Microsoft manager Vis Naidoo said providing access to computer technology in local languages would open up new worlds for education and economic participation for millions of South Africans.

“Studies show that we learn better in our mother tongue, so we are not only driven to getting more computers to more people, but also by offering software and services in local languages,” said Naidoo.

Alan Govender, the manager of KwaZulu-Natal’s KwaDukuza Resource Centre, said the implementation of the isiZulu version of the Microsoft local language programme would enable communities to access computer literacy training in rural areas.

“There are about 13 million isiZulu speakers in South Africa. IsiZulu is the most widely spoken first language in South Africa (almost 24percent of the total population) as opposed to the 8,2percent whose first language is English,” said Govender.

He said the isiZulu interface had brought more people from the rural areas to their resources centre.

He explained how these people were empowered by learning how to operate and understand computer technology in their own language.

Microsoft plans to make Windows 7 available in 10 African languages before 2011. Five of these languages will be from the 11 official languages in SA.

“Translation teams from South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria and Ethiopia have already started translating Windows 7 and the upcoming Office 2010 productivity suite into languages like Sesotho, Setswana, isiXhosa, isiZulu, Afrikaans, Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba, kiSwahili and Amharic,” said Naidoo.