Local Language Initiatives

Efforts in India and Africa to make Windows available in more languages will promote technology adoption and help improve Microsoft’s relations with local governments. The company plans to add localized versions of Windows in six African languages and in 14 of the 18 official languages of India.

What Localization Means

Although Microsoft provides support for many languages in specific applications, particularly Word and PowerPoint, this support is often limited to user data and dictionaries-a level of support that Microsoft calls language “enablement,” according to Raveesh Gupta, program manager for localization at Microsoft’s India subsidiary. Full “localization,” in contrast, offers menus, dialog boxes, error messages, and other interface elements in a local language, which permits much broader computer use for a linguistic community. Localization affects all applications that use standard Windows interfaces, as well as Windows itself, not just specific applications.

Localization efforts typically involve much more than simple translation: academics, governments, software developers, and linguists are generally involved in ensuring that a language is used properly, that standard terms are applied throughout the interface, and that the solution can be implemented in Microsoft and third-party software.