True to Microsoft’s promise that it would deliver Language Interface Packs that will make Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office packages more locally-relevant and easier to understand for Nigerian end users, all is now set for the national launch of the program slated for Abuja on May 29. The event commemorates with Nigeria Democracy Day and Microsoft has said the date was chosen to show the connection with democracy dividend as a direct deliverable of the Strategic Partnership between Microsoft and the federal government of Nigeria.
The launch to be done under the auspices of President Umaru Musa Yar’adua who will be represented by Dr. Alhassan Bako Zaku , Honourable Minister of Science and Technology will be supported by Emmanuel Onyeje, Microsoft manager, Anglophone West Africa and Jummai Umar-Ajijola, Citizenship Lead, Anglophone West Africa while the language owner/zonal launch will be performed by Ooni of Ife for Ife Yoruba, Onitsha Igbo by the Obi of Onitsha, Sokoto Hausa by the Sultan of Sokoto, all to be done under the delight of students from select secondary schools and universities to be present at the launch.
As the global ICT sector continues on a growth trajectory, for many countries –whether in the developed or developing world, a digital divide exists between the sparsely populated areas and those densely populated areas such as major towns and cities. Some of the causes for this gulf have been identified as lack of local infrastructure to support traditional information technologies, commercial viability and sustainability of traditional information technologies and geography/ topology of the region making accessibility difficult.
Microsoft, known for the tradition of innovation aimed at increasing digital opportunities around the world has discovered that restricted access to technology, information, knowledge or education has social and economic consequences for a nation. It has observed also that people can be excluded from reaping the gains of technology because they simply do not understand the language of technology. It therefore introduced the Local Language Program in Nigeria incorporating Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba as part of the over 100 languages worldwide which it is localizing its product into. The target of the programme is to engender the digital inclusion and extensive reach and use of technology in our geographies. It provides people worldwide with an entry to technology in a language that is familiar and understands linguistic and cultural complexities.
Jummai Umar-Ajijola, Microsoft’s Citizenship Lead for Nigeria, had earlier reiterated that governments around the world are facing a great challenge in today's global economy and harped on the need to quickly build a strong economy that can effectively participate in an increasingly-interconnected world.
“In an environment as diverse as Nigeria - with over 500 ethnic languages - the need to eliminate the language barrier around technology education is critical to the success of the efforts to bridge the digital divide.
“It is in the light of this need that Microsoft developed the Local Language Program to provide the tools and technologies required to develop, enhance, and expand local IT economies and to enable language groups of all sizes to participate in this growth,” she said.
This laudable objective of Microsoft is made possible by low-cost localization of Windows and Office solutions to create native language interfaces and the cultivation of partnerships with governments, language authorities, and universities to ensure software translations are keeping with the local culture and language
Microsoft started the localization process in Nigeria in 2005/2006 partnering with Allied Soft as the translators and Language Department of the University of Lagos as moderators.
The language programme is made up of three key components namely: a standard IT glossary that is translated into the local language made freely available, the Language Interface Pack – a native language desktop interface developed from the glossary, that once installed, translates the UI for Microsoft Office standard Edition 2007 and Windows Vista into the desired language and the development of local solutions like spelling checks, translation dictionaries, screen savers on top of the Language Interface Pack.
So far Microsoft is happy with the level of achievements of the programme made possible with thousands of partnerships it has with local governments and language experts around the world .This programme no doubt will go a long way in impacting IT to the society as complex ideas and notions will now be translated into simpler forms and experiences in one’s own language.
Honorable Lawan while representing the Speaker of House of Representatives during last year’s celebration of the International Mother Language Day in Abuja commended Microsoft for the continued efforts to grow a strong local IT industry to ensure that every citizen has fair and meaningful access to locally-relevant technology through the Local Language Program.
“Functional education and specialized training are the pre-requisites for a productive workforce, and good leaders. It is the only way to create a populace that is successful in all spheres of human life. All these cannot be achieved without understanding. This is the critical role that language plays…” Lawan said.
