Mind your language: connecting East Africa to the web.
"The cables are coming!"
That might as well be the cry going out across East Africa as we anticipate an end to the expensive (and often slow) internet connections that we are fettered with in this part of the world. True, there is no guarantee of a revolution, but there is a certain sense that things are bound to change with the forthcoming broadband connectivity that this part of the world still lacks. The feeling, is that we shall experience a liberation of sorts as we increase our participation in the knowledge economy.
I am not so sure.
It is true that when it comes to Internet connectivity, East Africa lags far behind the rest of the world. Laying the ocean cables that will provide an alternative to expensive satellite connections is part of the solution, but connectivity is not the only factor to consider. There are other matters that limit our access to the Internet.
One factor is the lack of reliable energy sources. Always a handicap in development, the energy shortages in Uganda have been well documented. There are signs that we may overcome this challenge. The extension of the Owen Falls Dam indicates an awareness of the urgency required in addressing this challenge. Also, recent breakthroughs in solar energy research could really alter the options for reliable electricity in this region.
The other more daunting challenge is the dominance of languages that are not indigenous to Africa on the Internet. This has so far proven to be a real barrier to Internet adoption, particularly in the rural areas, and has severely limited the opportunities for budding online entrepreneurs in the region as one in western Uganda discovered last year: “My business is only limited to those few who understand and use English. I would have had more customers if the Internet was in Lusoga,” Kiganira Deogracious Kijambu] said.
The problem is not simply one of fluency. There is also the complex issue of preference. Among those who do know and use English on a daily basis, many still feel more confident expressing certain ideas in a local language for the simple reason that some expressions have no equivalent in English. Others lose their emphasis in the translation. (Try translating "Olyose!" without resorting to an entire paragraph of explanations).
If we consider that most of the truly revolutionary blogs and web applications on the internet are in languages other than Luganda, Lunyankole, Luo, or Kikuyu, it becomes evident that much of the meaningful discourse on the Internet is conducted in languages that do not facilitate the participation of most East Africans. Even with a broadband connection it is likely that much of East Africa will remain in the periphery of the significant discussions about the future of web development and the opportunities therein. The Internet is empowering, but only to those who can make sense of the medium. Therefore, making the most of the Internet is not simply a matter of what quality of connection you have; it is also a matter of whether you have the linguistic skills to understand the language in which the data is provided.
There are encouraging signs that things will not always be this way. Many websites and applications are developing translation infrastructures and turning them over to users with encouraging results. Wikipedia for instance makes it possible for any user to submit a translation of its content in any language. Similarly Drupal, the popular open source CMS, has a rapidly developing localization server project that makes it possible to translate nearly any Drupal website into any language.
The developments with Drupal and Wikipedia both indicate that web developers are willing to place the responsibility of translating content into the hands of the content creators and their audiences, which is where that responsibility belongs. Those of us in/from East Africa who want to see more web content in our indigenous languages should should begin to seek out the tools that make it easier to publish in our mother tongues whilst making it easier for others to translate our content into a language of their choice.
Omuganda Agamba: a case study
Given my stance on where the responsibility for translated content lies, I thought it best to put my money where my mouth is. Which is why, for a couple of months now, I have been working on a website where I publish a single Luganda proverb each day along with the English translation. I call the website Omuganda Agamba. (In English, Omuganda Agamba means "A Muganda Says". A muganda is a person who is of Buganda heritage, Buganda being a kingdom in central Uganda. The phrase "Omuganda Agamba" is the preferred antecedent to the proverb in the vernacular. It seemed like a logical title for my project.)
So far most of the work has been on the content side of things. Finding a proverb to publish every day is no small task. Also, only the proverbs are in Luganda for the moment. I would like to translate the entire site but this will not be easy. Some words like "configuration" and "input" have yet to be translated into Luganda. Still, small steps, or as the Baganda say: Akwata empola...
As I develop a better sense of the process I will return to post my thoughts here. Check it out and let me know if you have a project of your own that you wish to share.
Reader comments
You are dead on. As sons and daughters from the continent, we need to localize the internet if we want our people to take advantage of the information age. It's only when we can translate the information that the proliferation of the internet in other parts of the world has made available that our people can truly stand any chance of benefiting from the information age. As you clearly pointed out, our people are still finding it challenging to use the knowledge that is already on the internet; because it's not in a language they understand. The challenge can be eliminated in societies like yours where the indigenous languages can be read and written by a vast proportion of the population.
However, there are societies, like mine for instance (Sierra Leone that is), where a large proportion of the population only knows the language in the spoken form and not written form. Yes , it's a sad story but that's the reality and i am no exception my friend. How can we turn the information the internet provide into knowledge for these group of people can't read English also? That's is something our leaders have to think about seriously. Things have change in the last decade, in the sense that, the indigeneous languages are now being taught at educational institutions. However, my fear is that a vast number of citizens have been left behind and there may not be much hope for them.
I do not know what percentage of Uganda's population is literate, either in English or in a native language. I do not imagine it to be that high.
The tools that are available these days give us such control over the content on the web that it is not really all that necessary for our leaders to make effective policies in order for us to begin to see a change. We can take the tools we have out and create our own projects. This is what I am trying to do with Omuganda Agamba
And like yourself, I am not able to read or write my language fluently. But I am working on it.
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