Accessibility & Inclusion
Software > Accessibility & Language

Multilingual PC Software

By Richard Raby, Lingua

Richard Raby looks at some general issues, and then comments on packages available for different languages.

Recent changes

During the four years since we last looked at this topic things have improved greatly for people who need to use their PCs in languages other than English. With each new version of Windows and Office Microsoft add more language capability and improve the functionality of existing languages. However, not every language is yet catered for and some don’t work perfectly. Fortunately, during the same period, packages from other software developers have continued to get better and cheaper so that there is usually something to meet most requirements and budgets.

Making choices

Not all software offers the same level of features, so you should think about what you will need to do with the software when considering the options available. For example, do you need to design pages with a complex layout? Do you want to create presentations using Microsoft PowerPoint? Is a spelling checker included? If so, is it the right one for the version of you use? If you need to write in more than one language (e.g. and English), is it easy to alternate between them and can you have more than one language on the same line?

Keyboard layouts

It is worth checking what keyboard layouts (or input methods) are included with the software –  are these easy to use and how long will they take to learn? Some software uses keyboard layouts which UK users may not find logical – many people are so used to the English keyboard that they prefer a phonetic layout, where the sounds of match (as closely as possible) the English keys. Is there an option to choose from different layouts or to design your own layout?

Training & support

How easy will the software be to use and will training be required? If so, is this available and at what price?

How easy will the software be to install? Is technical support available and by what means (phone, e-mail, website)? Is support available in the UK and does it cost anything?

Cost

Are there special prices for network versions or site licences? Are these one-off costs or are they renewable? How often is the software upgraded and how much will you have to pay if you want to upgrade to the latest version? Will you still receive technical support if you have an old version?

Many programs (eg Executive and Global Office) work within your existing English applications and may be an ideal solution because you are adding extra language capability to software which is familiar and reliable. Check whether the new program will work with any English software or just with Microsoft Word (some software which is designed to work with Microsoft Office may not be 100% compatible with Open Office).

For languages which are written from right to left (such as Arabic, Farsi, Hebrew and Urdu) some of these programs don’t have automatic text wrap (ie the user has to press the return button at the end of each line – this means that, for these languages, they are only suitable for short passages of text). In these cases a stand-alone word processor designed for one particular language can often be a better choice.

Multi-language software

Some multi-language software is very good value and can be useful for people who want to produce small amounts of text in many languages (or who are working mostly in languages that have simple scripts). However, these software packages are always a compromise between cost and quality. They are ‘quite good at quite a lot of languages’ but they are never the best choice for a specific language and. don’t always work satisfactorily in some of the more complex scripts and it may better to consider a program that has been designed specifically for your language.

Windows XP Professional  has much more multilingual capabilities than previous versions of Windows and, depending on the languages you require, you may not need any additional software. Check the Microsoft site for more details.

Language by Language

Indian scripts

Many cheap or free Indian language fonts are available, but they often of poor quality and don’t always allow you to type all the characters correctly and easily.

Check that all the required characters are available and that they are of the style preferred by the target audience. For example are all the Bengali characters ‘conjunct’ included?

One program that is very widely used in the UK is ‘Executive’ – this comes in separate versions for Bengali, Hindi, Gujarati, Malayalam, Punjabi and Tamil (also Amharic) and works within Microsoft Word.

Chinese

In order to enable the typing such a complex script as Chinese from a computer keyboard different input methods have been developed in different parts of the Chinese-speaking world – make sure that the input method you need is included. There are two versions of Chinese script –  ‘Simplified’ is used in mainland China and ‘Traditional’ is used elsewhere. Microsoft still makes separate versions for Traditional & Simplified but other Chinese software, such as TwinBridge includes both scripts (and will run in English versions of Windows).

Japanese

Make sure all three forms of Japanese script (Hiragana, Katakana and Kanji) are included and that the software runs under English Windows – a good choice for most situations may be Japanese Partner though once again there are other good quality choices options depending on your requirements. If you don’t mind having all you PC menus in Japanese you may wish to consider running Japanese Windows XP which will allow you to run Japanese versions of all major software (but be warned: the prices may come as a shock).

Urdu

This is one of the main languages which is not satisfactorily included in Windows XP. Most Urdu speakers in the UK use ‘InPage’  which is a standalone word processor with basic desktop publishing. Apart from being updated to work with Windows XP only minor improvements (noticeably the addition of the Kurdish language) have been made in recent years. ‘Version 3’ has long been promised but, as yet, has failed to materialise.

Check that the software you are considering has the true Urdu ‘Nastaliq’ script which is favoured by most Urdu speakers. Urdu be written in flatter Arabic-style fonts and some software which claims to include Urdu does so by adding additional characters to Arabic fonts rather than using a Nastaliq font (which is much more difficult to do).

Since we last considered this topic in 2002 there has been a new software arrival – ‘Urdu Mahir’ allows the user to write in Urdu, in Nastaliq script, using an English version of Windows XP and Office XP (Word, PowerPoint, Access and Excel). Urdu Mahir really divides users – some have found it be excellent whilst others have described it as almost impossible to use.

If you already have Urdu software these languages will also be included. They are also in most multi-language systems (but note the earlier reservation about working with right to left scripts) . If you are prepared to run Arabic Windows you will be able to choose Arabic versions of all the major software applications (though some of them are very expensive!). Windows XP Professional brings better support for Arabic-script languages, including Farsi, than previous versions of Windows. Using Windows XP and Office it is possible to write in Arabic without the need for additional software or for specific Arabic versions of the operating system or program (but remember that this will mean all the menus on that PC will be in Arabic).

European languages

This is no longer an issue – at one time it was necessary to buy additional software to write in some European languages but this facility is now built into current versions of Windows. European languages also available, with additional facilities such as keyboard display, in multilingual software packages, such as Global Office.

African languages

Many African languages, such as Somali use Roman script without accents and so can be written using any English software. Others such as Twi and Ewe use additional characters that can easily be provided with a special font with its own keyboard driver. Amharic, and other Ethiopian languages, use a different script and require special software to handle the complexities of the writing –Executive and some multilingual packages are suitable.

Keyboards

Some language software has the option to display an on-screen keyboard but you may prefer to have a physical keyboard dedicated to your language. These are readily available for most European languages plus Arabic, Chinese, Japanese and others. However for many UK community languages they are either not available or they can’t be supplied in the required layout.

A cheaper alternative, which is available for more languages, is to use transparent keyboard stickers. The best of these are very high quality and will stand up to a fairly heavy use – the can often be supplied with different coloured characters to be used with either beige or black keyboards.