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AFRICAN LANGUAGES IN A DIGITAL AGE Challenges and Opportunites for Indigenous Language Computing http://www.idrc.ca/en/ev-145920-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html 978-1-55250-473-4.jpg AFRICAN LANGUAGES IN A DIGITAL AGE Challenges and Opportunites for Indigenous Language Computing Don Osborn HSRC Press/IDRC 2010 ISBN 978-0-7969-2249-6 e-ISBN 978-1-55250-473-4 ca 220 pp. Purchase book online Available in January With increasing numbers of computers and penetration of the Internet around the world, localization of the technology and the content it carries into the many languages people speak is becoming an ever more important area for discussion and action. Localization, simply put, includes translation and cultural adaptation of user interfaces and software applications, as well as creation and translation of internet content in diverse languages. It is essential in making information and communication technology more accessible to the populations of the poorer countries, increasing its relevance to their lives, needs, and aspirations, and ultimately in bridging the "digital divide." Localization is a new and growing field of inquiry. This book identifies issues, concerns, priorities, and lines of research and is intended as a baseline study in defining localization in the African context and how it is important for development and education in the long term. THE AUTHOR Don Osborn is the Founder of the Bisharat Language, Technology & Development Initiative. He is a former Associate Director for Agriculture, Peace Corps, Niger, and led the PanAfrican Localisation project from 2005 to 2008. CONTENTS Foreword Preface 1. Introduction 2. Background 3. Introducing "Localization Ecology" 4. Linguistic Context 5. Technical Context 1: Physical Access 6. Technical Context 2: Internationalization 7. African Language Text, Encoding and Fonts 8. Keyboards and Input Systems 9. Defining Languages in ICT: Tags and Locales 10. Internet 11. Software Localization 12. Mobile Technology and Other Specialized Applications 13. Achieving Sustainable Localization 14. Summary and Recommendations References ------------ Étant donné le nombre croissant d'ordinateurs et la pénétration accrue d'Internet sur la planète, la localisation des technologies et des contenus dans la multiplicité des langues parlées est un sujet de débat et un domaine d'intervention de plus en plus important. En peu de mots, la localisation englobe la traduction et l'adaptation culturelle des interfaces avec l'utilisateur et des applications logicielles, ainsi que la création et la traduction de contenus Web dans diverses langues. Elle est essentielle si l'on veut que les populations des pays les plus pauvres aient un meilleur accès aux technologies de l'information et de la communication, que ces technologies correspondent davantage aux vies, aux besoins et aux aspirations de ces populations et, en bout de ligne, que soit réduit le « fossé numérique ». La localisation est un champ de recherche nouveau et en expansion. Cet ouvrage cerne les enjeux, les sujets de préoccupation, les priorités et les directions de la recherche et se veut une étude de référence définissant la localisation dans le contexte africain et son importance pour le développement et l'éducation à long terme. L'AUTEUR Don Osborn est le fondateur de Bisharat (Bisharat! Initiative langues - technologie - développement). Il a été directeur associé en matière d'agriculture au sein du Corps des volontaires de la paix au Niger. En outre, il a dirigé le projet de localisation panafricaine (PanAfriL10n) de 2005 à 2008. TABLE DES MATIRÈRES Foreword Preface 1. Introduction 2. Background 3. Introducing "Localization Ecology" 4. Linguistic Context 5. Technical Context 1: Physical Access 6. Technical Context 2: Internationalization 7. African Language Text, Encoding and Fonts 8. Keyboards and Input Systems 9. Defining Languages in ICT: Tags and Locales 10. Internet 11. Software Localization 12. Mobile Technology and Other Specialized Applications 13. Achieving Sustainable Localization 14. Summary and Recommendations References
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