IT Enabled Transliteration, Glossing and Metalanguage Standards for Dravidian languages* Dr. P. Sreekumar, Abstract This paper is proposing an Information Technology enabled transliteration, glossing and metalanguage standers for Dravidian languages. Existing standards used for Dravidian languages is evaluated and a new standards is proposed. 0. Introduction Linguistic studies are much advanced scientific practice today. Linguistic literature is addressing global linguistic community irrespective of the paradigm, language families or the languages in linguists work. In the midst of the most alarmed situation of language endangerment, language linguistic data and other language resources are considered as one of a common good to humanity. Therefore, preservation of linguistic data with maximum linguistic information and presentation of language data and resources for global linguistic community for future are the two central concerns in the current practice of linguistics. Thus, standardization of transliteration 1 , glossing 2 and metalanguage 3 which we follow are prerequisites for the smooth communication and easy access of linguistic literature at global level. There is no global standard is following in the above said important components of linguistic practices even though the existence of few standards proposed by Lehamann (1982:199-224), Sebastian. (2002), Bird Steven & Gary Simons (2003) and Haspelmath and Cormie (2008)etc. Regarding *I am grateful to Prof. Jacob John Kattakayam the Director cum Professor of U.G.C. Academic Staff collage, University of Kerala to provide me an opportunity to attend the 107th IT Orientation programme during 31-10-2009 to 27-11-2009. I am indebted to my teacher Prof. N. Rajendran, Department of Linguistics University of Kerala who trained me in linguistic analysis. I am grateful to Prof. K. V. Subba Rao, Dept. of Linguistics, University of Delhi who introduced me the Leipzing Glossing Rule which I have discussed in this project. 1 Transliteration is generally defined as the representation of written form of a language into any other script other than the script of the source language. This context it is defined as the representation of actual speech form a language into a universally readable script. 2 Glossing is an analytical technique and a way of presentation of linguistic data. In this context glossing is defined as an analytical description and a technique of annotation of linguistic data into different levels of representation with meaning and grammatical category labels.. 3 Metalanguage is generally defined as the language about language. This context it can be defined as the linguistic terms by which the different structural levels of language is glossed.