Just came across this article that addresses efforts that happen in the
real world to bridge local use of less-common writing systems with
modern communication tools. (The description of Unicode as a font
standard is a little off, but the overall point and effort are
interesting to me)
Best,
Barry
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Computer translation brings Inuktitut one step closer to language of
government
Microsoft to roll out local language-based Windows operating system
SARA MINOGUE
A giant project is underway to make computing much more friendly for
Inuit - not by fixing any bugs and technical glitches, but by
translating the entire Windows operating system into Inuktitut.
Iqaluit's Pirurvik Centre has been working on the translation since
early last year, when a Microsoft employee approached the language and
cultural centre about working with them to create the first Inuktitut
operating system.
The project is part of Microsoft's Local Language Program, launched in
March, 2004. The program is partly charitable, and partly a way to
guarantee future customers, though in this case, the market is tiny.
But Gavin Nesbitt, who runs the Pirurvik Centre along with Leena Evic,
thinks the impact could be huge.
"What do you need to make Inuktitut the working language of government?
Well, you need to be able to work in Inuktitut," Nesbitt says.
[snip, full article:
http://www.nunatsiaq.com/news/nunavut/50422_09.html%5d