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A project working on the localization of two
software types is about a month away from
finalization, knowledgeable sources disclosed.
The joint ICT glossary project, currently in its
finale stages, is under the strategic agreement of
the Ethiopia Information and Communication
Technology Development Agency (EICTDA), the Addis
Abeba University (AAU) and Microsoft. It is meant to
translate terminologies used in the software from
English to Amharic - Ethiopia’s official language at
federal level.
IT experts from EICTDA, the AAU and Microsoft have
been working on the project for over one year and
expect to finish the translation work in the coming
month; the translated software will be available to
the public for free, according to Minasse Zewdu,
citizenship manager at Microsoft East Africa
Limited, Ethiopia Branch Office.
The localized software will make it easy for the
majority of Ethiopians to operate and work with
them, as they are not expected to have knowledge of
English to be able to use the software packages,
Minasse, told Fortune.
Under the supervision of EICTDA, in cooperation with
the AAU, which is a consultant in the project, the
idea of terminology translation from English to
Amharic was initiated by Microsoft Company at a cost
of about 100,000 dollars.
The aim of this ICT electronic glossary project is
to exclusively focus on interpreting office
word-application software and vista-system operating
software by encoding them into Amharic, an expert at
the EICTDA, who requested anonymity, told Fortune.
The localization requires prompt, effective and
sustainable translation of new terms into the local
language, with the aim of building clear and
understandable terminologies. The need to have an
information and communication technology e-glossary
for terms translated from English into the county’s
official language is mainly because of the poor
accessibility to digital information, according to
Minasse.
“If people cannot use ICT devices in their own
language and cultural context, it causes a digital
divide. The establishment of such standards plays a
key role in bridging the digital divide and making
friendly-ICT available to all citizens, Minasse
explained
This localization program provides people with an
entry to technology in a language that is familiar
and honors linguistic and cultural distinction, as
well as provides an opportunity to grow in local IT
economy. The Internet and other carriers of content
and applications feature mainly the language and
culture of the western country, primarily English,
which contains no content customized to the needs of
Ethiopians, for example.
Education authorities claim that the objective of
the Ethiopian government is to equip citizens with
the means to apply ICT in their daily lives, and to
increase opportunities for learning through the
acquisition of knowledge and information.
“At present, the absence of standardized ICT
terminology for the country’s’ languages in general
has created problems in the educational system, ICT
sector and hindered the development of relevant
digital content and application,” Minasse told
Fortune.
EICTDA’s move in initiating this project seems a
response to these problems. |
