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Pango is open source software that aims to support all languages by creating a framework for rendering international text characters electronically. It does not translate text but provides a basis for viewing it. Pango hopes to help speakers of underrepresented languages by creating software that can reproduce almost any language in the world electronically. As open source software, Pango does not depend on profit to continue its mission.
Pango is open source software that seeks to create a software framework so that international text characters can be rendered electronically. While most English speakers may not realize this, many languages are not or underrepresented on the Internet and in other software applications. Mostly, this is due to software applications not supporting fonts in those languages.
Pango is a combination of two different words which naturally, given the mission of the software, come from two different languages. Pan is a Greek word meaning “all” and go is a Japanese word meaning “tongues”. In fact, this is what Pango hopes to support: all languages.
Pango hopes to help speakers of underrepresented languages by creating software that can reproduce almost any language in the world electronically. The job isn’t easy. Many languages have their own set of quirks that need to be taken into consideration. The code must be written in such a way as not to exclude any languages, or at least exclude as few as possible.
It should be noted that Pango does not translate text from one language to another. It simply provides a basis for which text can be viewed electronically. In a sense, Pango can be compared to a billboard. It serves as a means through which text and graphics can be displayed. However, someone still has to come and apply the text and graphics to the billboard to convey a message.
As open source software, Pango doesn’t depend on a profit to continue its mission. If so, it may never have been created. This is because there may never be enough demand for the software to make a profit.
For example, if a software program is created for an English-speaking audience, it has the potential to be purchased and used by hundreds of millions of people. In fact, the number of English speakers, native or non-native, is estimated to be between 500 million and over 1 billion, depending on a number of different factors, such as how literacy is measured. This represents a significant potential market for software applications. The bigger the market, the better the chances of getting a good return on an investment.
However, a language that can only be spoken by 10,000 to 20,000 people represents a very small market from which software companies will likely never see a profit. Therefore, these languages are ignored. Pango tries to change that by making all kinds of applications available in those languages.
