The Arab world has one of the highest internet usage growth rates. Yet, access to and development of Arabic content has been difficult, mainly because of the complexity of typing Arabic. Although Arabic keyboards are available, the vast majority of Arabic-speaking Internet users are accustomed to an English keyboard. Users often resort to spelling Arabic words out phonetically using English characters, a process known as transliteration. Yamli allows users to convert these English characters into Arabic words. Yamli's patent-pending solution converts the user's input into Arabic as he or she types. To maximize usability, Yamli accepts a variety of phonetic spellings and generates a list of suggested matches. Over time, Yamli will recognize popular patterns of spelling and word selection, increasing its accuracy.
“Using Yamli is very easy. Simply spell out each Arabic word the way you would pronounce it, and Yamli will convert it to the corresponding Arabic word using its patent pending technology.”
Many Arabic speakers do not have access to an Arabic keyboard. Those who do are often not proficient in using one. In fact, people often resort to transliteration. Yamli leverages this widespread technique to allow people to easily convert such text back to Arabic characters.
Do people agree with this kind of writing? Will they get used to it?
