The conservation and perpetuation of a language requires more than just passing it on orally or writing it down: it must be used frequently within context and using the tools of the day. One of those tools that I am vehemently passionate about is the smartphone. These devices, which are used every day by many people, are preeminent mediums for language usage and retention. Think about it: we all read and write emails and messages on our iPhones or Android devices, and work within the context and framework of a language (predominantly English).
This week, Apple’s Wordwide Developer Conference is in full swing in San Francisco. As an attendee, I have access to a copious amount of information regarding the direction of Apple’s major platforms, including iOS, the operating system that powers numerable smartphones. Another bonus of being a participant to this event is that I have the ability to meet one-on-one with Apple engineers to discuss issues or suggest improvements related to their technologies.
To that end, I had the opportunity to discuss the inclusion of two of our Louisiana languages (Cajun French and Louisiana Creole/Kouri-Vini), with an Apple engineer, and to advocate strongly for their inclusion within an upcoming version of iOS. Both of these languages have ISO-639-3 representational codes, which sets them as known languages (you can read the details by following these links for Cajun French and Kouri-Vini).
The hope is that with this discussion that ensued today, we will soon be able to set either Cajun French or Kouri-Vini as the default language on our iOS devices. This will empower our people to both read and write on these devices without encumbrance, and create a digital experience that caters to us in our language.
This does not mean that every app you use will magically start presenting its information in those languages. That functionality is up to the app’s developer, who must explicitly support additional languages by obtaining translations and incorporating them. However, for the base user experience on an iOS device, I anticipate that system messages and other interactions with your phone that show text will be done in our native languages once that support is in place. It will also open up opportunities for Cajun French and Kouri-Vini language experts to provide translation services for those app developers who want to support these languages in their apps.
Additionally, having Cajun French and Kouri-Vini as “first class language citizens” and fully selectable from the languages list in the Settings app sets a standard: it codifies these languages into the iOS ecosystem and elevates them in prominence.
I am also aware of the other major device platform: Android. I will be doing what I can to make the right contacts so that our languages are also supported there.
At this point there is not much to do except to wait, as Apple has a vetting and scheduling process for choosing languages to localize in their upcoming versions of iOS. However, I want to let our Cajun French and Kouri-Vini speakers know that this issue has been raised and is doggedly being pursed. I hope to have more information in a future blog post. Bien merci.
— Boisy Pitre