— the blog of Webguide: an inspiration and toolkit for community groups
Random header image... Refresh for more!

learn2sign uses Facebook

by Earl Mardle

Today's Facebook community find — learn2sign NZSL!:

Welcome! learn2sign is for anyone who wants to have a go learning New Zealand’s third official language, New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL). …

Mission:

To promote the teaching and learning of New Zealand Sign Language.

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

October 5, 2008   3 Comments

Plain English Power makes your job easier

by Earl Mardle

This blog is mainly about Internet technologies and communication — the new things we are using or can use to develop our communities.

There's one thing though that we all need, whether we use old technologies, new, or no technology at all, and that's plain language.

Printed materials that use plain language are easier to read and often cheaper to produce (plain language tends to use fewer words, less paper, less ink).

On the web plain language is crucial: readers don't plough through long-winded prose. Instead they click and go somewhere else.

Plain English Power is a New Zealand lobby group, free to join, that needs our support:

We're a network of New Zealand residents promoting the use of plain English for official documents and web sites. We believe that comprehensible information from government is a basic democratic right. We want to make plain English the standard for all New Zealand contracts, consumer information, and communications from government organisations.

We believe plain language in government documents is a democratic right

When ordinary people understand official information, they gain:

  • the information they need
  • a sense of control and confidence
  • the ability to make informed choices
  • fair access to benefits and pensions.

[Via : About Plain English Power in New Zealand: goal, services, strategy, history.]

This is a lobby group we all need. It cuts across all sectors and philosophies. Check it out now. Oh, and spread the word.

September 11, 2008   No Comments

Use software in Maori

by Earl Mardle

As an English-speaking Kiwi I don't very often have problems with or objections to using software in English. I do have problems though when I'm told my New Zealand spelling is incorrect or that a place name such as Porirua is wrong.

Karaitiana Taiuru is doing his bit for speakers of Māori by contributing translations where he can:

On Thursday i begun translating or localizing Skype into Maori.

This will join other popular software that is available or will currently be available in Maori language including:

  • Google is now in Maori language - awaiting Google approval.
  • Windows XP, Office XP
  • Moodle and many others.

[Via Karaitiana Taiuru - Blog: Skype Maori.]

If you have comments or queries about Māori translations visit Karaitiana's blog and contact him there. Even better: perhaps you can contribute some translations yourself.

And if neither Māori nor English is your language of choice then look around for the languages you need, and offer your skills for translations.

July 26, 2008   2 Comments