PanAfrican Localisation

Why localise in Africa, what’s involved, and a brief report on the

PanAfrican Localisation project

Goals

Why localise in Africa?o Typical questions, objectionso Reasons, current trends (examples)

Describe PanAfrican Localisation project Specifics of languages & localisation Keys to success & future prospects Breaking news from Dakar

Definitions

African languageso Indigenous, indigenised, and “languages in Africa”

Localisationo Input methods (& last mile of i18n)o Softwareo Contento Software for content creation

What! Localise in Africa? Typical questions

1. “Doesn’t everyone speak English?” (or French or Portuguese…)

2. 2000 languages?!3. The languages have no words for

… (or no writing)4. Languages with no future5. Exacerbate sociolinguistic divisions6. Technical hurdles

1. “Doesn’t everyone speak English?”

• Phrase heard ’round the world• Current markets are dominated by

people who have Eng. or Fr.• Why would one who speaks Eng. or

Fr. want to use another lang.?• Official languages are L2s; in fact

many don’t speak them (well)• In fact, serious expansion of access

requires attention to other languages

2. Too many languages!• Ethnologue estimates some 2000+

languages in Africa

2. Too many languages!

• How many really?– What is a language? A dialect?– Splitters & joiners– Many are related

• How to localise for so many?– Don't get stuck on the numbers– Question is really how to help people

localise for themselves

• Strategy: begin by disaggregating, start somewhere, learn as you go

3. Languages with no words for …

• Bad old notions of “primitive languages”– Colonial & racist attitudes– Characteristics of oral cultures– Contemporary language impoverishment?

• “Bambara has no word for ‘research’”– African languages not for science & tech.?– Theory of Relativity in Wolof

• Why do we say “mouse” in English?– Ex. of “zemi” in Fon

4. Languages withno future?

• Who will hire a speaker of Zulu?• Global English rules (& rolls) over all

– “language of the stomach”

• Zero-sum misconceptions– Maternal language or English/French?

• “Only 1% can read local languages”• Economic vs. cultural issues?• Endangered languages

5. Promote divisions?

• Notion that validating linguistic diversity will aggravate divisions & lead to social problems– A concern of focus on “nation building”– Are languages really the cause?

• Misconception that the end result of working with African languages is that one must dominate

• Idea that many languages = bad communication

6. Technical hurdles

• Some have idea that it is not possible to use African languages on computers & internet, or that there are major technical issues– due to problems posed by special

characters, diacritics, and non-Latin scripts

• This misperception is not as evident now, but has stood in the way of more work (ex. as recent as 2003), and is itself is a hurdle...– experts who just don't understand

Truth of the matter• The language situation is complex• Languages not lacking• Linguistic heritage & diversity can be

responded to creatively ... or neglected– There are trends toward both in Africa– Outsiders tend to ignore African languages– Neglect has its own costs

• Localisation part of a creative response & needs broader coordination & vision

• Relates to both development & ICT• The PanAfrican Localisation project is in

this context

So, why is localisation important in Africa?

• Acknowledge that most people don’t speak the dominant languages in ICT– Interfaces need to be localised for better access – … & content localised for more relevance

• Recognition of local initiatives• Interest in ICT for development

– Localisation also a “business” decision of donors & non-governmental organisations

– Not so much driven by commercial needs• Language survival in information age?

Genesis of a project• Need to better understand localisation

in Africa – actual & potential• Efforts exist (open source)

– but without coordination, resources or sometimes clarity on what to do

• Need to assist them with:– Networking (mutual aid, harmonization)– Resources (information, training, more?)

• IDRC, Kabissa, Bisharat

PanAfrican Localisation Project

• Consists of 3 parts:– Document– Workshop– Database

Workshop in Casablanca

• Probably the first localisation event for Africa as a whole

• Brought together 29 experts• Considered different dimensions of

localisation– Current issues– Needs

• Findings being incorporated into survey document

• Has already facilitated collaboration

Database• Premise: there is a need for clear

accessible information on languages & tools for localisation

• Includes– Information for localisers– Basic language info– Character needs – Fonts– Locale status– Resources (people, institutions, ...)

Document

• Survey of the localisation situation– Who is doing what?

• Basic linguistic information on major languages– Language central to localisation

• Current ICT & language policies & situations in the various countries– “Localisation ecology” – environment

in which localisation undertaken

Who is doing what?Examples…

• Software localisation– Translate.org.za (Sepedi, Zulu, Afrikaans)– KiLinux (Swahili)– ICT Translations Uganda (Luganda)– Many nascent efforts

• Input / keyboards– The Nigerian scene: Yoruba, Hausa, Igbo– Others

• Mobile devices– South African languages– Amharic

• Other support projects (e.g., by OSI)

Basic language information

• Clarity through specificity• Almost 90 languages / clusters

– Need to begin somewhere– ~300-400 Ethnologue listings are covered– Ideologies, linguistics & language planning

• Complexities arise when variation:– Runyakitara (Nyoro+Tooro+Nyankore+Chiga) – Yoruba (Oyo standard - strong)– Igbo (Onwu standard – weak?)

• … & borders– Manding (Bambara, Jula, Maninka, Mandinka)

Example of complexity: Fula

• 9-11 dialects, 15 countries, 20m people• 1 localisation, several, which?• Kaleidoscopic locales? Harmonisation?

Keys to success?

• Local initiatives– Training (tech., organization)– Facilitate mutual aid– Tools (e.g., Pootle)– Information resources– Post-localisation “marketing”

• Broader vision & planning– Local initiatives can’t see the forest– Cross-border languages– Strategy for outreach to areas with potential– Need to attend to the localisation ecologies– Widen network to other “stakeholders”

Longer-term issues• Sustainability of localisation efforts

– Following through– Updating– Marketing, economics & competition

• Links to education• Changing markets• Evolving sociolinguistic situations• Bringing in cutting-edge technologies

– Machine translation– STT, TTS, advanced use of audio

• Collaboration with other efforts– GILC, “Unicode & IDN,” others

• A new African initiative• Example of increasing interest in

localisation in & for Africa• “Internet domain names” as access pt.

Thank you• Questions…