Language Interface Pack (LIP)
Posted
Nov 26 2009, 01:58 PM
by
Microsoft Canada Co.
(The Pirurvik Centre for Inuit Culture Language and Wellbeing in Iqaluit, Nunavut)
It is vitally important for aboriginal communities to preserve their cultures, and one way to do that is through language.
While Inuktitut is one of the healthiest indigenous languages in Canada, English language computer software posed a major problem. If Nunavut’s ancient tongue was to survive computers needed to speak Inuktitut.
“We know computers are important to our young people’s academic success and for readying them for the job market,” says Leena Evic, founder of the Pururvik Centre. “But without Inuktitut as a basis for learning, our language will gradually disappear. That is why getting computers to speak Inuktitut is so important to our community.” Read Leena Evic’s Heroes profile here.
In 2004, Microsoft Canada teamed up with the Pirurvik Centre for Inuit Culture Language and Wellbeing in Iqaluit, Nunavut to translate Windows and Office into Inuktitut using Microsoft’s Language Interface Pack (LIP). There are seven dialects in the language of Inuktitut in Nunavut, and six of those are written in the syllabic system, shown below.
The Pirurvik Centre worked with the community to choose each of the 700,000 words and phrases in the LIP. English speakers may take the words “hyperlink” and “Internet” for granted, but these words simply did not exist in Inuktitut. It was up to Leena and her team to create words in Inuktitut that would make sense to the communities that use it.
Today, the government of Nunavut and schools in Iqaluit use their native tongue when they go online and use the computer. In February 2010, the Government of Nunavut honoured Microsoft Canada with an award for “their contribution to Inuit Language promotion.”
Language Interface Packs are available for Microsoft Windows programs. They translate languages so that users are able to “localize” their desktop processes, including email, databases and menus. There are dozens of LIP versions available for regions all over the world. Through this program Microsoft aims to find new ways to create economic opportunities, develop customize IT solutions and preserve local languages and cultures.
“It makes a huge difference to be able to use Inuktitut in all the computer programs that we use daily,” says Gavin Nesbitt. “It means we are always immersed in our language, always learning it and not forgetting it.”
Inuktitut is the first aboriginal language in Canada to be translated for Microsoft software. Download the Inuktitut LIP here.
In February 2010, Microsoft renewed its commitment to this program with new initiatives to provide technology access and help grow local economies.
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