Practical Insights on Language

Translating Technology Terms Into Burmese

Translating Technology Terms Into Burmese

Published on: Oct 09 2015 by Gennie Gebhart - 2 Comments
Earlier this summer, Thomas Fuller of the New York Times published a memo from Yangon lamenting the lack of political vocabulary in the Burmese language, in which...
How Digital Tools Can Support Reading Culture in Laos

How Digital Tools Can Support Reading Culture in Laos

Published on: Nov 05 2014 by Guest Writer - Comments Off on How Digital Tools Can Support Reading Culture in Laos
In the course of a six-month, one-woman survey of public Internet access venues in Vientiane, I spent most of my time in Laos’s capital city in libraries and...
Respect Myanmar’s Ethnic Diversity: Use Unicode Fonts Online

Respect Myanmar’s Ethnic Diversity: Use Unicode Fonts Online

Published on: Sep 15 2014 by Wayan Vota - 1 Comment
Burmese is the dominant language of Myanmar, but its had a long and winding journey in the digital realm, and now there is a tension between two competing systems...
In ICT4D Beneficiaries vs. Constituents, What About Client-Driven Development?

In ICT4D Beneficiaries vs. Constituents, What About Client-Driven Development?

Published on: Apr 28 2014 by Josh Woodard - 5 Comments
Back in October, Wayan challenged us to please stop using the term “beneficiaries” in development conversations, replacing it with “constituents”...
Language as a Cultural Barrier in ICT4E Deployments

Language as a Cultural Barrier in ICT4E Deployments

Published on: Apr 06 2012 by Lindsay Poirier - 1 Comment
When I started working on my ICT4E project a few months back, I thought I had all of my bases covered. It’s easy to fall into that groove. I learned quickly,...
What if I gave you a fully loaded Macbook Air filled with content in Klingon?

What if I gave you a fully loaded Macbook Air filled with content in Klingon?

Published on: Aug 19 2011 by Wayan Vota - 3 Comments
That is what I think many good intentioned people do when they install computer systems without locally relevant content – they deploy the equivalent of a...
Gaining Advantages Through Languages – of Code

Gaining Advantages Through Languages – of Code

Published on: Jan 28 2010 by Wayan Vota - Comments Off on Gaining Advantages Through Languages – of Code
When people talk of the many languages of Africa, and need for localized content, they’re often thinking about English, French, Kiswalhili, or Xhosa. tweetmeme_source...