Microsoft translates software into African languages (fwd)

[Matthew Ward]

McMillan, Carol wrote:

"We often think in terms of English being the only language of
oppression, but we also need to be vigilant about other non-indigenous
languages gaining power as a replacement for English."

This is a good point.  I've often had the experience of reading articles
in the mainstream press about the issue of global language loss,
mentioning areas like China, Indonesia, or Latin America, where the
indigenous languages are threatened by dominant tongues like Mandarin
Chinese, Bahasa Indonesia, Spanish, and Portuguese.  Then, suddenly, the
writer concludes that it's all due to the global dominance of English!

English does have a unique position among the world's languages, and
this creates many legitimate issues (for example, many EU countries are
concerned that English not become the only language of the EU
government), but in large parts of the world, it is not the primary
threat to indigenous languages.  Of course,  in places where English is
the dominant mother tongue, English IS indeed the major threat to other
languages, so when we look at language issues in North America, the
dominance of English is our main concern.  But, minority languages of
mainland Europe like Basque and Romansch, for example, are being
replaced by languages like Spanish, French, and German, not English.
 The minority languages of China and Taiwan are being replaced by
Mandarin Chinese, and not English.  The minority languages of Mexico,
Guatemala, Bolivia, and Peru are being threatened by Spanish, not
English.  (In fact, in Central America, English-based creole languages
are among those threatened by the growing dominance of Spanish).
 Indeed, even in places like Anglophone Africa and India, where English
enjoys official status, minority languages are being replaced by
dominant indigenous languages like Hindi and Hausa, not by English.

Another irony:  the percentage of native speakers of English among the
world's population has been falling since the 1950's, and is projected
to continue to fall for another half century or so, mostly due to
changing demographic patterns worldwide.  Meanwhile, the percentage of
native speakers of languages like Spanish, Portuguese, Hindi, and Arabic
has risen very sharply, due in part to the replacement of indigenous
languages by dominant ones, but more due, again, simply to changing
demographics.

So, the real problem is not English per se, it is the general pattern of
powerful languages replacing less powerful ones.

Having said all that, I must say that it is highly possible for the same
language to be both a language of power and an oppressed language,
depending on the circumstance.  Here in NE New Mexico, Spanish once
played the role of a colonial language which was imposed on the
indigenous people.  However, at this point, it is threatened by English,
the latter which was imposed on Spanish-speaking people who were living
in New Mexico before the English speakers arrived, and indigenous
languages are now being threatened by English, not Spanish.  In Taiwan,
the resurgence of Taiwanese against Mandarin Chinese is a wonderful
example of a local language regaining power and prestige, but it also
makes some of the speakers of minority languages nervous, as they
believe that a resurgent Taiwanese could have the same damaging effect
on their own languages that Mandarin Chinese has had.  In mainland
China, Cantonese is a minority language, albeit a powerful one, while in
Hong Kong, Cantonese is the official language as well as the dominant
native language, and threatens other languages like Hakka.  In South
Africa, English was used as a language of liberation against apartheid,
and Afrikaans was seen as the language of oppression, but now that
apartheid is over, the tables have turned:  Afrikaans has lost power,
and the S. African government is concerned that Afrikaans, along with
other languages of S. Africa (indigenous or otherwise) do not become too
dominated by English.  So, these issues are not always simple.

At any rate, I do share your hope that at least the same amount of
attention is paid to developing technology for truly indigenous S.
African languages as is paid to Afrikaans.






McMillan, Carol wrote:

>I have to note that, of the languages listed in the announcement below, Afrikaans is not an indigenous language.  It is the language of the Afrikaaners, the Dutch-descent European-Africans, the primary supporters of apartheid.
>
>The massacre of the children of Soweto in the 1970's was due to the aparthied government's mandate that all K-12 schools in Soweto would no longer function in English, but in Afrikaans.  Families saw this as the language of aparthied and of the oppresso
rs.  The people of Soweto staged a peaceful protest; children did not attend school on the day that classroom instruction was to be switched from English to Afrikaans.  Instead, they gathered in front of the church to walk through town.  The police opene
d fire on them, killing at least 70 elementary school children and wounding many others.
>
>We often think in terms of English being the only language of oppression, but we also need to be vigilant about other non-indigenous languages gaining power as a replacement for English. I am glad that the software for African language translation has b
een developed.  I hope that it is as thorough a tool for the truly indigenous languages as it will be for Afrikaans.
>
>tac' halaxp,
>Carol McMillan
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Phil CashCash [mailto:cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU]
>Sent: Saturday, September 27, 2003 8:33 PM
>To: ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU
>Subject: Microsoft translates software into African languages (fwd)
>
>
>Microsoft translates software into African languages
>http://www.sundaytimes.co.za/2003/09/28/business/technology/tech10.asp
>
>A software tool that will help computer programs to be translated into
>six African languages has been developed by Microsoft.
>
>Zulu and Afrikaans programs are ready for demonstration after three
>months of work by six members of Microsoft's technical team. The other
>languages in development are Setswana, Xhosa, Swahili and Sepedi.
>
>The software makes it easier for people speaking indigenous languages to
>get to grips with technology.
>
>"During the last decade, we have seen the impact of technology in
>building South Africa into a socioeconomic leader in Africa. We believe
>there are no limits to the potential South Africans can reach if
>equipped with the information and communication tools in their language
>of choice," said Gordon Frazer, managing director of Microsoft South
>Africa.
>
>Khetsi Lehoko, deputy director-general in the national Education
>Department, said the development was appreciated particularly because
>computers were tools of learning. "It will contribute to the overall
>development of indigenous languages and raise their status," he said.
>
>Moss Gondwe, Microsoft's director for the public sector, said: "We
>struggled with terminology, like what to call the Internet in Zulu.
>Months of the year in Zulu would be difficult for urban kids to
>understand. We haven't finalised the terminology yet but we are looking
>to the public to make suggestions."
>
>He said the idea started when they looked at certain European countries
>that used indigenous languages.
>
>"We looked at France - people there can go into Windows and they are
>able to communicate in their own language. We thought it was imperative
>that we also develop local languages in order to address the
>population's communication needs," said Gondwe.
>
>Government departments and academics at universities were also consulted
>during the translation.
>
>"We couldn't develop local languages on our own. We had to involve the
>Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology and the Department
>of Communications. Potchefstroom University was very helpful with
>Afrikaans terminology," said Gondwe.
>
>