rom_ar_intro.php

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<p>
This section provides tools to convert Swahili text in Roman script into Arabic script.
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<p>
Please note that it is a good idea to check any output given here before re-using it in other contexts.  <strong>Andika!</strong> is a work in progress, and improvements can still be made.
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<h6>General notes</h6>
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The default is to show <em>sakani</em> (<em>sukun</em>) on a consonant where it does not have an accompanying vowel (eg kwa, kuboreshwa, sayansi).  This can be changed by ticking <em>Do not show sakani (sukun) on consonants</em> - then no <em>sakani</em> will be shown. 
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<li>
The default is to show numerals in Western-Arabic form (1234567890).  This can be changed by ticking <em>Convert numerals to Arabic-Indic forms</em> - then numerals will be shown as <span class="sm_swahili">١٢٣٤٥٦٧٨٩٠</span>. 
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Some writers use <em>sakani</em> on <span class="sm_swahili">و</span> and <span class="sm_swahili">ي</span> when used as long vowels in the penultimate syllable.  The default is not to show this, but this can be changed by ticking <em>Show sakani (sukun) on و and ي as long vowels</em>
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<strong>Andika!</strong> is not a translator - non-Swahili words are simply transliterated letter-for-letter from Roman script into Arabic script.  English <strong>c</strong> is transliterated as <span class="sm_swahili">ڮ</span>, and <strong>x</strong> as <span class="sm_swahili">كْس</span>.  Examples: <em>Shrewsbury</em> <span class="sm_swahili">شْرٖوسبُري</span>, <em>Creative Commons License</em> <span class="sm_swahili">ڮرٖئَتِيڤٖ ڮٗممٗنْس لِڮٖنْسٖ</span>.  A <em>sakani</em> (<em>sukun</em>) is used where it would occur in Swahili (depending on the settings above), but is not applied elsewhere.
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<li>
<strong>Andika!</strong> is not a spelling or punctuation corrector - any errors in the text entered will be carried over into the transliteration.
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The conversion may contain lines with out-of-sequence words if the source contains a mixture of Swahili and another language with letters that do not occur in the standard Swahili Roman orthography (the Swahili will be converted to RTL Arabic script, but the non-Swahili letters will be passed through as LTR Roman script).  The transliteration equivalents chosen here mean that line continuity is not a problem where the "other language" is English. However, be aware that problems may occur if the "other language" is French, German, or something else.
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