"Very excited!" Purbu Zhaxi, a young man living in Tibet autonomous region said when he successfully sent an SMS in Tibetan via mobile phone to his close friends far away.
"I wouldn't dream of sending a short message in my mother language," he said. But now, a Tibetan language processing system for mobile phone help his dream come true.
Jointly developed by Tibet University, Tibet TeleCom and Shenzhen Runhui Technology Company, the system can offer mobile phone an input-and-output interface in Tibetan.
The research on wireless communication system in Tibetan language started in November 2003 by Tibet University and its partners. After a series of technological conundrums were tackled, the processing system came into being in August this year, Xinhua news agency reported.
"This kind of short messages can be easily sent even for those Tibetan with basic literacy," Professor Nyima Zhaxi, of the Modern Education Technology Centre under Tibet University, said.
"Joining traditional Tibetan language and modern communication tools can play an important role in carrying forward traditional Tibetan cultures," Nyima said.
According to the general manager of Tibet TeleCom, Li Xiaohua, the system can be used in 220,000 registered Haoyitong mobile phones, scattered in over 1,000 villages of 72 counties in the Tibet autonomous region.
