African Languages and Information and Communication Technology: Localising the Future?

The dual processes of internationalisation and localisation of information and communication technologies (ICT)1 are still felt incompletely and unevenly in Africa. Situated on the disfavored side of what is commonly referred to as the “digital divide,” 2 Africa has not benefited directly from internationalisation of ICT as much as it might, largely due to low connectivity and lack of access, but also to the fact that some aspects of internationalisation are not widely available or well understood. Africa also has not yet seen much activity in the matter of localisation for its languages and cultures even though this is vitally important for the future use and utility of ICT in the region.