Afghanistan, and the minimum shaping behaviourrequired for correct rendering. We urge software manufacturers in the strongest possibleterms to update their Arabic and Persian fonts to include the letters and combinationswhich are missing. A summary of these forms is found at the end of the document.
Input: keyboard layouts. This document also proposes keyboard layouts suitable forinputting the languages of Afghanistan. Responses to our questionnaire did not addresskeyboard layout issues; however, we did receive word-of-mouth comments during theinterviews we held at the University of Kabul, the Afghanistan Academy of Sciences, and theAfghanistan Assistence Coordination Authority. Most people were using old Iranian-mademechanical typewriters based on the Iranian standard ISIRI 820:1973 (Characterarrangement on keyboards of Persian typewriters), and because they were used to them, theysaid that they preferred these to anything else. Because, however, that layout is glyph-basedand makes use of two to four keys to form each letter, it does not suit modern computer-based entry mechanisms which use one key per letter. Accordingly, we determined that itwas necessary to develop practical keyboard layouts for Afghanistan. The ISIRI 2901:1994(Keyboard layout for Farsi: Characters in Computer) layout, which we used in the Farsisample in the questionnaires, resembles the general layout of ISIRI 820 quite closely, and ismodernized for current usage. Therefore, we used the general layout of ISIRI 2901 to developthe Dari layout, and then modified that to derive the Pashto and Uzbek layouts to minimizethe learning curve for users as much as possible. Each of the keyboard layouts enables theuser to input characters used in each of the languages supported by this report. The basicletters of the language for which the keyboard layout is designed are always on the plain andshifted keys. In some software environments the AltGr keys may not be supported.
United Nations Development Programme
Shah Mahmood Ghazi Watt, Kabul, Afghanistan • Tel: +93 210 1680 • E-mail: [email protected] • ©2003 UNDP
Afghanistan
Locales: ICU data. Additional data we collected has been formatted in locale specificationsvia the ICU (International Components for Unicode) website hosted at“http://oss.software.ibm.com/icu/”. In this way, the Afghan preferred formats for language,date format (including month and day names and calendar), time format, number format,and currency format will be available to vendors who can provide software which will be ofuse to the people of Afghanistan, at governmental, business, academic, and local level.Whenever ICU locale data format is adequate for describing a part of the locale information,the data in the ICU registry should be consulted for normative and accurate data. Thespecifications shown in this report are only informative examples in comparison with theICU data files we have provided. However, in areas such as the Afghan calendar, which ICUlocales cannot specify, the text in this report should be considered normative. (Note that theICU files we have prepared are not standalone. They must be used in combination withother locale data, most importantly the “fa.txt” and “root.txt” files from ICU itself.)
Ordering. Sorting order specification is also provided with the ICU locales. This deservessome additional discussion here. In our analysis of the Pashto, Dari, and Uzbek alphabetsprovided to us, together with our analysis of authoritative Pashto-English and Pashto-Pashtodictionaries, as well as comparison of a Dari-English dictionary with a number of bilingualand monolingual Persian dictionaries, we discovered that, with the exception of thetreatment of hamza, the alphabets were all mutually compatible with respect to ordering.Because the ordering of “singular” hamza ( �) is of little consequence – it is rare and typicallycomes toward the end of a word – we determined that placing it between alef and beh wouldhave two advantages: first, it would allow all of the languages of Afghanistan to avail of asingle unified sort order, and second, it would enable the closely-related Persian languages,Dari and Farsi, to be sorted in the same way. It should be mentioned, however, that theorder shown in this report is only the general ordering for letters, and does not show theordering of less significant elements like the ordering of vowel marks or the handling ofpunctuation or Unicode control characters. The complete and exact ordering is the onespecified in the ICU locale data files.
We commend this report to the software vendors of the world, and trust that itsspecifications will be implemented as a matter of urgency, so that the people Afghanistancan avail of the essential tools which many of us take for granted.
˛ ¸Michael Everson Roozbeh PournaderEverson Typography, Dublin FarsiWeb Project, Tehranwww.evertype.com www.farsiweb.info
The latest version of this report, updates, and other resources (such as keyboard layoutspecifications in data files conformant to ISO/IEC 9995, Information Technology – Keyboardlayouts for text and office systems, and ICU data files based on this report) are available at“http://www.evertype.com/standards/af/”.
© Copyright 2003 United Nations Development Programme, Michael Everson, and Roozbeh Pournader.Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but changing it is notallowed. The authors welcome feedback from people who download and use the report and data files.
Latest update: 2003-05-08
©2003 UNDP • Computer Locale Requirements for Afghanistan • 2
Computer Locale Requirements for Afghanistan
The Pashto Alphabet
The table below lists the letters used to write Pashto, including loanwords from Arabic.Our survey indicated a number of different sorting orders for Pashto. All respondantssaid that the alphabetic order was (reading from left to right) � > � > � > � > � > �.This is the order agreed on at a 1991 meeting of Pashto experts in Peshawar. It should benoted that the most authoritative dictionary, the Pas. tó-Pas. tó Descriptive Dictionary, 4volumes (Department of Linguistics, Institute of Languages and Literature, Academy ofSciences of Afghanistan, 1979–1987) uses the order � > � > � > � > � > �, as doesRahimi and Rohi’s Pashto-English Dictionary (1979). Materials for schoolchildrencollected in Kabul, on the other hand, gave this same sequence as � > � > � > � > � >�. Nevertheless, we suggest that the order agreed at the 1991 Peshawar meeting is thebest to follow.
In the list below, the Unicode letters which sort as separate letters at the first level aregiven flush to the left margin, and letters which sort at the second level are indented. Wehave also given the Urdu letters which are used in older Pashto orthographies to showhow Pashto data in that orthography will sort.
Unicode Name isolated final medial initial Arabic Dari Pashto Uzbek Brahui
0622 ā � �] — — • • • •
0627 alif � �] — — • • • • •
0623 alif�hamza ] — — • • • • •
0671 alif�wasla � �] — — •
0625 al.�h.�below � �] — — •
0621 hamza � — — — • • • • •
0628 be �] ]�] ]� • • • • •
067E pe � �] ]�] ]� • • • •
062A te � �] ]�] ]� • • • • •
067C �e � �] ]�] ]� •
0679 Urdu �e � �] ]�] ]� •
062B se � �] ]�] ] • • • • •
062C jim � !] ]"] ]# • • • • •
0681 ǰe � �] ]] ] •
0686 če � �] ]�] ] • • • •
0685 ce � �] ]�] ]� •
062D he � $] ]%] ]& • • • • •
©2003 UNDP • Computer Locale Requirements for Afghanistan • 3
Computer Locale Requirements for Afghanistan
©2003 UNDP • Computer Locale Requirements for Afghanistan • 4
Unicode Name isolated final medial initial Arabic Dari Pashto Uzbek Brahui
062E xe � '] ](] ]) • • • • •
062F dāl * +] — — • • • • •
0689 �āl � �] — — •
0688 Urdu �āl � �] — — •
0630 zāl , -] — — • • • • •
0631 re . /] — — • • • • •
0693 �e � �] — — •
0691 Urdu �e � �] — — •
0632 ze 0 1] — — • • • • •
0698 že � �] — — • • • •
0696 �e � �] — — •
0633 sin 2 3] ]4] ]5 • • • • •
0634 šin 6 7] ]8] ]9 • • • • •
069A �in � �] ]�] ] •
0635 swāt : ;] ]<] ]= • • • • •
0636 zād > ?] ]@] ]A • • • • •
0637 twe B C] ]D] ]E • • • • •
0638 zwe F G] ]H] ]I • • • • •
0639 �ayn J K] ]L] ]M • • • • •
063A ǧayn N O] ]P] ]Q • • • • •
0641 fe R S] ]T] ]U • • • • •
0642 qāf V W] ]X] ]Y • • • • •
06A9 kāf ! "] ]Z] ][ • • • •
0643 Arabic kāf \ ]] ]Z] ][ •
06AB gāf # $] ]%] ]& •
06AF Persian gāf ' (] ])] ]* • • •
0644 lām ^ _] ]`] ]a • • • • •
06B7 Brahui lhām + ,] ]-] ]. •
0645 mim b c] ]d] ]e • • • • •
0646 nun f g] ]h] ]i • • • • •
Computer Locale Requirements for Afghanistan
Unicode Name isolated final medial initial Arabic Dari Pashto Uzbek Brahui
06BA nun ghunna j k] — — •
06BC �un / 0] ]1] ]2 •
0648 wāw l m] — — • • • • •
0624 wāw hamza n o] — — • • • • •
06C7 Uzbek u � �] — — •
06C9 Uzbek o � �] — — •
0647 he p q] ]r] ]s • • • • •
0629 g��da te t u] — — • • • • •
06CC ye v w] ]x] ]y • • • •
0649 alef maksura — — ]z] ]{ •
06D2 Urdu ye 3 4] — — •
064A saxta ye | }] — — • • •
06D0 pasta ye 5 6] ~] ]� • •
06CD ��ǰina ye 7 8] — — •
0626 fe�li ye � �] �] ]� • • • •
Note. Since the shapes of the ]y initial and ]x] medial forms of the Pashto letters v ye(U+06CC) and | saxta ye (U+064A) are exactly the same, to avoid encoding ambiguitiesin Pashto data – and its known implications in security-related issues including possiblePashto domain names – we recommend that the Unicode character for saxta ye, namely| U+064A, never be used in initial and medial forms in Pashto data. Where input data isexplicitly known to be in Pashto, applications should automatically replace such usagein the input data (for example, in keyboard input) with the normal ye character, namelyv U+06CC. Applications may not automatically change U+064A to U+06CC in Pashtoinput if it is used in final or isolated forms.
©2003 UNDP • Computer Locale Requirements for Afghanistan • 5
Computer Locale Requirements for Afghanistan
The Dari Alphabet
The table below lists the letters used to write Dari, including loanwords from Arabic. Inthe list below, the Unicode letters which sort as separate letters at the first level are givenflush to the left margin, and letters which sort at the second level are indented. We havealso given the Urdu letters which are used in older Pashto orthographies to show howPashto data in that orthography will sort.
Unicode Name isolated final medial initial Arabic Dari Pashto Uzbek Brahui
0622 ā � �] — — • • • •
0627 alef � �] — — • • • • •
0623 alef�hamza ] — — • • • • •
0671 alif�wasla � �] — — •
0625 al.�h.�below � �] — — •
0621 hamza � — — — • • • • •
0628 be �] ]�] ]� • • • • •
067E pe � �] ]�] ]� • • • •
062A te � �] ]�] ]� • • • • •
067C Pashto �e � �] ]�] ]� •
0679 Urdu �e � �] ]�] ]� •
062B se � �] ]�] ] • • • • •
062C jim � !] ]"] ]# • • • • •
0681 Pashto ǰe � �] ]] ] •
0686 če � �] ]�] ] • • • •
0685 Pashto ce � �] ]�] ]� •
062D he � $] ]%] ]& • • • • •
062E xe � '] ](] ]) • • • • •
062F dāl * +] — — • • • • •
0689 Pashto �āl � �] — — •
0688 Urdu �āl � �] — — •
0630 zāl , -] — — • • • • •
0631 re . /] — — • • • • •
©2003 UNDP • Computer Locale Requirements for Afghanistan • 6
Computer Locale Requirements for Afghanistan
Unicode Name isolated final medial initial Arabic Dari Pashto Uzbek Brahui
0693 Pashto �e � �] — — •
0691 Urdu �e � �] — — •
0632 ze 0 1] — — • • • • •
0698 že � �] — — • • • •
0696 Pashto �e � �] — — •
0633 sin 2 3] ]4] ]5 • • • • •
0634 šin 6 7] ]8] ]9 • • • • •
069A Pashto �in � �] ]�] ] •
0635 sād : ;] ]<] ]= • • • • •
0636 zād > ?] ]@] ]A • • • • •
0637 tā B C] ]D] ]E • • • • •
0638 zā F G] ]H] ]I • • • • •
0639 ayn J K] ]L] ]M • • • • •
063A qayn N O] ]P] ]Q • • • • •
0641 fe R S] ]T] ]U • • • • •
0642 qāf V W] ]X] ]Y • • • • •
06A9 kāf ! "] ]Z] ][ • • • •
0643 Arabic kāf \ ]] ]Z] ][ •
06AB Pashto gāf # $] ]%] ]& •
06AF gāf ' (] ])] ]* • • •
0644 lām ^ _] ]`] ]a • • • • •
06B7 Brahui lhām + ,] ]-] ]. •
0645 mīm b c] ]d] ]e • • • • •
0646 nūn f g] ]h] ]i • • • • •
06BA nūn ghunna j k] — — •
06BC Pashto �ūn / 0] ]1] ]2 •
0648 vāv l m] — — • • • • •
0624 vāv hamza n o] — — • • • • •
06C7 Uzbek u � �] — — •
06C9 Uzbek o � �] — — •
©2003 UNDP • Computer Locale Requirements for Afghanistan • 7
Computer Locale Requirements for Afghanistan
Unicode Name isolated final medial initial Arabic Dari Pashto Uzbek Brahui
0647 he p q] ]r] ]s • • • • •
0629 te�ye gerd t u] — — • • • • •
06CC ye v w] ]x] ]y • • • •
0649alef�e maqsura — — ]z] ]{ •
06D2 Urdu ye 3 4] — — •
064A saxta ye | }] — — • • •
06D0 pasta ye 5 6] ~] ]� • •
06CD ��ǰina ye 7 8] — — •
0626 ye hamza � �] �] ]� • • • •
©2003 UNDP • Computer Locale Requirements for Afghanistan • 8
Computer Locale Requirements for Afghanistan
The Southern Uzbek Alphabet
The table below lists the letters used to write Southern Uzbek, including loanwords fromArabic. This is a new official orthography the development of which was inspired by theUNDP project. In the list below, the Unicode letters which sort as separate letters at thefirst level are given flush to the left margin, and letters which sort at the second level areindented. We have also given the Urdu letters which are used in older Pashtoorthographies to show how Pashto data in that orthography will sort.
Unicode Name isolated final medial initial Arabic Dari Pashto Uzbek Brahui
0622 alef�madha � �] — — • • • •
0627 alef � �] — — • • • • •
0623 alef�hamza ] — — • • • • •
0671 alif�wasla � �] — — •
0625 al.�h.�below � �] — — •
0621 hamza � — — — • • • • •
0628 beh �] ]�] ]� • • • • •
067E peh � �] ]�] ]� • • • •
062A teh � �] ]�] ]� • • • • •
067C Pashto �eh � �] ]�] ]� •
0679 Urdu �eh � �] ]�] ]� •
062B seh � �] ]�] ] • • • • •
062C jeem � !] ]"] ]# • • • • •
0681 Pashto ǰeh � �] ]] ] •
0686 cheh � �] ]�] ] • • • •
0685 Pashto ceh � �] ]�] ]� •
062D heh � $] ]%] ]& • • • • •
062E kheh � '] ](] ]) • • • • •
062F dal * +] — — • • • • •
0689 Pashto �al � �] — — •
0688 Urdu �al � �] — — •
0630 zal , -] — — • • • • •
0631 reh . /] — — • • • • •
©2003 UNDP • Computer Locale Requirements for Afghanistan • 9
Computer Locale Requirements for Afghanistan
Unicode Name isolated final medial initial Arabic Dari Pashto Uzbek Brahui
0693 Pashto �eh � �] — — •
0691 Urdu �eh � �] — — •
0632 zeh 0 1] — — • • • • •
0698 zheh � �] — — • • • •
0696 Pashto �eh � �] — — •
0633 sin 2 3] ]4] ]5 • • • • •
0634 shin 6 7] ]8] ]9 • • • • •
069A Pashto �in � �] ]�] ] •
0635 swad : ;] ]<] ]= • • • • •
0636 zwad > ?] ]@] ]A • • • • •
0637 tuy B C] ]D] ]E • • • • •
0638 zuy F G] ]H] ]I • • • • •
0639 ’ain J K] ]L] ]M • • • • •
063A ghain N O] ]P] ]Q • • • • •
0641 feh R S] ]T] ]U • • • • •
0642 qaf V W] ]X] ]Y • • • • •
06A9 kaf ! "] ]Z] ][ • • • •
0643 Arabic kaf \ ]] ]Z] ][ •
06AB Pashto gaf # $] ]%] ]& •
06AF gaf ' (] ])] ]* • • •
0644 lam ^ _] ]`] ]a • • • • •
06B7 Brahui lham + ,] ]-] ]. •
0645 meem b c] ]d] ]e • • • • •
0646 nuun f g] ]h] ]i • • • • •
06BA nuun ghunna j k] — — •
06BC Pashto �uun / 0] ]1] ]2 •
0648 waw l m] — — • • • • •
0624 waw hamza n o] — — • • • • •
06C7 u � �] — — •
06C9 o’ � �] — — •
©2003 UNDP • Computer Locale Requirements for Afghanistan • 10
Computer Locale Requirements for Afghanistan
Unicode Name isolated final medial initial Arabic Dari Pashto Uzbek Brahui
0647 heh p q] ]r] ]s • • • • •
0629 teh marbuta t u] — — • • • • •
06CC yih v w] ]x] ]y • • • •
0649 alef maksura — — ]z] ]{ •
06D2 Urdu yih 3 4] — — •
064A yeeh | }] — — • • •
06D0 yeh 5 6] ~] ]� • •
06CD ��ǰina yih 7 8] — — •
0626 yih hamza � �] �] ]� • • • •
Note. To avoid encoding ambiguities in Uzbek data, and its known implications insecurity-related issues including possible Uzbek Internet domain names, werecommend that the Uzbek letter u always be encoded as � U+06C7 and never as asequence of waw and a damma. Where input data is explicitly known to be in Uzbek,applications should automatically replace a waw followed by a damma in the input data(for example, in keyboard input) with the U+06C7 character.
©2003 UNDP • Computer Locale Requirements for Afghanistan • 11
Computer Locale Requirements for Afghanistan
The Brahui Alphabet
The table below lists the letters used to write Brahui, including loanwords from Arabic.Brahui is not widely written either in Pakistan, where most Brahui speakers live, or inAfghanistan. An expert respondant informed us that in Pakistan, Brahui speakers useUrdu orthography with the addition of one letter, + lham. If Brahui is written inAfghanistan, it may prefer the Pashto letters such as � �e to the corresponding Urdu ��e. We have no evidence of this, but have given the Brahui alphabet here in order toensure the support of its own unique letter.
In the list below, the Unicode letters which sort as separate letters at the first level aregiven flush to the left margin, and letters which sort at the second level are indented. Wehave also given the Urdu letters which are used in older Pashto orthographies to showhow Pashto data in that orthography will sort.
Unicode Name isolated final medial initial Arabic Dari Pashto Uzbek Brahui
0622 ā � �] — — • • • • •
0627 alif � �] — — • • • • •
0623 alif�hamza ] — — • • • • •
0671 alif�wasla � �] — — •
0625 al.�h.�below � �] — — •
0621 hamza � — — — • • • • •
0628 be �] ]�] ]� • • • • •
067E pe � �] ]�] ]� • • • •
062A te � �] ]�] ]� • • • • •
067C �e � �] ]�] ]� •
0679 Urdu �e � �] ]�] ]� •
062B se � �] ]�] ] • • • • •
062C jim � !] ]"] ]# • • • • •
0681 ǰe � �] ]] ] •
0686 če � �] ]�] ] • • • •
0685 ce � �] ]�] ]� •
062D he � $] ]%] ]& • • • • •
062E xe � '] ](] ]) • • • • •
062F dāl * +] — — • • • • •
©2003 UNDP • Computer Locale Requirements for Afghanistan • 12
Computer Locale Requirements for Afghanistan
Unicode Name isolated final medial initial Arabic Dari Pashto Uzbek Brahui
0689 �āl � �] — — •
0688 Urdu �āl � �] — — •
0630 zāl , -] — — • • • • •
0631 re . /] — — • • • • •
0693 �e � �] — — •
0691 Urdu �e � �] — — •
0632 ze 0 1] — — • • • • •
0698 že � �] — — • • • •
0696 �e � �] — — •
0633 sin 2 3] ]4] ]5 • • • • •
0634 šin 6 7] ]8] ]9 • • • • •
069A �in � �] ]�] ] •
0635 swāt : ;] ]<] ]= • • • • •
0636 zād > ?] ]@] ]A • • • • •
0637 twe B C] ]D] ]E • • • • •
0638 zwe F G] ]H] ]I • • • • •
0639 �ayn J K] ]L] ]M • • • • •
063A ǧayn N O] ]P] ]Q • • • • •
0641 fe R S] ]T] ]U • • • • •
0642 qāf V W] ]X] ]Y • • • • •
06A9 kāf ! "] ]Z] ][ • • • •
0643 Arabic kāf \ ]] ]Z] ][ •
06AB Pashto gāf # $] ]%] ]& •
06AF gāf ' (] ])] ]* • • •
0644 lām ^ _] ]`] ]a • • • • •
06B7 lhām + ,] ]-] ]. •
0645 mim b c] ]d] ]e • • • • •
0646 nun f g] ]h] ]i • • • • •
06BA nun ghunna j k] — — •
06BC �un / 0] ]1] ]2 •
©2003 UNDP • Computer Locale Requirements for Afghanistan • 13
Computer Locale Requirements for Afghanistan
Unicode Name isolated final medial initial Arabic Dari Pashto Uzbek Brahui
0648 wāw l m] — — • • • • •
0624 wāw hamza n o] — — • • • • •
06C7 Uzbek u � �] — — •
06C9 Uzbek o � �] — — •
0647 he p q] ]r] ]s • • • • •
0629 te marbuta t u] — — • • • • •
06CC ye v w] ]x] ]y • • • •
0649 alef maksura — — ]z] ]{ •
06D2 Urdu ye 3 4] — — •
064A saxta ye | }] — — • • •
06D0 pasta ye 5 6] ~] ]� • •
06CD ��ǰina ye 7 8] — — •
0626 ye hamza � �] �] ]� • • • •
©2003 UNDP • Computer Locale Requirements for Afghanistan • 14
Computer Locale Requirements for Afghanistan
Glyph-shape Requirements for Afghanistan
The table below lists the glyphs not usually found in most Arabic fonts, which it isessential to support in order to enable the people of Afghanistan to write and processtheir languages.
Unicode Name isolated final medial initial Dari Pashto Uzbek Brahui067E pe � �] ]�] ]� • • • •
067C Pashto �e � �] ]�] ]� •
0679 Urdu �e � �] ]�] ]� •
0681 ǰe � �] ]] ] •
0686 če � �] ]�] ] • • • •
0685 ce � �] ]�] ]� •
0689 �āl � �] — — •
0688 Urdu �āl � �] — — •
0693 �e � �] — — •
0691 Urdu �e � �] — — •
0698 že � �] — — • • • •
0696 �e � �] — — •
069A �in � �] ]�] ] •
06A9 Persian kāf ! "] ]Z] ][ • • • •
06AB Pashto gāf # $] ]%] ]& •
06AF gāf ' (] ])] ]* • • •
06B7 lhām + ,] ]-] ]. •
06BA nun ghunna j k] — — •
06BC �un / 0] ]1] ]2 •
06C7 Uzbek u � �] — — •
06C9 Uzbek o � �] — — •
06CC ye v w] ]x] ]y • • • •
06D2 Urdu ye 3 4] — — •
06D0 pasta ye 5 6] ~] ]� • •
06CD ��ǰina ye 7 8] — — •
©2003 UNDP • Computer Locale Requirements for Afghanistan • 15
Computer Locale Requirements for Afghanistan
©2003 UNDP • Computer Locale Requirements for Afghanistan • 16
Computer Locale Requirements for Afghanistan
Almost all of the languages used in Afghanistan require the use of diacritical markswhich follow a base letter, to make pronunciation or grammar usage clear. These marksare known by different names in the different languages of Afghanistan, but are listedhere with their Unicode character names. Font and application developers shouldensure that they support these marks in their products. The zwarakay at the bottom ofthe list is used in some Pashto educational materials, and as a result of this survey is nowbeing proposed for addition to the Unicode Standard. Until such time as it has beenformally encoded, we recommend the Private Use Area code position U+E659 for thezwarakay.
Unicode Name064B fathatan e
064C dammatan g
064D kasratan f
064E fatha a
064F damma c
0650 kasra b
Unicode Name0651 shadda h
0652 sukun d
0653 maddah above l
0654 hamza above k
0670 superscript alef j
(E659) zwarakay i
One additional character appears to be in wide use by local banks and accountants inAfghanistan, namely the afghani sign, q. This character is also being proposed foraddition to the Unicode Standard. Until such time as it has been formally encoded, werecommend the Private Use Area code position U+E0B4 for the afghani sign. It should benoted that glyph variants for this character exist, for example r and p, but in ourdiscussions several experts indicated that the first one shown above is the most originaland may therefore be more appropriate. Research on the best glyph shape is stillongoing. As of this writing, neither the Ministry of Finance nor Da Afghanistan Bank hadformally adopted this symbol for use, although it is in use in both the public and privatesectors.
It should also be mentioned that certain punctuation marks and control characters areused in Afghan computing. We have listed all of these characters on the collectively-equivalent keyboard layouts. Font developers are expected to include all of theseadditional characters in fonts which are intended to support Afghan languages.
©2003 UNDP • Computer Locale Requirements for Afghanistan • 17
Computer Locale Requirements for AfghanistanP
ash
to k
eyb
oar
d la
you
t fo
r A
fgh
anis
tan
by M
icha
el E
vers
on,
Roo
zbeh
Pou
rnad
er,
Sai
d M
arja
n Z
azai
, &
Moh
amm
ad T
amim
Noo
ri
shif
ta
ltg
rsh
ift
pla
ina
ltg
r
`
k ZW
J`
1
! ١~
2
/ ٢@
3
/ ٣#
4
q ^$
5
٪ _%
6
× `^
7
« ٧&
8
» ٨�
9
( ٩•
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) ٠°
-
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=
+ =÷
dele
te
tab
Q
d >€
W
g :�
E
f �{
R
e VL
R MT
c RR
LM
Y
b Nl
U
a Ji
I
h pj
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� �"
[
[ �{
]
] �}
retu
rn
caps
lock
A
� 6S
7 2D
| v3
F
� j
G
^+
H
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� ��
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/ f<
L
t b>
;
: !\
'
؛ #'
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X
5 B;
C
� 0V
� .B
ZW NJ ,
N
� *�
M
n ��
,
، l,
.
. ��
/
� /�
shift
shift
Gu
ide
to t
he
key
assi
gnm
ents
, rea
din
g to
p-d
ow
n a
nd
left
-rig
ht
Un
shif
ted
:Z
WJ,
on
e, t
wo
, th
ree,
fou
r, fi
ve, s
ix, s
even
, eig
ht,
nin
e, z
ero
, hyp
hen
, eq
ual
s
zād
, sw
āt, s
e, q
āf, f
e, ǧ
ayn
, �ay
n, h
e, x
e, h
e, ji
m, č
e
šin
, sin
, ye,
be,
lām
, alif
, te,
nu
n, m
im, k
āf, g
āf, b
acks
lash
zwe,
tw
e, z
e, r
e, z
āl, d
āl, �
e, v
āv, �
e, s
lash
Shif
ted
:
ham
za-a
bo
ve, e
xcla
mat
ion
, th
ou
san
ds,
dec
imal
s, a
fgh
an�y
, per
cen
t, m
ult
iplic
atio
n, g
uill
emet
, gu
illem
et, p
aren
thes
is, p
aren
thes
is, k
ash
ida,
plu
s
suku
n, d
amm
atan
, kas
rata
n, f
ath
atan
, dam
ma,
kas
ra, f
ath
a, s
had
da,
ǰe, c
e, s
qu
are-
bra
cket
, sq
uar
e-b
rack
et
�in
, ��ǰ
ina-
ye, s
axta
-ye,
pe,
ale
f-h
amza
, ā, �
e, �
ūn, g
��d
a-te
, co
lon
, sem
ico
lon
, ast
eris
k
pas
ta-y
e, fe
�li-y
e, ž
e, h
amza
, ZW
NJ,
�āl,
wāw
-ham
za, c
om
ma,
full-
sto
p, q
ues
tio
n
Alt
-Gr:
grav
e, t
ilde,
at,
nu
mb
er, d
olla
r, p
erce
nt,
cir
cum
flex
, am
per
san
d, 5
-sta
r, b
ulle
t, d
egre
e, u
nd
ersc
ore
, div
isio
neu
ro, a
lif-w
asla
, alif
-mak
sura
, LR
M, R
LM, m
add
ah, z
war
akay
, alif
-ab
ove
, ap
ost
rop
he,
qu
ote
, cu
rly-
bra
cket
, cu
rly-
bra
cket
—, —
, urd
u-y
e, n
un
-gh
un
na,
bra
hu
i-lh
ām, a
lif-h
amza
-bel
ow
, urd
u-�
e, le
ss-t
han
, gre
ater
-th
an, a
rab
ic-k
āf, p
ersi
an-g
āf, v
erti
cal-
bar
qu
esti
on
, sem
ico
lon
, —, —
, —, u
rdu
-�āl
, urd
u-�
e, c
om
ma,
uzb
ek-u
, uzb
ek-o
Un
shif
ted
sp
aceb
ar �
SPA
CE
Shif
ted
sp
aceb
ar �
ZE
RO
WID
TH
NO
N-J
OIN
ER
Alt
-Gr
spac
ebar
�N
O-B
RE
AK
SPA
CE
©2003 UNDP • Computer Locale Requirements for Afghanistan • 18
Computer Locale Requirements for Afghanistan
Unshifted Shifted AltGrTLDE 200D 0654 0060E01 06F1 0021 007EE02 06F2 066C 0040E03 06F3 066B 0023E04 06F4 AFGHANI 0024E05 06F5 066A 0025E06 06F6 00D7 005EE07 06F7 00BB 0026E08 06F8 00AB 066DE09 06F9 0029 2022E10 06F0 0028 00B0E11 002D 0640 005FE12 003D 002B 00F7D01 0636 0652 20ACD02 0635 064C 0671D03 062B 064D 0649D04 0642 064B 200ED05 0641 064F 200FD06 063A 0650 0653D07 0639 064E ZWARAKAYD08 0647 0651 0670D09 062E 0681 0027D10 062D 0685 0022D11 062C 005D 007DD12 0686 005B 007BC01 0634 069A <FREE>C02 0633 06CD <FREE>C03 06CC 064A 06D2C04 0628 067E 06BAC05 0644 0623 06B7C06 0627 0622 0625C07 062A 067C 0679C08 0646 06BC 003EC09 0645 0629 003CC10 06A9 003A 0643C11 06AB 061B 06AFB01 0638 0626 003FB02 0637 06D0 003BB03 0632 0698 <FREE>B04 0631 0621 <FREE>B05 0630 200C <FREE>B06 062F 0689 0688B07 0693 0624 0691B08 0648 060C 002CB09 0696 002E 06C7B10 002F 061F 06C9BKSL 005C 002A 007CSPCE 0020 200C 00A0
Keyboard layouts for Afghanistan
Key assignments for Pashto, using ISO/IEC 9995 notation:
©2003 UNDP • Computer Locale Requirements for Afghanistan • 19
Computer Locale Requirements for AfghanistanD
ari k
eyb
oar
d la
you
t fo
r A
fgh
anis
tan
by M
icha
el E
vers
on &
Roo
zbeh
Pou
rnad
er
shif
ta
ltg
rsh
ift
pla
ina
ltg
r
`
÷ ZW
J`
1
! ١~
2
/ ٢@
3
/ ٣#
4
q ^$
5
٪ _%
6
× `^
7
، ٧&
8
* ٨�
9
( ٩•
0
) ٠°
-
� -_
=
+ =de
lete
tab
Q
d >€
W
g :�
E
f �{
R
e VL
R MT
c RR
LM
Y
b Nl
U
a Ji
I
h pO
[ �'
P
] �"
[
{ ��
]
} ��
retu
rn
caps
lock
A
n 6�
S
� 27
D
| v5
F
� G
^+
H
� �J
t ��
K
« f/
L
» bj
;
: !;
'
؛ '#
\
| \?
Z
\ F3
X
j B�
C
� 0�
V.�
B
ZW NJ ,�
N
k *�
M
� ��
,
< l,
.
> .�
/
� /�
shift
shift
Gu
ide
to t
he
key
assi
gnm
ents
, rea
din
g to
p-d
ow
n a
nd
left
-rig
ht
Un
shif
ted
:Z
WJ,
on
e, t
wo
, th
ree,
fou
r, fi
ve, s
ix, s
even
, eig
ht,
nin
e, z
ero
, hyp
hen
, eq
ual
s
zād
, sād
, se,
qāf
, fe,
qay
n, a
yn, h
e, x
e, h
e, ji
m, č
e
šin
, sin
, ye,
be,
lām
, ale
f, t
e, n
ūn, m
īm, k
āf, g
āf, b
acks
lash
zā, t
ā, z
e, r
e, z
āl, d
āl, p
e, v
āv, f
ull-
sto
p, s
lash
Shif
ted
:d
ivis
ion
, exc
lam
atio
n, t
ho
usa
nd
s, d
ecim
als,
afg
han
i, p
erce
nt,
mu
ltip
licat
ion
, co
mm
a, a
ster
isk,
par
enth
esis
, par
enth
esis
, kas
hid
a, p
lus
suku
n, d
amm
atan
, kas
rata
n, f
ath
atan
, dam
ma,
kas
ra, f
ath
a, s
had
da,
sq
uar
e-b
rack
et, s
qu
are-
bra
cket
, cu
rly-
bra
cket
, cu
rly-
bra
cket
vāv-
ham
za, y
e-h
amza
, sax
ta-y
e, a
lef-
ham
za-b
elo
w, a
lef-
ham
za, ā
, te-
ye-g
erd
, gu
illem
et, g
uill
emet
, co
lon
, sem
ico
lon
, ver
tica
l-b
ar
arab
ic-k
āf, a
lef-
abo
ve, ž
e, —
, ZW
NJ,
ham
za-a
bo
ve, h
amza
, les
s-th
an, g
reat
er-t
han
, qu
esti
on
Alt
-Gr:
grav
e, t
ilde,
at,
nu
mb
er, d
olla
r, p
erce
nt,
cir
cum
flex
, am
per
san
d, 5
-sta
r, b
ulle
t, d
egre
e, u
nd
ersc
ore
, —
euro
, ale
f-w
asla
, ale
f-e-
maq
sura
, LR
M, R
LM, m
add
ah, z
war
akay
, —, a
po
stro
ph
e, q
uo
te, p
ash
to-ǰ
e, p
ash
to-c
e
pas
hto
-�in
, ��ǰ
ina-
ye, p
asta
-ye,
—, b
rah
ui-
lhām
, —, p
ash
to-�
e, p
ash
to-�
ūn, n
ūn-g
hu
nn
a, s
emic
olo
n, p
ash
to-g
āf, q
ues
tio
n
urd
u-y
e, u
rdu
-�e,
pas
hto
-�e,
pas
hto
-�e,
urd
u-�
āl, p
ash
to-�
āl, u
rdu
-�e,
co
mm
a, u
zbek
-u, u
zbek
-o
Un
shif
ted
sp
aceb
ar �
SPA
CE
Shif
ted
sp
aceb
ar �
ZE
RO
WID
TH
NO
N-J
OIN
ER
Alt
-Gr
spac
ebar
�N
O-B
RE
AK
SPA
CE
Unshifted Shifted AltGrTLDE 200D 00F7 0060E01 06F1 0021 007EE02 06F2 066C 0040E03 06F3 066B 0023E04 06F4 AFGHANI 0024E05 06F5 066A 0025E06 06F6 00D7 005EE07 06F7 060C 0026E08 06F8 002A 066DE09 06F9 0029 2022E10 06F0 0028 00B0E11 002D 0640 005FE12 003D 002B <FREE>D01 0636 0652 20ACD02 0635 064C 0671D03 062B 064D 0649D04 0642 064B 200ED05 0641 064F 200FD06 063A 0650 0653D07 0639 064E ZWARAKAYD08 0647 0651 <FREE>D09 062E 005D 0027D10 062D 005B 0022D11 062C 007D 0681D12 0686 007B 0685C01 0634 0624 069AC02 0633 0626 06CDC03 06CC 064A 06D0C04 0628 0625 <FREE>C05 0644 0623 06B7C06 0627 0622 <FREE>C07 062A 0629 067CC08 0646 00BB 06BCC09 0645 00AB 06BAC10 06A9 003A 003BC11 06AF 061B 06ABB01 0638 0643 06D2B02 0637 0670 0691B03 0632 0698 0696B04 0631 <FREE> 0693B05 0630 200C 0688B06 062F 0654 0689B07 067E 0621 0679B08 0648 003E 002CB09 002E 003C 06C7B10 002F 061F 06C9BKSL 005C 007C 003FSPCE 0020 200C 00A0
©2003 UNDP • Computer Locale Requirements for Afghanistan • 20
Computer Locale Requirements for Afghanistan
Keyboard layouts for Afghanistan
Key assignments for Dari, using ISO/IEC 9995 notation:
©2003 UNDP • Computer Locale Requirements for Afghanistan • 21
Computer Locale Requirements for AfghanistanS
ou
ther
n U
zbek
key
bo
ard
layo
ut
for
Afg
han
ista
nby
Mic
hael
Eve
rson
& R
oozb
eh P
ourn
ader
shif
ta
ltg
rsh
ift
pla
ina
ltg
r
`
÷ ZW
J`
1
! ١~
2
/ ٢@
3
/ ٣#
4
q ^$
5
٪ _%
6
× `^
7
، ٧&
8
* ٨�
9
( ٩•
0
) ٠°
-
� -_
=
+ =de
lete
tab
Q
d >€
W
g :�
E
f �{
R
e VL
R MT
c RR
LM
Y
b Nl
U
a Ji
I
h pj
O
[ �'
P
] �"
[
{ ��
]
} ��
retu
rn
caps
lock
A
n 6�
S
� 27
D
| v\
F
5 G
H
� �J
t ��
K
« f/
L
» bj
;
: !;
'
؛ '#
\
| \?
Z
� F3
X
� B�
C
� 0�
V
� .�
B
ZW NJ ,�
N
k *�
M
� ��
,
< l,
.
> ./
� /sh
iftsh
ift
Gu
ide
to t
he
key
assi
gnm
ents
, rea
din
g to
p-d
ow
n a
nd
left
-rig
ht
Un
shif
ted
:Z
WJ,
on
e, t
wo
, th
ree,
fou
r, fi
ve, s
ix, s
even
, eig
ht,
nin
e, z
ero
, hyp
hen
, eq
ual
szw
ad, s
wad
, seh
, qaf
, feh
, gh
ain
, ’ai
n, h
eh, k
heh
, heh
, jee
m, c
heh
shin
, sin
, yih
, beh
, lam
, ale
f, t
eh, n
uu
n, m
eem
, kaf
, gaf
, bac
ksla
shzu
y, t
uy,
zeh
, reh
, zal
, dal
, peh
, waw
, fu
ll-st
op
, sla
sh
Shif
ted
:d
ivis
ion
, exc
lam
atio
n, t
ho
usa
nd
s, d
ecim
als,
afg
han
i, p
erce
nt,
mu
ltip
licat
ion
, co
mm
a, a
ster
isk,
par
enth
esis
, par
enth
esis
, kas
hid
a, p
lus
suku
n, d
amm
atan
, kas
rata
n, f
ath
atan
, dam
ma,
kas
ra, f
ath
a, s
had
da,
sq
uar
e-b
rack
et, s
qu
are-
bra
cket
, cu
rly-
bra
cket
, cu
rly-
bra
cket
waw
-ham
za, y
ih-h
amza
, yee
h, y
eh, a
lef-
ham
za, a
lef-
mad
ha,
teh
mar
bu
ta, g
uill
emet
, gu
illem
et, c
olo
n, s
emic
olo
n, v
erti
cal-
bar
o’,
u, z
heh
, ale
f-h
amza
-bel
ow
, ZW
NJ,
ham
za-a
bo
ve, h
amza
, les
s-th
an, g
reat
er-t
han
, qu
esti
on
Alt
-Gr:
grav
e, t
ilde,
at,
nu
mb
er, d
olla
r, p
erce
nt,
cir
cum
flex
, am
per
san
d, 5
-sta
r, b
ulle
t, d
egre
e, u
nd
ersc
ore
, —
euro
, ale
f-w
asla
, ale
f-m
aksu
ra, L
RM
, RLM
, mad
dah
, zw
arak
ay, —
, ap
ost
rop
he,
qu
ote
, pas
hto
-ǰeh
, pas
hto
-ceh
pas
hto
-�in
, ��ǰ
ina-
yih
, ara
bic
-kaf
, —, b
rah
ui-
lham
, —, p
ash
to-�
eh, p
ash
to-�
uun
, nu
un
-gh
un
na,
sem
ico
lon
, pas
hto
-gaf
, qu
esti
on
urd
u-y
ih, u
rdu
-�eh
, pas
hto
-�eh
, pas
hto
-�eh
, urd
u-�
al, p
ash
to-�
al, u
rdu
-�eh
, co
mm
a, —
, —
Un
shif
ted
sp
aceb
ar �
SPA
CE
Shif
ted
sp
aceb
ar �
ZE
RO
WID
TH
NO
N-J
OIN
ER
Alt
-Gr
spac
ebar
�N
O-B
RE
AK
SPA
CE
^+
Unshifted Shifted AltGrTLDE 200D 00F7 0060E01 06F1 0021 007EE02 06F2 066C 0040E03 06F3 066B 0023E04 06F4 AFGHANI 0024E05 06F5 066A 0025E06 06F6 00D7 005EE07 06F7 060C 0026E08 06F8 002A 066DE09 06F9 0029 2022E10 06F0 0028 00B0E11 002D 0640 005FE12 003D 002B <FREE>D01 0636 0652 20ACD02 0635 064C 0671D03 062B 064D 0649D04 0642 064B 200ED05 0641 064F 200FD06 063A 0650 0653D07 0639 064E ZWARAKAYD08 0647 0651 0670D09 062E 005D 0027D10 062D 005B 0022D11 062C 007D 0681D12 0686 007B 0685C01 0634 0624 069AC02 0633 0626 06CDC03 06CC 064A 0643C04 0628 06D0 <FREE>C05 0644 0623 06B7C06 0627 0622 <FREE>C07 062A 0629 067CC08 0646 00BB 06BCC09 0645 00AB 06BAC10 06A9 003A 003BC11 06AF 061B 06ABB01 0638 06C9 06D2B02 0637 06C7 0691B03 0632 0698 0696B04 0631 0625 0693B05 0630 200C 0688B06 062F 0654 0689B07 067E 0621 0679B08 0648 003E 002CB09 002E 003C <FREE>B10 002F 061F <FREE>BKSL 005C 007C 003FSPCE 0020 200C 00A0
©2003 UNDP • Computer Locale Requirements for Afghanistan • 22
Computer Locale Requirements for Afghanistan
Keyboard layouts for Afghanistan
Key assignments for Southern Uzbek, using ISO/IEC 9995 notation:
The official calendar of Afghanistan
The official calendar of Afghanistan is the solar Islamic calendar (also known as thePersian calendar or the hejrı-e samsı calendar). This calendar counts up from the year ofthe Hegira of Muhammad. The Gregorian calendar is used in international activities oroccasions, and the Lunar Islamic calendar (also known as hejrı-e qamarı ) is used forreligious ceremonies and some of the holidays.
The Persian calendar of Afghanistan, although very similiar to the Persian calendar ofIran, differs in the algorithm it uses to calculate leap years, which may lead to a one-daydifference for some years. There are plans to synchronize these calendars, but thepresent report only describes the current calendar of Afghanistan. The Persian calendarhas 12 months, consisting of 29 to 31 days. The names of the months in Dari and Pashto,together with the number of the days in each month, is given below. Other languages ofAfghanistan usually use the Dari names of the months.
Dari Pashto Days_d& Hamal v.l Wray 31.m Sawr wymQ Ǧwayay 31
�0m# Jawzā wam*/�Q Ǧbargolay 31f�E/5 Saratān ��)h Čungā� 31
+5� Asad v/e0 Zmaray 31q`�h5 Sonbola v�l Wa�ay 31f�1xe Mīzān q`� T�la 30 /XM Aqrab b�a La�am 302mY Qaws 7+hxa Lind�y 30v+# Jady wemQ/e Marǧūmay 30
ma* Dalv qQ�m`5 Salwāǧ� 30�m& Hūt �[ Kab 29 (30 in leap years)
Iranian leap years are computed astronomically, but the Afghan leap years have anarithmetic formula. The formula is for synchronizing with the Gregorian calendar, and israther simple in that regard: the Persian year x is a leap year if and only if the Gregorianyear x + 621 is a leap year. For example, the Persian year 1383 will be a leap year in theAfghan Persian calendar, since the Gregorian year 2004 will be a leap year. For the sakeof conversion between Gregorian dates and Persian years, one can use the followingdate for a reference point: 1 Hamal 1382 = 21 March 2003.
The Lunar Islamic calendar used in Afghanistan is a civil Lunar Islamic calendar, basedon pre-computation of the months. The number of the days of the months are 29 and 30days alternatively. Leap years occur every two or three years, and make the monthDhu l-Qa’da a day longer. The exact algorithm used for leap years is reported to becomplicated and was not made available to us. It is worth mentioning that because ofthe importance of Islamic months Ramadan and Shawwal in Muslim fasting and otherceremonies, the starting day of these two months is as observed by religious orgovernmental authorities rather than pre-computed. There have been (and will be)frequent cases of one day difference between the pre-computed calendar and theobserved one. This difference is usually adjusted at the end of Shawwal, and the pre-computed calendar is used from the next month.
©2003 UNDP • Computer Locale Requirements for Afghanistan • 23
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Acknowledgements
This report could not have been produced without the kind and expert assistance of a great many people.Our heartfelt thanks are especially given to Habibullah Rafi and to Said Marjan Zazai, who shared theirexpertise with great kindness and patience. We apologize to any person whose name we have inadvertantlyomitted here. – ME & RP
©2003 UNDP • Computer Locale Requirements for Afghanistan • 24
Computer Locale Requirements for Afghanistan
Muhammad Afzal, University of Arid Agriculture,Rawalpindi
Nurollah Altay, Institute of Uzbek and TurkmenLanguages and Literature, Kabul
Muhammad Assam, Ministry of Communications,Kabul
Christian Cooke, fishamble.net, DublinNoorullah Delawari, Ministry of Finance, KabulRahim Ebrahim, Institute of Uzbek and Turkmen
Languages and Literature, KabulAbbas Edalat, Science and Arts Foundation,
LondonJoseph Elfenbein, Ancient India and Iran Trust,
CambridgeBehdad Esfahbod, FarsiWeb Project, TehranAsmus Freytag, Asmus, Inc., SeattleRoman Gehring, SIL InternationalJost Gippert, TITUS project, FrankfurtBob Hallissy, SIL International, Horsleys Green,
EnglandJavid Hamdard, Ministry of Finance, KabulHoria Samira Hamidi, UNDP Afghanistan, KabulFazl Ahmad Hedayat, Head Office of Geodesy and
Cartography, KabulSarmad Hussain, Foundation for Advancement of
Science and Technology, LahoreShirzad Kamawal, shirzad.de, BerlinJonathan Kew, SIL International, Horsleys Green,
EnglandRaj Wali Shah Khattak, Pushto Academy,
University of PeshawarGhutay Khawre, Afghanistan Academy of Sciences,
KabulAlireza Kheirkhahan, FarsiWeb Project, TehranMohammad Alem Kuhkan, Radio Liberty, KabulSayyed Mohammad Alem Labib, Institute of
Uzbek and Turkmen Languages and Literature,Kabul
Marc Lepage, UNDP Afghanistan, KabulN. R. Liwal, Liwal Services, KabulAbdur Rauf Mahsood, Khpala Pashto, PeshawarNasrollah Shubman Mangol, Afghanistan
Academy of Sciences, KabulMuhammad Aimal Marjan, Ministry of
Communications, KabulRon Meyer-Hagen, SIL InternationalYari Ata Mohammad, UNDP Afghanistan, KabulErcan Murat, UNDP Afghanistan, KabulMohammad Tamim Noori, Afghanistan Assistance
Coordination Authority, KabulMohammad Amin Oriya, UNDP Afghanistan, KabulKnut Ostby, UNDP Afghanistan, KabulAh. Farhad Popal, Ministry of Finance, Kabul
Habibullah Rafi, Kelid Magazine, KabulElnaz Sarbar, FarsiWeb Project, TehranJames Seng, Infocomm Development Authority,
SingaporeMohammad Sepehry Rad, High Council of Infor-
matics of Iran, TehranNazar Ahmad Shah, UNDP Afghanistan, KabulMr Shams, Department of Linguistics, University of
KabulNicholas Sims-Williams, School of Oriental and
African Studies, LondonMasoum Stanekzai, Ministry of Communications,
KabulYahya Tabesh, Sharif University of Technology,
TehranMassoumeh Torfeh, Afghanistan Assistance
Coordination Authority, KabulMohammad Ya’ghub Vahedi, Institute of Uzbek
and Turkmen Languages and Literature, KabulHaron Wardak, hewad.com, GöteborgKen Whistler, Sybase, Dublin, CaliforniaCathy Wissink, Microsoft, RedmondIsmail Yoon, University of KabulGhulam Rasoul Yosoufzai, Ministry of Information
and Culture, KabulMahmood Zahir, UNDP Afghanistan, KabulAbdul Zahir Gulistani, Ministry of Education,
KabulSaid Marjan Zazai, Afghanistan Assistance
Coordination Authority, Kabul
We are also grateful to the staff of the followingorganizations:
Afghanistan Academy of Sciences, KabulAfghan National Bank, KabulCentre for Dari Langauge and Literature, University
of KabulDa Afghanistan Bank, KabulDepartment of Literature and Linguistics,
University of KabulDepartment of Turkmen and Uzbek Language and
Literature, School of Literature and HumanSciences, Balkh University
Institute of Uzbek and Turkmen Languages & Liter-ature, Afghanistan Academy of Sciences, Kabul
Ministry of Communication, KabulMinistry of Education, KabulMinistry of Finance, KabulMinistry of Foreign Affairs, KabulMinistry of Information and Culture, KabulOffice for Public Libraries, KabulUNDP Afghanistan, Kabul