OLPC Nigeria

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Revision as of 04:02, 27 January 2007 by Xavi (talk | contribs) (inclusion of /Country info)
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Federal Republic of Nigeria
#NA
Capital Abuja
Official languages English,
Edo,
Efik,
Adamawa Fulfulde,
Hausa,
Idoma,
Igbo,
Central Kanuri,
Yoruba
Area 923,768 km²
Population
 - 2005 estimate 128,765,768
 - 1999 census 88,992,220
 - Density 142/km²
Education
 - Literacy (%) 68.0
 - Compulsory Years #NA
 - Compulsory Age #NA
 - Pop. in School Age ~#NA
 - Pop. in School ~#NA
GDP (PPP) 2005 est. USD 175 billion
 - Per capita USD 1,400
GDP (nominal) 2005 est. USD 77 billion
 - Per capita USD 598
HDI  (2006) 0.448 (low)
Gini Index  (1996-7) 50.6
Time zone WAT (UTC+1)
Internet TLD .ng
Calling code +234
More statistics...

Languages needed for localization

Q: Which language or languages are needed for localization for use by children in Nigeria please?

A: Nigeria's official language is English along with Edo, Efik, Adamawa Fulfulde, Hausa, Idoma, Igbo, Central Kanuri and Yoruba, but there are more than 250 languages spoken in the country, Ethnologue even lists 510 spoken languages.
Most children learn English, compulsory from primary school onward, and Arabic. They would probably have a better learning experience when taught most topics in their native language. Secondary school is almost exclusevely taught in English. Yoruba is the local language most used in schools in the south west from primary to Secondary school , but the language of instruction still remains english
There are already localization efforts in Nigeria's major languages, Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa. These languages use the African Reference Alphabet, which is covered by Unicode but requiring support for composed characters with diacritics (at both input and display level). More information about localization can be found at the PanAfrLoc Wiki. According to L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde, a third of the children between 12 and 17 attend school.

Localization experience

The program Application Program: Test of ability with arithmetic may or may not become produced. The idea is to localize the program into many languages. There are already (2006-05-29) strings of text for English, Polish, Portuguese and Spanish.