I say development, you say développement
Maybe it's because I am under the influence of Spoken Here, but one of the key messages coming out of the GK3 conference last week was the increasing importance of promoting local content and language to address the digital divide.
It is well known that out of the 6,000 languages spoken on the planet, only a tiny percentage is represented on the web. Perhaps less intuitive are the factors that preclude multilingual digitization of content. They range from the problems of recognition of minority languages, the lack of local language computing capacity, through the plethora of internet governing bodies involved in encryption projects, to the lack of interface between linguistic and IT expertise.
History didn't help either.
When a language borders don't match the political ones, which government is responsible for codifying it? Far from being confined to the realm of computer geeks, these obstacles have a direct impact on development.
Take for instance the case of Bhutan. Until recently, there was no way the local government could use computers in Dzongkha: this hampered the development of e-government. Or think of emergency preparedness when local communities, often illiterate, need to be quickly warned in their local language about an imminent threat. The lack of codification means that translating and voice software is not an option for English-speaking overseas research centers.
Projects like Panlocalization and Translate.org.za are trying to bridge the gap. But there's still a long way to go.
As the president of the African Academy of Languages noted, isn't it ironic that Africa, home to an incredible linguistic diversity, is still conventionally categorized into English, Spanish, French or Portuguese speaking - the languages of the colonizers?
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Hi Giulio,
funny I wrote yesterday a post with a similar topic: Not English, but a multilingual social web is the key for collaboration
http://www.crisscrossed.net/2007/12/17/not-english-but-a-multilingual-social-web-is-the-key-for-collaboration/
I argue in my post that the social web is quite separated in different language domains. English is a key language to bridge different cultures, but it can also be a dead end. Worldwide collaboration can only work in a multilingual network.
So I cannot agree more with your post.
Posted by: Christian Kreutz | Dec 18, 2007 2:04:54 PM
Thank you for bringing attention to this topic.
The linguistic/technology divide you describe here can be even sharper for some signed language users. Although many Deaf people are fluent in the written language(s) of their countries--and sometimes a few more besides--there are also many other Deaf people who communicate best in the signed language of their country's Deaf community, be it American Sign Language (ASL), Costa Rican Sign Language (LESCO), British Sign Language (BSL, and no it's NOT the same as ASL), or something else. This leaves some signers cut off from the web and its potential wealth of information and opportunity for interaction with the wider world.
There is a small albeit growing number of "vlogs" (videotaped blogs) in signed languages cataloged at sites such as www.deafread.com. However, these mostly consist, not surprisingly, of signers from rich countries that have a strong, thriving Deaf community and easy access to technology. So you will find ASL vlogs, BSL vlogs and so forth. But you are not so likely to find similar materials in, say, Venzuelan Sign Language.
Some of the barriers you mention here are similar for signed language users. But Deaf signers confront additional barriers beyond these. For example, to produce a videotaped message for the web, you need not just a computer and a keyboard but also a webcam of adequate speed and quality to make signs clear and comprehensible without undue eyestrain (low-end cams usually don't cut it), and you also need a high-speed connection in order to upload or download video content. Try finding these in a developing country. At an affordable cost.
Also, many of the signed languages in some of the poorer developing countries are not nearly as well documented as signed languages in rich countries. In some cases (mostly developing countries), there may not yet even be a single unified national signed language consistent from border to border within the same country: although regional "accents" exist for any signed language as they do for spoken languages, regional variations within a given country can sometimes be mutually unintelligible: signs used in one city in a developing country might not be understood in the next. (I say "city" because signed languages are often near non-existent in rural areas of developing countries for reasons I won't elaborate upon here in the interest of space.)
Andrea Shettle, MSW
wecando.wordpress.com (Blogging disability and development)
Posted by: Andrea Shettle, MSW | Dec 18, 2007 4:44:24 PM
Chris, yes: telepathy at work :-) And, of course, one key issue here is producing content that is relevant and engaging for local audiences. As a Nigerian delegate put it last week: "E-learning for our schools must talk about cassava and yuca, not Halloween pumpkins..".
Andrea: many many thanks indeed for bringing this issue up to my attention. I confess I have limited knowledge of the topic (I mostly dealt with accessibility issues on the website production front) but I am eager to learn more, particularly in a development context. I have bookmarked your blog! Thanks again for sharing,
Giulio
Posted by: Giulio Quaggiotto | Dec 18, 2007 5:25:45 PM
Where in Africa do they speak Spanish?
Posted by: Philip Hunt | Dec 19, 2007 3:31:25 PM