BY NEW BUSINESS ETHIOPIA REPORTER
Computer use in Ethiopia is set to receive a major boost as speakers of Amharic gain access to a broader range of software programs and gmail in their native language alphabets.
The project, which took the translation of the Microsoft Windows Vista and Office 2007 into Amharic language was a complex and consumed the expertise, time, and joint effort of EICTDA, Addis Ababa University, and Microsoft. “Fundamental to learning in the information age is exposure to and comfort with technology,” said Debretsion Gebre-Michael, Director General of the Ethiopian Information Communication Technology Development Agency (EICTDA). “Offering children access to computers in their own language means they can learn faster, develop skills quicker and have much-needed computer skills when they leave school. Having access to technology in this language creates a platform for greater communication and collaboration among schools, businesses, governments and communities throughout the region,” he said during the final version launching ceremony last week at the Sheraton Addis. The news follows Microsoft’s move to make the Amharic Language Interface Packs for Windows Vista and Office 2007 available for free downloads. Microsoft’s East and Southern Africa operations Business Marketing Organization Lead, Betty Radier, on her part said: “We’re excited about the opportunity to work with the government of Ethiopia to offer a native language user interface”. “We see this as a turning point for us as technology plays such an important part in our lives here in the region. When computers are easy-to-use and relevant they can be embraced far more widely and used far more effectively,” she said. The idea of translating applications into local languages is not new. Microsoft has already created versions of its software for populations as far as Iceland, India and New Zealand. Kenyan and South African web surfers can use Microsoft Internet Explorer in Kiswahili and Afrikaans, isiXhosa, isiZulu and Sesotho respectively. The move follows two years of extensive research in which over 800,000 words for both Microsoft Windows Vista and Office 2007 were translated. This was all in a bid to help computer users in Ethiopia bridge the digital and language divide to new markets, help create customized local software solutions, and stimulate the development of Ethiopia’s local IT economy. To create the software, stakeholders from the public, private and academic sector first work together to create a glossary. In the case of the Amharic project, this was guided by the Ethiopian ICT Development Agency and Addis Ababa University. According to the project implementers, the availability of Microsoft Windows Vista and Office 2007 in Amharic language is a remarkable step in the country’s ICT development which has removed the language barrier and has enabled Ethiopian users to interact with the software in their own language addressing the language barrier. They believe that this in turn will boost the development of electronic services in local language to provide government and business services. While commercial development is important, the delivery of government services to citizens in outlying areas is also vital. Now, companies like Microsoft are looking to partner with government to provide access to computers and the Internet through schools, post offices and government centers in rural areas. As a result, people don’t have to travel to an urban centre to access information. In a related development, last week Google in collaboration with Ethiopian government introduced gmail that uses Amharic and Tigrigna alphabets.
