MOZHI TRUST A Research Center for Resource Development in Language and Culture
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MOZHI is a public charitable Trust engaged, since 1990, in
developing resources in language and culture. MOZHI was
founded by a group of individuals belonging to disciplines
such as linguistics, language teaching, publishing,
information science etc., pooling their long experience in
respective areas, to develop conceptual and technological
facilities in language teaching and learning and in
understanding culture.
MOZHI's perception of language and culture and its
activities have already won acknowledgement in the form of
support from international organizations like the UNESCO,
the Ford Foundation and of collaboration from the University
of Chicago and national research organizations such as the
Central Institute of Indian Languages, Mysore, the Tamil
University, Thanjavur etc.
MOZHI has successfully established a computer centre with
facilities for compiling dictionaries and in analyzing texts
in Tamil. It recently extended computer support to a major
dictionary project - Dictionary of Contemporary Tamil -
which is the first of its kind in any modern Indian language
and which makes use of the latest developments in
linguistics, lexicography and information technology. This
Dictionary, supported partly by Government of India, also
has been hailed as a major landmark in Tamil in the recent
years and is acknowledged as a valuable tool for any
teacher, learner or user of Tamil.
MOZHI is now engaged in compiling a dictionary of idioms,
phrases and word combinations in modern Tamil. This data-
based dictionary will be the first of its kind in Tamil.
MOZHI has also plans to expand its representative database
in modern Tamil which will be useful for any study in Tamil
relating to grammar, semantics and stylistics.
MOZHI's another important project is developing a spell
checker in Tamil for use on computers. This project very
relevant to the present needs of the Tamil society involves
joint effort of linguistics and computer specialists. MOZHI
has already generated a body of data on the structure of
modern Tamil. In the last few decades there has been so much
change in Tamil that anyone writing in that language needs a
variety of tools of which style manual is one. To fulfill
this need, MOZHI is developing a style manual for
contemporary Tamil. This project is a tripartite one
involving the Central Institute of Indian Languages and the
Tamil University.
A few other projects taking shape at MOZHI are an English-
Tamil dictionary and a hyphenation dictionary for
contemporary Tamil. The basic work in identifying the
conceptual problems in developing these tools is well under
way.
In a major recent development, MOZHI is now engaged in
creating a library for Tamil studies in collaboration with
University of Chicago. This project consists of housing,
cataloguing and microfilming a huge private collection built
over 40 years by late Roja Muthiah of Kottaiyur, near
Karaikkudi. This collection consists of over 1,00,000 items
consisting of books, periodicals and a variety of non-book
materials. For this project University of Chicago has
received grants from U S Department of Education,
National Endowment for Humanities and the Ford Foundation.
Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine, UK, is also
extending collaboration in the area of medicine. This
collection is a rare one covering all major subjects and
will prove a valuable help for scholars in Tamil studies.
MOZHI has been chosen for this project from a panel of
scholarly institutions in Tamilnadu. Roja Muthiah Research
Library which houses the collection, will provide machine
readable catalogue for the collection, archival microfilming
conforming to international standards and facilities for
conservation of paper materials. The first phase of
organizing the collection involving creation of a short
title catalogue is planned to be completed by December 1995.
By January 1996 the Library is expected to start providing
reader services.
The microfilming of the items in the collection has been
recently started and is expected to be spread over a period
of five years. MOZHI proposes to develop, with Roja Muthiah
Library as its core, a network of private collections which
will facilitate proper perspectives on the study of history
and culture of Tamilnadu.
Contact:
Dr P. Sankaralingam,
Director, Roja Muthiah Research Library,
Jayalalitha Nagar, Madras-600 050;
or to
MOZHI,
`Amaravathi' Plot 181, Door No. 9/1, 24th East Street
Thiruvanmiyur, Madras 600 041,
email: rmrl@giasmd01.vsnl.net.in
Telephone: (91)(44)-416445
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