Attash Durrani
Dr. Attash Durrani (Urdu: عطش درانی), T.I.,(b. Jan.22, 1952) is a Linguist, Scholar, Terminologist, Translatologist, Educationist, Theorist, Language/ Knowledge Manager/ Engineer, and Pakistani Author. He is Chairman of INKSOFT Inc., Islamabad, Pakistan, (Pakistan's first and only Software Localization Company) for the Localization for Urdu, Pakistani, Persian, Dari and Arabic languages. [1]. He is also serving as Director Multimedia ( Urdu Medium ) E course-ware and Informatics, Allama Iqbal Open University, Islamabad, Pakistan.
He has also served as Project Director, Center of Excellence for Urdu Informatics, National Language Authority, Pakistan.[2] He is author of more than 150 books , 300 papers and 100 teaching units in English and Urdu.[2]
His publications are in the fields of Urdu Language and Literature, Linguistics, Education, Literacy, Urdu Informatics,e-Learning, Research, Dictionaries[3] and Terminologies, Bibliographies and Encyclopedias, Iqbal Studies, Pakistan Studies, History, History and Philosophy of Science, Library and Information Science, Media and Communication, Language Planning/ Knowledge Management/Engineering, etc. He has been listed in INTERNATIONAL WHO'S WHO in Translation and Terminology (1995), published by: Union Latine; Infoterm; INTERNATIONAL Where + How; and Praetorius;and he is also listed in the LINGUIST List. His credentials as an Expert in Multilingualism are mentioned in International Directory of Multilingualism, Union Latine, Paris (2007).[4] A thesis of M.Phil. level is written by Mussarat Khan Zahidi on the contributions of Dr. Attash Durrani ,in the Department of Urdu, University of Peshawar in 2007.[5]. Another Study of M.Phil. (Urdu) is being conducted by Khalid Mehmood in theUniversity of Sargodha on the linguistic contributions of Dr. Attash Durrani in 2011. [6].
Dr. Attash Durrani did his Ph.D. in Urdu Terminology in 1991 from the University Oriental College, University of the Punjab, Lahore. His major contributions include development of Research and Localization Style guides, Curricula, Glossaries and other standard tools, Urdu Code Plate and Keyboard, Urdu Informatics Linguistic Aspects,[7] Localization and Transliteration for Computers, MT formula and Ghost Characters Theory. He is also known as Localization Guru of Pakistan.[8] This is also highlighted in Weekly "Technology Times ",Islamabad.[9] He is a Curriculum Specialist for Urdu, Literacy and Urdu Informatics for UNESCO, Islamabad, Pakistan and Curriculum Wing, Ministry of Education,and Higher Education Commission (HEC), Pakistan. [10]
He also earned Certifications in Statistics, Journalism,Project Management and Research Methodology courses offered by the University of the Punjab, Institute of Education and Research, Lahore; Pakistan Planning and Management Institute(PPMI), Islamabad, University of Bradford (United Kingdom);COMSATS Institute of Information Technology (university), Islamabad, Pakistan; Project Management Institute (PMI) (USA); and National University of Science and Technology (NUST), Islamabad, Pakistan . He supervised a number of M.Phil, M.S., PhD. students on Urdu, Punjabi, Iqbaliat, Linguistics, Translatology, Informatics,and Computer Science projects/theses.[11].
He was the first in-charge of Microsoft Local Language Program for Urdu Language.[12] He was also Head of Bureau of Translation, Dictionaries Terminologies at the National Language Authority,Pakistan.[13]
His Project of Urdu Informatics revealed an Institute for Urdu Informatics, related with Urdu language research and development for the use on computers.[14] During his early career he was editor of different journals, e.g. "Kitab" ,"Maloomat" ,"Sayyarah Digest" ,"Urdu Nama" ,"Taleem-i-Musalsal" and "Akhbar-i-Urdu".
The President of Pakistan conferred upon him the National Civil Award: "Tamgha-i-Imtiaz" on his contributions in the fields of Literature and Urdu Informatics, on 23rd March, 2011 [15] His Books "Iqbal ka Incyklopadia" and "Pakistani Urdu" received appreciations from various Presidents of Pakistan.[16] He is deriving a hypothesis on Pakistani as a language on e-world , a theory against Hindustani.He is the flag-career linguist of Language Planning, Development,and Policy for Urdu.