Only about 1 percent of the population of East Africa owns a "kompyuta." This is what a computer is called in Kiswahili.
Internet cafes are quickly spreading across the country but in order to benefit from this technology you need to know English. In East Africa, computer programs are sold in English only.
UNESCO estimates about 90 percent of the world's approximately 6,000 languages are not available on the Internet.
But in Africa there is change in the air. The search engine Google now offers an interface in Kiswahili. By the middle of the year, Microsoft plans to introduce Windows and Office versions in the same language.
Kiswahili is spoken by about 100 million people in six countries, making it worth the effort. "We want to give more people in Africa access to computers," says Patrick Opiyo, Project Manager at Microsoft in Nairobi.
The history of Kiswahili goes back to the times when Arabic seamen traded with the Bantu population. Since the upper classes in the former British colonies continued to speak English, Kiswahili modernized only slowly.
For many terms in the world of compu-ters, no separate Kiswahili word has established itself, as yet.
"You can see that clearly with the word kompyuta, a term derived from the English, of course," says Opiyo. "Today, some people prefer to say tarakilishi instead, a word which comes from Kiswahili for `calculate.'"
Translating the [computer] mouse was not a problem: Kiswahili also uses the name for the animal.
In order to translate the approximately 3,000 office software terms, Microsoft has employed linguists from Uganda to Zanzibar.
People were encouraged to make suggestions for translations through the Internet.
Microsoft adopted this method from its competitor Linux, which writes whole programs with the help of volunteers. "When a new term is translated into a native language, the language stays alive," Opiyo says.
Opiyo would like like to take Africanization a step further. "I could imagine incorporating local sounds, as well, so that when a new e-mail arrives, you don't hear the sound of a bell but the beat of an African drum."
This month Taiwan received a brutal Christmas present as the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) passed all three of its desired amendments, making recalls of elected officials more difficult, gutting the Constitutional Court and altering the budgetary allocations to local governments. The nation at present has no ultimate authority to determine the constitutionality of government actions, and the local governments, largely controlled by the KMT, have much greater funding. We are staring into an abyss of chaos. The amendments to the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財政收支劃分法), if they become law (as of this writing President William Lai
When the weather is too cold to enjoy the white beaches and blue waters of Pingtung County’s Kenting (墾丁), it’s the perfect time to head up into the hills and enjoy a different part of the national park. In the highlands above the bustling beach resorts, a simple set of trails treats visitors to lush forest, rocky peaks, billowing grassland and a spectacular bird’s-eye view of the coast. The rolling hills beyond Hengchun Township (恆春) in Pingtung County offer a two-hour through-hike of sweeping views from the mighty peak of Dajianshih Mountain (大尖石山) to Eluanbi Lighthouse (鵝鑾鼻燈塔) on the coast, or
Charges have formally been brought in Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je’s (柯文哲) bribery, corruption and embezzling of campaign funds cases. Ko was briefly released on bail by the Taipei District Court on Friday, but the High Court on Sunday reversed the decision. Then, the Taipei District Court on the same day granted him bail again. The ball is in dueling courts. While preparing for a “year ahead” column and reviewing a Formosa poll from last month, it’s clear that the TPP’s demographics are shifting, and there are some indications of where support for the party is heading. YOUNG, MALE
Taiwanese persimmon farmer Lo Chih-neng stands on a ladder in his sprawling orchard using pruning sheers to cut the golden-yellow fruit still hanging from branches after enduring a tough season. Persimmons are popular in Taiwan where people travel hours to buy bags and boxes of the sweet dried fruit to take home to their families or give away to friends. But changing weather and an aging population are posing a threat to the century-old industry, forcing some farmers to look at alternative ways to maximize returns — or get out altogether. Lo’s harvest was down by more than a third last year, the
RSS