Publications
Partners
THE ability to speak English is a valuable skill in the world of technology, where most digital products originate from the English-speaking world.
In Europe and other countries with specific language requirements, the problem of language received much attention. But as more of the "rest of the world" comes online, the need to compute in lesser-spoken languages is becoming increasingly important.
In South Africa we have 11 languages that have only recently been named official, never mind adapted to computing.
Dwayne Bailey is behind an initiative aimed at tackling the problem by translating computer interfaces into our 11 official languages. Translate.org.za facilitates the translation of open source software, and then uses the translated information to develop everything from business-specific language solutions and keyboards designed for African languages to computer fonts and spell checkers. Bailey's work also transcends our borders.
So if you're wondering what's the Xhosa word for web browser, need to use Firefox in Swahili or are looking for a Venda spellchecker, Bailey can help.
The reason his organisation usually focuses on open source software is because it is licensed in a way which allows for the language of its interface to be changed easily. The opposite of open source software is proprietary software, where the company that develops it forbids you to change it.
An example of open source software is Open Office - similar to Microsoft Office - which is proprietary. When it comes to operating systems, where the foundational language settings of a computer are implemented, Windows is proprietary, while Ubuntu Linux, for example, is open source.
Since open source is often developed by a community, it is easy to have something like a new language built into the system, whereas getting it into proprietary software requires the company that develops the software to do it.
"So looking at the South African keyboard we've developed, it's been available for a long time but in Windows you have to download it and specifically install it, whereas it has been included for ages with Ubuntu," explains Bailey.
He says that in Ubuntu all you have to do is tell the operating system that you use a South African keyboard when installing the operating system, and you're done.
It seems the question of language is something that is often overlooked by proprietary software vendors – and in the case of keyboards it is vital for some non-English speakers.
"The fact that you don't want to use a computer in English doesn't mean you don't want to write an e-mail in Venda, or contribute to Wikipedia, or use Twitter," he says.
Bailey says Venda is a great example of a language with special requirements because its alphabet is different from that of English, having five additional accented letters.
"You need a keyboard for it," he says. Translate.org.za relies on volunteers to do most of its translation work and Bailey says that translation is more specialised than often realised.
“Most people think they can write because they have the know-how, but good writers have a special skilll; it's the same with translating. Just because someone speaks English and the language they're translating it into very well doesn't mean they'll be good translators," he explains.
It's a lot of work and uses specialised tools – but Bailey says it is tremendously satisfying to see something like the Mozilla Firefox browser officially support an African language, thanks to the work of his organisation.
"There is also more to it than translating English into other languages. Our systems are being applied to using our translation data to translate any language into any other – so you could translate Wolof [a native Senegalese language] directly into Xhosa, for example," says Bailey.
His business is increasingly working with firms that need computer translations or have special needs. He has also begun engaging with proprietary software companies that need help with the translation of their products.
- Fin24.com
