Microsoft’s Michael Kaplan on language computing

 
He may be a foreigner and he may not be able to speak in Indian languages. But, his knowledge about Indian language scripts and fonts is fathomless and unique. He is none other than Michael Kaplan, Program Manager, World Readiness Team, Microsoft Corporation. He is associated with Indian language computing for more than a decade. He has also spoken at conferences around the world, including India and does a great deal of training in the areas of internationalization and localizability. His recent visit was to attend Tamil Internet Conference held at Coimbatore. Bhashaindia got a rare chance to have a chat with him on Indian language computing and localization. Here are the excerpts of the interview Bhashaindia had with him.

Michael, it is a pleasure for us to take an interview of you! The blog which you write, 'Sorting it all Out (Michael Kaplan's random stuff of dubious value)' is one which can not be ignored by anybody who is interested in Indian language computing. Can you please explain your relation with Indian languages and its scripts?

I love all the languages and its scripts. Even though I can not read Indian languages, I have done a good research on the Unicode properties of many Indian languages. Out of my love towards Indian scripts, I used to interact with Indian language experts. My connection with INFITT is such a one.  

INFITT was the first global organization set up to represent governments, corporations, interest groups and individuals who are concerned with the development and use of Tamil computing and Tamil Internet. The Unicode Consortium considers INFITT as a key player in the Tamil IT world and I am happy to say that I was instrumental for Unicode Consortium to implement INFITT’s recommendations.

I am with Microsoft's World Readiness Team which deals with computing efforts for world languages. At Microsoft, we are keen on localizing our products and reaching the masses. We know that majority of the masses across the globe use non-English languages to communicate. India is also not an exception, hence the localization efforts of Microsoft. It is an interesting fact that it was Microsoft which first started supporting many Indian language Unicode fonts.

Now, it is the era of localization. Companies are very particular in localizing their products into regional languages. Microsoft is also taking huge initiatives for localizing their products. How do you see the overall picture of language computing efforts and localization initiatives in India?

English language used in computer is a big constraint for non-English speakers. Majority of the people in India does not know English and they miss the advantages of computing. It is our duty to make them use computing devices and make them enjoy the benefits of computing.

Centre and state governments, private companies like Microsoft and individuals have put lot of effort to make the situation improve. Now, we have something in languages. Devices started supporting languages. Many product interfaces are in languages. Microsoft has released Language Interface Packs (LIPs) for major Indian languages.

I have a very different observation to share here. Whenever I meet students or professionals, I used to ask few questions - 'Do you know how to type in your language? Have you used language versions of software products?' Most of the time, the answer will be a big 'NO'!

This shows that we are not ready for language computing. Beat it Microsoft or any other company, they pump lot of money to take their products into language market. They need to see that people use these localized products. They want to see that people give them feedback on the products so that they can improve it next time. But, unfortunately, this is not happening. I want people to try more what we have and give their inputs.

What may be the reason? How can we overcome this hurdle and enable common masses with benefits of computing?

In today's scenario, English enables the computer users to get more knowledge and opportunities. Those, who speak, read and write regional language and have learnt English by necessity would be the early adaptors of language computing. They have a bigger role to perform. They should be able to lead the growth in language computing.

When people see their language on the computer screen, they get excited and want to make more use of it. But, using language on computer is a bit harder.  For any user it is necessary to get rid of the computer baggage that makes it harder for them to use their language on the computer naturally. So, language computing should be naturalized for the average user.

Being a localization and language computing person, what all are the challenges you face when localizing products to India languages? Can you please explain the process of software localization also?

Localization means nothing but the adaptation of a product or service and its documentation to the culture of a given locale. Once a product is ready, we do pseudo localization. Pseudo localization is a software testing method that is used to test internationalization aspects of software. A tester will then inspect each element of the UI to make sure everything is displayed properly.

Localizing an application requires a basic understanding of the character sets and an understanding of the issues associated with them. Localization includes the translation of the application user interface and adapting graphics for a specific culture/locale. The localization process can also include translating any help content associated with the application.

The biggest challenge we face is the space constraint when we localize any product into Indian languages. Any English string will not take much space. But, when it gets translated into Indian languages, the string will become longer. At the time of product planning, this issue should be tackled.

Another big challenge is the quality of the localized product. We at Microsoft end always strive very hard to get the best translation quality.

There are lot of complaints from language experts and computing experts regarding Unicode standards. Being a person closely associated with Unicode and input methods, how do you see these complaints?

Yes, there are complaints from people on Unicode standards. There are issues for sure. Unicode is not perfect. But, I think that I should not blame anybody for these issues. Problems pop up when there is no proper communication. My strong belief is that unnecessary fights or hot arguments will slow down the progress of language computing. I will suggest language bodies to have proper communication with Unicode Consortium for sorting the prevailing and relevant issues. 

Can you please tell us something about Microsoft's language computing initiatives for India?

Microsoft India has been working on language computing in India since 1998. It began with the visit of Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates when it was realized that localization was the key to usher in IT revolution in the country.

With over 33 languages and 1652 dialects, India is a nation of diverse cultures and languages. About 95 per cent of the population prefers working in regional languages and only five per cent knows English. The disparity in language usage contributes to the digital divide. To bridge the same, the company has since 1989 been working to overcome the language barrier.

So far, Microsoft has developed many custom-made solutions for Indian market, as part of its on-going efforts to make technology accessible by localizing flagship products.

Microsoft has developed an input tool (The Indic Language Input Tool) hat helps users enter Indian language text into computers easily and quickly. ‘Language Interface Packs (LIPs) are available in 12 Indian languages. Microsoft's browser, Internet Explorer also has been localized into major Indian languages.

We know that you are a former "Most Valued Professional" (MVP) of Microsoft. Can you please share something about that?

Yes, I am a former Most Valued Professional. I used to spend a lot of time in the CompuServe Access forum when Microsoft sponsored it. A MVP will get exposure, to the latest Microsoft products, which allows him/her to experience the most advanced technology one step ahead of anyone else.

MVP status is a good passport to Microsoft news, software pre-releases, and the technical Knowledge Base. Being a MVP, you will get chances to meet people in Microsoft who can help me with my work. A MVP should be ready to share his knowledge with others. Lot of research and hard work is expected from MVPs. I was enjoying my MVP days. Later, when I got a job offer from Microsoft, I left my MVP position.

You were an official invitee of Tamil Internet Conference held in Coimbatore recently. How do you see India? Can you please share your experience from Tamil Internet Conference?

It was a wonderful experience. I presented two papers. I love India and its cultural diversity. In fact, it was my second visit to India. I could meet computing professionals and language experts in Coimbatore. Interestingly, I got a job offer from Tamilnadu government (laughs). That was a memorable thing. I love to be in India. But, I have a lot things to do with Microsoft's initiatives.  

How do you rate the efforts of Bhashaindia?

I think Bhashaindia is a kind of unique portal which is focusing on Indian language computing and localization domain. I visit it regularly. It spreads awareness about local language computing. Good to see that! Still, I have a suggestion here. We at Microsoft end are hungry about user feedbacks on the products. Bhashaindia can include an interactive mechanism to invite users' feedbacks on the MS products. However, Bhashaindia's efforts are invaluable. I wish Bhashaindia all the success in being a mentor of Indian Language Computing.