Microsoft introduces Windows in Incan language of Quechua

by Eduardo Garcia
SUCRE, Bolivia
Microsoft launched a version of its software in the Incan language of Quechua on Friday, boosting Bolivian President Evo Morales' quest to promote Bolivia's native tongues.

Some 200 people, many of them Quechuan Indians clad in ponchos, joined local Microsoft executives to unveil the version of the Windows operating system and Office software in Bolivia's constitutional capital.

"Open" is replaced by "Kichay" and "Save" by "Waqaychay" in the version in Quechua -- a language spoken by more than 2.5 million people in Bolivia, and some 10 million throughout South America.

Since taking power in January, Morales, an Aymara Indian, has sought to promote Indian culture and end discrimination against indigenous peoples in South America's poorest country.

Government officials said they were excited about the new software but concerned it could be costly for many in Bolivia's poor indigenous majority.

"We congratulate Microsoft for having facilitated the use of computers in our own languages, but we have to advance towards systems that are more open because we still have to pay a license fee (to use the software) to Microsoft," Bolivia's Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca said.

Windows and Office In Quechua can be downloaded free from the Internet, but only by those who already own licensed versions of the software packages.

Maritza Yapu, a 28-year-old Quechua teacher, thinks the new version will help Quechua speakers breach the digital divide with Spanish speakers in Bolivia.

"Quechua is experiencing a revival, some university teachers read their courses in Quechua, and now the (education) Ministry is including the language in primary education," said the teacher.

The Quechua translation was carried out by academics from three Peruvian universities in coordination with the Education Ministry in Peru -- where Quechua is also spoken -- and Microsoft.