YEREVAN. - Armenian and other non-Latin character domain names may be represented fully in Unicode sometime in the future, Mr Dusan Stojicevic, Chair of the Board of governors at the Serbian National Internet domain registry, told Armenian News - NEWS.am at the Armenian Internet Governance Forum (ArmIGF) in Yerevan.
Serbian registry issues domain names both in Latin and Cyrillic alphabets (.rs, .срб domains).
Unicode, which employs character encoding of multiple writing systems, needs to be translated to Ascii system via Python Code. To skip this, Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has set a priority for a direct Unicode usage.
“Of course it takes a lot of time and a bundle of software to be installed on the provider side and then on the client side. This is a long way to go, but there are no insolvable problems. If Unicode works for Latin alphabet, than why shouldn’t it with non-Latin alphabets?” Stojicevic said.
“Of course, Microsoft, Apple and others have already translated much of their software into other languages and alphabets. This has brought up the ranks of users. Now the case is for domain names in authentic alphabets. Those names will be based on new character sets in the Ascii code. This is a step forward,” he added.
From September 1, the Internet Society of Armenia (ISOC), which represents ICANN, has opened a registration of domain names in Armenian characters. Serbia has 4 years of experience in running Cyrillic domain names. Demand for them has not been very high, but this must not discourage.
“After all, not many people around listen to opera. But they know this is part of culture, and this is important. Likewise, we should use our national Cyrillic writing system, as well as domain names, to preserve the culture, language, and the national identity of the Serb people. This does not mean we must discard Latin alphabet, because this is also part of our history. And a lot depends on a clear state policy on how and when it’s obligatory to use Cyrillic,” he concluded.
