Hi Paul, and thank you for the feedback.
It sounds like we are talking about two separate, but related, issues here.
Web content - in this case on Wikipedia, which is unusual in that it lets
anyone edit it online - and software for composing and editing documents.
Wikipedia is a free encyclopedia on the web, with versions in many
languages. Anyone with access to a computer and the internet can read and
edit it online without special software - just a browser (MS Internet
Explorer, Mozilla, Firefox, with commands in English, Luganda, Swahili,
etc. - these language versions exist but of course do not change how you
see the webpages).
Wikipedia is accessible via http://www.wikipedia.org/ and has versions in
many languages, though some are a lot more developed than others. In
languages of Uganda there is currently one begun in Luganda at
http://lg.wikipedia.org/ , for instance. It is possible to create new
Wikipedias.
The matter of software either with commands translated into African
languages ("localized software") or spellcheckers for African languages or
both, is another issue. Such software exists for Swahili for example. It is
also possible to have a language setting for spellchecking etc. in various
languages without the whole software being localized. But in either case
this points to the need for digitized dictionaries/word lists - necessary
for spellcheckers of course.
(Where languages use special characters or diacritics, software localization
also concerns the issue of keyboard layouts to make it easy to use the full
alphabet for composing and editing documents.)
This software "localization" process is underway locally in many countries
for "free and open source software" (FOSS) and for some major languages by
Microsoft. I believe that Lunghabo James Wire and ICT Translations Uganda -
the same people who released the Mozilla Web browser in Luganda, called
"Kayungirizi" two years ago - are planning more localizations.
I'll have an announcement soon about a new list for discussing localization
(with focus on software / interfaces). In the meantime, it is possible to
contribute to African language editions of Wikipedia without special
software.
Thanks for your question and greetings to folks over there.
Don Osborn
Bisharat.net
PanAfrican Localisation project
- Original Message -
From: "Paul Ssesanga" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "The Digital Divide Network discussion group"
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Friday, August 11, 2006 7:41 AM
Subject: Re: [DDN] "AfrophoneWikis" - developing African language Wikipedias
Hello Don,
First of all I want to thank u for the issue at stake.The question
therefore arises,Will people be able to get these language editors from the
internet Or The manufacturers of software programs especially word
processors should be able to get and intergrate them in there programs so
that Spell Checkers can also be updated with these local languages.
Thanks
Paul Ssesnaga
C/o MENGO SENIOR SCHOOL
DEPARTEMENT OF COMPUTER STUDIES
P.O.BOX 1901
KAMPALA UGANDA
Don Osborn <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
[Apologies for crosspostings]
One outcome of the just concluded "Wikimania" conference in Cambridge, Mass.
(US) http://wikimania2006.wikimedia.org/ was discussion among several people
(there and online) about how to facilitate development of Wikipedias in
African languages.
This discussion resulted in the creation of a new list for discussion and
coordination among all interested in whatever indigenous language(s) of the
continent, and in making Wikipedia (and educational applications of ICT
generally) more relevant and useful to Africa and all Africans. Dubbed
"AfrophoneWikis" the list has its homepage at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/afrophonewikis/ . There are several links to
relevant Wikimania and Wikipedia pages on the site.
Don Osborn
Bisharat.net
PanAfrican Localisation (PAL) project
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