Windows7 Makes African Language In-Roads

Microsoft, in an effort to reduce software piracy and increase computer literacy will make computer PC inroads with a commitment to add 10 African languages to its Windows7 repertoir. The 10 African languages are:

• Sesotho sa Leboa (North Sotho), which is spoken in the North-Eastern parts of South Africa.
• Setswana which is one of the official languages of South Africa, and it is a national language in Botswana.
• isiXhosa is one of the official languages of South Africa.
• isiZulu is the language of the Zulu people with the vast majority (over 95%) of whom live in South Africa.
• Afrikaans is an Indo-European language  and it is mainly spoken in South Africa and Namibia.
• Hausa is spoken mainly in Nigeria and Niger.
• Igbo is a language spoken mainly by the Igbo people in southeastern Nigeria.
• Yoruba one of the largest ethno-linguistic or ethnic groups in west Africa, in the southwestern corner of Nigeria.
• KiSwahili is a major Bantu language spoken in East Africa.
• Amharic is a Semitic language spoken in North Central Ethiopia by the Amhara people.

Because of the historical colonial influence, in many regions of Africa the main spoken languages are English and French, and literacy unfairly or not is assumed to belong to those that read, write, and speak those main languages. But as a way down to break the barriers and provide technology to other groups, the Microsoft effort will bring millions of users into the technology by making software available to users in their respective languages. Literacy then will not be restricted to just the main legacy languages, English and French.

Another part of this endeavor is that Microsoft is interested in reducing software piracy by making the software available in their respective languages and hence offering additional value by getting updates and discounts. They recognize that this may not be enough to thwart the piracy problem, since in many third world countries it is a cultural problem and in many African governments it is not even recognized as a crime. In 2008 software piracy cost the software industry 53 billion dollars.

The roll out is expected by 2011.

Additional Sources:

http://www.africanews.com/site/list_message/23525