Abstract
Abstract This paper summarizes the results of an extensive test of Tesseract 4.0, an open-source Optical Character Recognition (OCR) engine with Syriac capabilities, and ascertains the current state of Syriac OCR technology. Three popular print types (S14, W64, and E22) representing the Syriac type styles Estrangela, Serto, and East Syriac were OCRed using Tesseract’s two different OCR modes (Syriac Language and Syriac Script). Handwritten manuscripts were also preliminarily tested for OCR. The tests confirm that Tesseract 4.0 may be relied upon for printed Estrangela texts but should be used with caution and human revision for Serto and East Syriac printed texts. Consonantal accuracy lies around 99% for Estrangela, between 89% and 94% for Serto, and around 89% for East Syriac. Scholars may use Tesseract to OCR Estrangela texts with a high degree of confidence, but further training of the engine will be required before Serto and East Syriac texts can be smoothly OCRed. In all type styles, human revision of the OCRed text is recommended when scholars desire an exact, error-free corpus.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
