User:Ceekays

Chicheŵa/Chinyanja Localisation Project: The Mozilla Initiative

Introduction

In the twenty-first century, information has become such a fundamental aspect of each society that its access is a basic human right. This has prompted for convenient access to reliable and up-to-date information for decision making through the use of the Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). However, most people in Africa fail to access information due to the language barrier as most of ICTs use languages that are of western origin.

How do we remove the language barrier?

In order to remove this language barrier, software localization has become one of the best alternatives to make ICT appropriate to a target locale. Localisation of software involves adapting a software product to the linguistic, cultural and technical requirements of a target population.

Why Localisation of Software?

In Malaŵi, Zambia and other Chicheŵa speaking regions, localisation of software is still in its formative stages as there are currently no localised software applications in computer systems. The Mozilla Initiative is one example of software localization projects that we wish to run. The project will help indigenous Malaŵians access the Intenet using a localised web browser.

Edmond C. Kachale