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The Conversation
The Conversation
Mark Turin, Associate professor, Department of Anthropology, University of British Columbia

UNBELIEVABLE: Why is it so hard to type in indigenous languages - Caught on Camera

Two new letters added to the Unicode Standard to write Haíɫzaqvḷa (Typotheque), CC BY-NC-ND

When it comes to digital access and internet technologies, some languages are still more equal than others. Speakers of majority languages, who type in English or text in Korean, assume their message will be transmitted accurately. But Indigenous language communities don’t share this same confidence.

Computers and smartphones don’t come with the ability to type all letters in all languages. The unique characters integral to many Indigenous languages are often mangled as they travel across the ether.

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