Word processor for Gikuyu language with spell check

Abstract

The use of computers in the home and workplace has soared over the last decade. While software applications have been developed for the most widely used languages of the world, many of the minority languages have been overlooked. Gikuyu is one such language. Localized versions of the widely used software applications are required to prevent these languages from being left behind in the age of computers and being viewed as backward or computer unfriendly. Bearing this in mind and the fact that document preparation is one of the most commonly used tools on computer, the main aim of this project was to develop a tool that can be used to spell check text written in the Gikuyu language. Due to the unique orthography of the language, this tool was implemented as a feature of a basic word processor. As an extension to the project, the interface of the word processor is also in Gikuyu secondary aim was to develop the application in such a way that it is platform independent and can be used on any system that supports the Unicode character set. A prototype system was developed using the Rapid Application Development technique and the spell checking component operates at the user's request, checking an entire document at once, notifying the user when an error is encountered. The dependent spell checking method using a dictionary-look-up program is the applied approach and it uses the Levenshtein distance algorithm to generate suggestions for replacement. The developed system is a fairly robust basic word processor, providing most of the functionality found in other word processors commonly in use. Based on tests carried out, the accuracy of the spellchecker was calculated to be 67.4%. While the provided wordlistldictionary comprising over 13,000 unique words may not have all words currently used in Gikuyu, it is presented in such a way that users of the system can add to it, enabling its growth and a more accurate documentation of the language. The inclusion of shortcut keys to enable the typing of characters used in the language but not found on the standard keyboard reduces the number of spelling errors committed by users typing in Gikuyu, making text easier to read and understand. Additionally, the development of this system has also provided viable suggestions for phrases and terms that may be used in localizing software to this language.