Re: [kictanet] Day 9 of 10:-IGF Discussion, Socio-Cultural Issues
Great! Is Google East Africa tracking the utilisation of http://www.google.co.tz? I believe the statistics would provide information on the demand for kiswahili on the internet. Kind regards Mwende Disclaimer: These comments are the author's own. On 8/21/08, Joseph Mucheru <jmucheru@google.com> wrote:
Just for your information we just launched the http://www.google.co.tzdomain yesterday with Swahili as the default language. We are also hiring Luganda experts and this is just the start.
-- Joe Mucheru +254722522135 Google East Africa Sent from my iPhone
On Aug 21, 2008, at 8:36 AM, "mwende njiraini" <mwende.njiraini@gmail.com> wrote:
Morning!
Today we move to the final topic of our discussions: Socio-cultural issues.
The internet is increasingly being utilized as a means to deliver essential services including health (Telemedicine), education (e-learning) and governance (e-government services). This has lead to concerns that many may not take advantage of these developments due to socio-cultural issues such as language and other cultural barriers.
The English language continues to dominate the internet ( http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats7.htm) however there are several successful initiatives that have enabled the use of other languages. Indeed, the Tunis agenda encouraged the realization of multilingualism leading to discussions on domain name management, access to local content, and protection of cultural diversity.
Kiswahili was recently voted an official language by the African Union, and there are already several initiatives that seek to introduce Kiswahili on the internet. With appropriate policies and incentives the internet can become a cultural platform specifically for the preservation of language. In your view is the use of the internet an effective means of language and cultural preservation?
Again, you are encouraged to contribute to previous discussion threads.
Kind regards
Mwende
Disclaimer: These comments are the author's own
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Good people, I am a student on this subject and I would really appreciate every contribution. Please note that the IGF is not just about Internet, per se, and goes beyond the internet, thus please widen your contribution to cover all modern Information and communication technologies. These include mobile phones, radio, television, newspapers, magazines, digital music (including DVDs on matatus), etc, and their impact on our cultural norms and value and impact on the entire society. Please help me out by expressing your valued opinion for my studies on "ACCESS TO RECEIVING AND DISSEMINATING OF OPINION, INFORMATION, AND CULTURE IN KENYA." For once I will be the "listener" and should I win promised trip to EA IGF meeting for past contribution, I am considering donating that to whomever helps me the most with my study. Now switching to receive-only mode:) Thanks a lot. Alex On Thu, Aug 21, 2008 at 9:12 AM, mwende njiraini <mwende.njiraini@gmail.com> wrote:
Great!
Is Google East Africa tracking the utilisation of http://www.google.co.tz? I believe the statistics would provide information on the demand for kiswahili on the internet.
Kind regards Mwende
Disclaimer: These comments are the author's own.
On 8/21/08, Joseph Mucheru <jmucheru@google.com> wrote:
Just for your information we just launched the http://www.google.co.tz domain yesterday with Swahili as the default language. We are also hiring Luganda experts and this is just the start.
-- Joe Mucheru +254722522135 Google East Africa Sent from my iPhone On Aug 21, 2008, at 8:36 AM, "mwende njiraini" <mwende.njiraini@gmail.com> wrote:
Morning!
Today we move to the final topic of our discussions: Socio-cultural issues.
The internet is increasingly being utilized as a means to deliver essential services including health (Telemedicine), education (e-learning) and governance (e-government services). This has lead to concerns that many may not take advantage of these developments due to socio-cultural issues such as language and other cultural barriers.
The English language continues to dominate the internet (http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats7.htm) however there are several successful initiatives that have enabled the use of other languages. Indeed, the Tunis agenda encouraged the realization of multilingualism leading to discussions on domain name management, access to local content, and protection of cultural diversity.
Kiswahili was recently voted an official language by the African Union, and there are already several initiatives that seek to introduce Kiswahili on the internet. With appropriate policies and incentives the internet can become a cultural platform specifically for the preservation of language. In your view is the use of the internet an effective means of language and cultural preservation?
Again, you are encouraged to contribute to previous discussion threads.
Kind regards
Mwende
Disclaimer: These comments are the author's own
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Mucheru/Mwende, http://www.google.co.tz is truly fantastic. I had always been skeptical about the need for a multi-lingual Internet. But after visiting http://www.google.co.tz i suddenly realised what it means for someone who speaks and reads only one language e.g. Swahili. It can truly open up opportunities and change their lives. I wish we had more Swahili content. Imagine wikipedia in Swahili or put the other way round - imagine that all that wealth of information in wikipedia is NOT available to the millions of Africans who speak/read only Swahili or their mother tongue. These folks are digitally handicapped and will never compete successfully in an English dominated Information Society/Internet. We need companies like Google to make deliberate investments in these area in order to effectively jumpstart and widen our participation in the knowledge economy. walu. --- On Thu, 8/21/08, mwende njiraini <mwende.njiraini@gmail.com> wrote: From: mwende njiraini <mwende.njiraini@gmail.com> Subject: Re: [kictanet] Day 9 of 10:-IGF Discussion, Socio-Cultural Issues To: jwalu@yahoo.com Cc: "KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions" <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> Date: Thursday, August 21, 2008, 10:12 AM Great! Is Google East Africa tracking the utilisation of http://www.google.co.tz? I believe the statistics would provide information on the demand for kiswahili on the internet. Kind regards Mwende Disclaimer: These comments are the author's own. On 8/21/08, Joseph Mucheru <jmucheru@google.com> wrote: Just for your information we just launched the http://www.google.co.tz domain yesterday with Swahili as the default language. We are also hiring Luganda experts and this is just the start. -- Joe Mucheru +254722522135 Google East Africa Sent from my iPhone On Aug 21, 2008, at 8:36 AM, "mwende njiraini" <mwende.njiraini@gmail.com> wrote: Morning! Today we move to the final topic of our discussions: Socio-cultural issues. The internet is increasingly being utilized as a means to deliver essential services including health (Telemedicine), education (e-learning) and governance (e-government services). This has lead to concerns that many may not take advantage of these developments due to socio-cultural issues such as language and other cultural barriers. The English language continues to dominate the internet (http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats7.htm) however there are several successful initiatives that have enabled the use of other languages. Indeed, the Tunis agenda encouraged the realization of multilingualism leading to discussions on domain name management, access to local content, and protection of cultural diversity. Kiswahili was recently voted an official language by the African Union, and there are already several initiatives that seek to introduce Kiswahili on the internet. With appropriate policies and incentives the internet can become a cultural platform specifically for the preservation of language. In your view is the use of the internet an effective means of language and cultural preservation? Again, you are encouraged to contribute to previous discussion threads. Kind regards Mwende Disclaimer: These comments are the author's own _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet This message was sent to: mucheru@google.com Unsubscribe or change your options at http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/mucheru%40google.com _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet This message was sent to: jwalu@yahoo.com Unsubscribe or change your options at http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/jwalu%40yahoo.com
On Thu, Aug 21, 2008 at 10:27 AM, John Walubengo <jwalu@yahoo.com> wrote:
It can truly open up opportunities and change their lives.
Have you ever met someone who can 'read and write' swahili but cannot 'ditto' english???
The big issue with languages and the Internet is actually scripts. Swahili is not a good example since it does not have its own script. Amharic in neighbouring Ethiopia is. They have their own script that they use to print newspapers, school books, etc. This script is not supported on the Internet. 95% of people in the world only understand their native script. Those native to the English script as used on the Internet are about 30% or Internet users and 13% percent of world population. More content is necessary in local scripts and perhaps UNESCO can be the body to coordinate all this. Waudo On Thu, 21 Aug 2008 10:39:25 +0300, "Bill Kagai" <billkagai@gmail.com> sa id: On Thu, Aug 21, 2008 at 10:27 AM, John Walubengo <[1]jwalu@yahoo.com> wrote: It can truly open up opportunities and change their lives. Have you ever met someone who can 'read and write' swahili but cannot 'ditto' english??? References 1. mailto:jwalu@yahoo.com People make a plan work, a plan alone seldom makes people work (Confucius).
For your reference: Steps taken for multilingual Internet Available at: http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=25641&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html<http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=25641&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html> Regards Mwende Disclaimer: These comments are the author's own. On 8/21/08, waudo siganga <emailsignet@mailcan.com> wrote:
The big issue with languages and the Internet is actually scripts. Swahili is not a good example since it does not have its own script. Amharic in neighbouring Ethiopia is. They have their own script that they use to print newspapers, school books, etc. This script is not supported on the Internet. 95% of people in the world only understand their native script. Those native to the English script as used on the Internet are about 30% or Internet users and 13% percent of world population. More content is necessary in local scripts and perhaps UNESCO can be the body to coordinate all this.
Waudo
On Thu, 21 Aug 2008 10:39:25 +0300, "Bill Kagai" <billkagai@gmail.com> said:
On Thu, Aug 21, 2008 at 10:27 AM, John Walubengo <jwalu@yahoo.com> wrote:
It can truly open up opportunities and change their lives.
Have you ever met someone who can 'read and write' swahili but cannot 'ditto' english???
People make a plan work, a plan alone seldom makes people work (Confucius).
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Well it may be true that majority of Kiswahili speakers are also English speakers. The internet increasingly becoming a repository for information, for example most people use the internet (in comparison to books) for research….shouldn't we use it be to provide information as well as preserve our culture in our languages for use by future generations? Kind regards Mwende Disclaimer: These comments are the author's own On 8/21/08, Bill Kagai <billkagai@gmail.com> wrote:
On Thu, Aug 21, 2008 at 10:27 AM, John Walubengo <jwalu@yahoo.com> wrote:
It can truly open up opportunities and change their lives.
Have you ever met someone who can 'read and write' swahili but cannot 'ditto' english???
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On Thu, Aug 21, 2008 at 1:56 AM, mwende njiraini <mwende.njiraini@gmail.com>wrote:
shouldn't we use it be to provide information as well as preserve our culture in our languages for use by future generations?
www.jaluo.com www.kikuyu.com We are not yet ready for this....maybe....it could be the next avenue for ethnic venting.....
Bill, I think we should concentrate on official languages(Swahili,French) matters that we can present to ICANN and not tribal...these are personal websites and there is freedom of expression...so if these individuals decide to express themselves with their native language......and there is something offensive....then.....that should be dealt with at the policy aspect and at a local level,(I think) and not really be used as an avenue/reason to kill multi-lingual ism online. Kind Regards, On Thu, Aug 21, 2008 at 12:12 PM, Bill Kagai <billkagai@gmail.com> wrote:
On Thu, Aug 21, 2008 at 1:56 AM, mwende njiraini < mwende.njiraini@gmail.com> wrote:
shouldn't we use it be to provide information as well as preserve our culture in our languages for use by future generations?
www.jaluo.com www.kikuyu.com
We are not yet ready for this....maybe....it could be the next avenue for ethnic venting.....
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On Thu, Aug 21, 2008 at 12:40 PM, Judy Okite <judyokite@gmail.com> wrote:
...so if these individuals decide to express themselves with their native language......and there is something offensive....then.....that should be dealt with at the policy aspect and at a local level,(I think)
This is now an Internet Governance....Socio-Cultural issue. And it cannot get more local than at this level. But who has jurisdiction here??? In 5 years all political wars might be fought in the cyberspace. Its going to get murky if not addressed now!!
Actually I was skeptical about having different languages online....and was impressed when I read that India is the largest English speaking country....then Australia.....at this moment,I thought everyone should be able to adopt! But when I looked at it critically I realised, .......In order for us to continue seeing the growth of the internet....we have to get more people on it...and it will require changes and some tweeking here and there and language is a positive move...Lets allow people to be comfortable online...a language they can easily relate with. Kind Regards, On Thu, Aug 21, 2008 at 10:39 AM, Bill Kagai <billkagai@gmail.com> wrote:
On Thu, Aug 21, 2008 at 10:27 AM, John Walubengo <jwalu@yahoo.com> wrote:
It can truly open up opportunities and change their lives.
Have you ever met someone who can 'read and write' swahili but cannot 'ditto' english???
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-- "Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
--- On Thu, 8/21/08, Bill Kagai <billkagai@gmail.com> wrote:
Have you ever met someone who can 'read and write' swahili but cannot >'ditto' english???
Bill, for a moment i thought this was 'hassler' question - designed to throw me off guard...but it got me searching for someone who could actually read and write in Swahili but had no clue of English. Then I suddenly recalled that my late Grandfather used to read his popular Taifa Leo (swahili paper) but had absolutely no clue with the English language. Ofcourse using his Kiswahili literacy skills, he could get to 'read' English as well - just the same way you and I can read Latin - but it wouldnt make sense to him. I would bet there are enough of these type of people in Kenya, particularly at the Coast (Pwani) who may have Swahili literacy but without the benefit of English Understanding. Kags can you help me here?- am trying to raise a case for the people bwana! walu. --- On Thu, 8/21/08, Bill Kagai <billkagai@gmail.com> wrote:
From: Bill Kagai <billkagai@gmail.com> Subject: Re: [kictanet] Day 9 of 10:-IGF Discussion, Socio-Cultural Issues To: "John Walubengo" <jwalu@yahoo.com> Cc: "KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions" <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> Date: Thursday, August 21, 2008, 11:39 AM On Thu, Aug 21, 2008 at 10:27 AM, John Walubengo <jwalu@yahoo.com> wrote:
It can truly open up opportunities and change their lives.
Have you ever met someone who can 'read and write' swahili but cannot 'ditto' english???
I have met quite a number of professionals who can "Read & Write" *Italian*(i know different continent but same principle...) and can not(or choose not to) speak / write English....(however this number has diminished over the years) Maybe taking the Italian (or some European) model where all information is first translated into the local content for all the citizens to enjoy...be it block buster movies on the launch day.. quite admirable.. On 21/08/2008, Bill Kagai <billkagai@gmail.com> wrote:
On Thu, Aug 21, 2008 at 10:27 AM, John Walubengo <jwalu@yahoo.com> wrote:
It can truly open up opportunities and change their lives.
Have you ever met someone who can 'read and write' swahili but cannot 'ditto' english???
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While we are still at pushing for multilingualism online,excited and applauding Swahili......I ask,again What is "Internet Governance" in Swahili? - Utawalaji wa Interneti? Any 'real' Swa speakers here? Kind Regards, On Thu, Aug 21, 2008 at 3:50 PM, Patrick Mburu <patrick.mburu@gmail.com>wrote:
I have met quite a number of professionals who can "Read & Write" *Italian * (i know different continent but same principle...) and can not(or choose not to) speak / write English....(however this number has diminished over the years) Maybe taking the Italian (or some European) model where all information is first translated into the local content for all the citizens to enjoy...be it block buster movies on the launch day.. quite admirable..
On 21/08/2008, Bill Kagai <billkagai@gmail.com> wrote:
On Thu, Aug 21, 2008 at 10:27 AM, John Walubengo <jwalu@yahoo.com> wrote:
It can truly open up opportunities and change their lives.
Have you ever met someone who can 'read and write' swahili but cannot 'ditto' english???
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participants (7)
-
Bill Kagai -
Gakuru, Alex -
John Walubengo -
Judy Okite -
mwende njiraini -
Patrick Mburu -
waudo siganga