CreoleScan

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About CreoleScan | CreoleScan Text Samples | About The Creole Clearinghouse | Contact Information

About CreoleScan

CreoleScan, an optical character recognition (OCR) solution for accurately capturing the image of a paper document print-published in Haitian Creole and converting it to a text-based file in order for it to be used within any wordprocessing software program (see text sample links below), was developed in 1991 by Marilyn Mason, who has been working since 1976 toward the goal of simplifying the task of working with Haitian Creole texts. Having spent much of her career dealing with issues surrounding Haitian Creole document production, she yearned for the day when productivity tools would lighten the load of everyday typesetters and publishing staff. Instead of just yearning and waiting, however, she stepped into the void and began systematically developing such tools and publishing solutions.

CreoleScan has proven to be a productivity booster tool for those who wish to update and republish older Haitian Creole documents which have never before existed in digital or electronic format. This is because it was envisioned, created, tested, and validated with the end-user in mind. It is a practical software tool which satisfies the real needs of end-users for varying real-language contexts.

Because of lack of funding to prepare CreoleScan for sale on the open market, Marilyn Mason now uses CreoleScan for the provision of services to clients of The Creole Clearinghouse.

CreoleScan Text Samples*

*From a hybrid (somewhere between Pressoir-Faublas and IPN) orthography - Boukan circa 1977 - scanned to Microsoft Word via CreoleScan and then converted via CreoleConvert to Early IPN, IPN Libète, and IPN Dejean targets. Permission was granted by Pauris Jn-Baptiste (the author) to Marilyn Mason to reproduce these research results. More text samples available here.

As Founder, President & Chief Operating Officer of Mason Integrated Technologies (MIT2) from 1996-2002, many doors were opened to Marilyn Mason to advocate on behalf of the technological support of Creole languages at the highest levels of governmental and non-governmental agencies, industry, language technology conferences and academia. Creole advocacy, team building, and networking are the lasting legacies of MIT2.

Building upon this past experience, The Creole Clearinghouse (TCC) will, in collaboration
with a network of Creole specialists with whom Marilyn has established a basis of mutual
trust, make use of tools Marilyn created before the birth of MIT2 to improve the consistency
and excellence of materials translated and produced in Creole.

Marilyn P. Mason
The Creole Clearinghouse
P.O. Box 181015
Boston, Massachusetts 02118 U.S.A.

Tel: (+1) 617-247-8885
E-mail: MariLinc@aol.com