Describing text or a linguistic element that is not written using the Roman alphabet, also known as the Latin alphabet. This term encompasses writing systems employed by a vast array of languages across the globe, including Cyrillic, Arabic, Hebrew, Greek, Chinese (Han characters), Japanese (Kana and Kanji), Korean (Hangul), and many more. It implies the use of a script other than the standardized set of characters prevalent in Western European languages, reflecting a divergence in orthography and often necessitating transliteration or transcription for cross-linguistic communication or accessibility. non-romanized materials can present challenges for individuals unfamiliar with the specific script, requiring specialized tools or knowledge for comprehension and processing. This term is therefore a broad descriptor highlighting the script used in writing, not the content.
Non-romanized meaning with examples
- The library's collection included a significant number of ancient texts written in non-romanized scripts, primarily Greek and Cyrillic, requiring specialized librarians to catalogue and preserve them. Translation software was used to decipher many of the texts as little was known of the content within them. Scholars who could read both the Greek and Cyrillic versions were consulted. It proved to be a great project and learning curve for all involved.
- Navigating through Japanese websites can be tricky for those unfamiliar with non-romanized characters. Even with the language set to English in their browsers it sometimes reverts to the original non-romanized formatting. Users need to rely on translation tools or online dictionaries to understand the content presented, as they may not possess the familiarity to know when the browser does this.
- Researchers studying historical documents often encounter non-romanized manuscripts. In order to analyze the content and perform cross-linguistic comparisons they needed to be transcribed into a romanized format. The process required extensive knowledge of the original scripts, transliteration standards, and the languages involved. Sometimes the results were incorrect.
- The government's database contained information about various cultural artifacts, including non-romanized inscriptions on ancient pottery shards. The original information could be lost at any point and so it needed to be digitized and backed up. Scholars were brought in to translate them to give the database more content. The process of digitizing the artifacts was very slow.
- In a globalized world, the ability to process and interpret non-romanized text is becoming increasingly valuable. A common tool is machine translation. Companies that develop translation software often incorporate support for a wide variety of scripts to facilitate communication and data access across language barriers. This is how many people now browse the internet.