Govt to create computer programs in Indonesian

Govt to create computer programs in Indonesian

JAKARTA (JP): The State Ministry for Research and Technology
said it was collaborating with several information technology
(IT) leaders to develop Indonesian-language computer programs as
part of its effort to promote the use of computers in the
country.

Deputy Minister Dicky Munaf said on Wednesday that the
ambitious project was aimed at breaking language barriers for
local people and, as such, encouraging more people to use
computers.

"The fact that computer programs are mostly in English has
often discouraged many beginners from starting to use computers.
They are afraid of making mistakes," he was quoted as saying by
Antara.

The IT companies involved in the project include international
firms IBM, Linux, Hewlett Packard and local firm Astra Graphia.

Dicky said the ministry had established three joint task
forces to realize the project.

One task force has been assigned to translate computer
terminology from English into Indonesian, while the other two
have been tasked with developing a computer program in Indonesian
and to then promote and implement the program among the public.

Each task force consists of language and IT experts.

"In the beginning, the translation task force will do their
job of translating computer commands into Indonesian, including
the 'help' function and other functions available on the computer
keyboard," he said, adding that the translation task force was
expected to complete their assignment by the end of June.

He also said the project was expected to develop a Web
Translation Engine, but he did not provide details on the engine.

According to Dicky, there are currently 2.5 million active
computer users in the country.

He also said that at least 15 countries have applied their own
national languages to computer programs. The countries include
Germany, Japan, France, Spain, Sweden, Italy, Portugal, the
Netherlands, China, Denmark, Russia, South Korea and Poland. (03)