[gnome-cy] Free software forces Microsoft to support Welsh

[Kevin Donnelly <kevin dotmon com>]

(Final distributed version)

THE ENGLISH VERSION IS BELOW THE WELSH VERSION

WELSH VERSION BEGINS

Datganiad i'r Wasg
22 Ionawr 2004

MEDDALWEDD RHYDD YN GORFODI MICROSOFT I GEFNOGI GYMRAEG

Mae gwaith dros y misoedd diwethaf gan gylch o wirfoddolwyr meddalwedd 
rhydd/cod-agored wedi gorfodi Microsoft i gynnig fersiwn swyddogol o Windows 
XP and MSOffice yn Gymraeg i atal bygythiad o golli defnyddwyr eu meddalwedd.

Mae Bwrdd yr Iaith Gymraeg (http://www.bwrdd-yr-iaith.org.uk) wedi rhyddhau 
datganiad heddiw bod Microsoft am gyllido fersiwn Gymraeg o Windows XP ac 
MSOffice 2003.  Mae hyn yn newyddion da i Gymraeg, ac wedi bod yn hir yn 
cyrraedd, ond mae'n gyd-ddigwyddiad pur fod hyn wedi digwydd ar ddiwedd 
blwyddyn sydd wedi gweld cynnydd mawr mewn darpariaeth meddalwedd 
rhydd/cod-agored yn Gymraeg.

Mae'r rhestr o feddalwedd rhydd/cod-agored yn Gymraeg yn sylweddol, ac mae 
eisioes yn gallu ateb anghenion y mwyafrif o ddefnyddwyr cyfrifiaduron yn y 
cartref a'r gwaith.  Er enghraifft:
- Mozilla: pori'r We ac ebost;
- OpenOffice.org: prosesu geiriaiu, taenlenni a chyflwyniadau;
- Scribus: cyhoeddi penbwrdd medrus;
- GNOME, KDE a Linux: y cysawd gweithredu gwaelodol, cy'n cynnig chwaraewyr 
crynoddisgiau ac mp3, golygyddion delweddau, gemau, ac ati.

Mae'r gwaith cyfieithu wedi bod yn mynd ymlaen er dipyn, ond dechreuodd 
gyflymu yn 2003.  Mae dros 90,000 o ymadroddion wedi cael eu cyfieithu hyd yn 
hyn gan wirfoddolwyr di-dal, yn gweithio yn unigol neu mewn tim anffurfiol, 
ac mae sail cadarn rwan ar gyfer penbwrdd Cymraeg, sy'n rhedeg cymwysiadau 
Cymraeg.

Nid yw Microsoft erioed wedi cynnig fersiwn swyddogol o Windows yn Gymraeg 
(600,000 o siaradwyr), heb son am MSOffice, er bod y Ddeddf Iaith Gymraeg, 
sy'n rhoi cyfartalaeth swyddogol i Gymraeg a Saesneg, wedi bod yn gyfraith 
ers 10 mlynedd.

Mae penderfyniad Microsoft rwan yn cydweddu a'r sefyllfa mewn ardaleodd 
ieithoedd lleiafrifol eraill sydd wedi penderfynu cynhyrchu fersiynau eu 
hunain o feddalwedd rhydd/cod-agored.

Yn Norwy, cytunodd Microsoft i gynhyrchu fersiwn o MSOffice yn y Nynorsk 
lleiafrifol (400,000 o siaradwyr) ar ol gwrthod gwneud hyn ers llawer o 
flynyddoedd.  Cynhelir Nynorsk yn Linux, a darparwyd fersiwn o OpenOffice.org 
llynedd gan y cylch Norwyeg Skolelinux.

Ynn Nghatalwnya, cynhyrchodd Microsoft fersiwn wedi'i leoleiddio o Windows 95 
a 98 yng Nghatalaneg (6m o siaradwyr), ond ni ddiweddarwyd y fersiynau yma, 
yn ol adroddiadau.  Talodd y Generalitat (llywodraeth rhanbarthol Catalwnya) 
am gyfieithiad o Windows XP, ond ymddengys mai dim ond y fersiwn busnes a 
gyfieithwyd.  Gwrthododd Microsoft geisiadau ar gyfer fersiwn Catalaneg o 
MSOffice tan lynedd, pan ddatganwyd bod fersiwn Catalaneg o MSOffice ar y 
ffordd.  Unwaith eto, cynhelir Catalaneg yn Linux, a darparwyd fersiwn o 
OpenOffice.org llynedd gan y cylch Catalan SoftCatala.

Yn y Deyrnas Unedig, nid yw Microsoft wedi cynnig fersiwn o Windows neu 
MSOffice yng Nghaeleg yr Alban (60,000 o siaradwyr), er bod canlyniad ymarfer 
ymgynghori ar Ddeddf Iaith Gaeleg yn debygol o roi statws cyfreithiol cryfach 
i'r iaith, yn ol Comunn na Gaidhlig.

Dim ond amser a ddengys a yw ymrwymiad newydd Microsoft i'r iaith Gymraeg yn 
real, neu dim ond yn gynllun i arafu y symudiad meddalwedd rhydd/cod-agored 
yng Nghymru.  Yn arbennig, a fydd y fersiynau wedi'i lleoleiddio yn cael eu 
diweddaru, ac a fydd Microsoft yn parhau i dalu am hynny eu hunain?  Y prif 
cwestiwn ar gyfer gwneuthurwyr polisi yw: pwy sy'n fwyaf tebyg i ddangos 
ymrwymiad parhaol i'r iaith Gymraeg - siaradwyr Cymraeg eu hunain, neu gwmni 
rhyngwladol a orfodwyd i gefnogi'r iaith ar y ddeuddegfed awr am resymau 
masnachol?

Nodiadau:

1.  Mae meddalwedd rhydd/cod-agored yn cynnig llawer o fanteision deniadol 
(hyblygrwydd, diogelwch, sadrwydd, ymatebolrwydd i anghenion lleol), ac 
adnabyddir hyn yn gynnyddol byd-eang.  Mae manylion pellach ar gael oddiwrth 
http://www.kyfieithu.co.uk/sections.php?lg=en&section_id=3, ac wrth safweodd 
fel Y Sefydliad Meddalwedd Rhydd (http://www.fsf.org) a LinuxToday 
(http://www.linuxtoday.com).

2.  Cyweithiau cyfieithu Cymraeg: 
KDE (Kevin Donnelly, Owain Green ac eraill) - www.kyfieithu.co.uk
GNOME (Dafydd Harries ac eraill) - http://muse.19inch.net/~daf/gnome-cy/
Abiword, Mandrake (Rhoslyn Prys) - www.meddal.org.uk
Mozilla (Dewi B Jones, Rhoslyn Prys) - www.gwelywiwr.org
Scribus (Kevin Donnelly) - www.kyfieithu.co.uk
OpenOffice.org (Rhoslyn Prys, Dewi B Jones, David Chan) - www.meddal.org.uk

3. Nynorsk a Catalaneg:
General - http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/archive/28980.html (bottom of 
the page)
Skolelinux - http://www.skolelinux.org/
Softcatala - http://linux.softcatala.org/

4.  Gaeleg yr Alban
Mae gwaith cycwynnol ar OpenOffice.org yng Ngaeleg wedi'i wneud yn barod.  
Cwblhewyd yn ddiweddar yr ymarfer ymghyngori ar Ddeddf Iaith Gaeleg, a 
derbynnwyd rhyw 2,500 o sylwadau.

5.  Cysylltwch a Kevin Donnelly (telephone: +44 (0)1248 715925, email: 
kevin dotmon com) ar gyfer manylion pellach.

WELSH VERSION ENDS

ENGLISH VERSION BEGINS

Press Release
22 January 2004
No embargo

FREE SOFTWARE FORCES MICOSOFT TO SUPPORT WELSH

Work over the past few months by a group of free/open-source volunteers has 
forced Microsoft to offer an official version of Windows XP and MSOffice in 
Welsh 
to head off the threat of wholesale defections from its software.

The Welsh Language Board (http://www.welsh-language-board.org.uk/) has just 
announced that Microsoft is to fund Welsh versions of Windows XP and MSOffice 
2003.  This is good news for Welsh, and long overdue, but it is purely 
coincidental that it occurs at the end of a year which has seen tremendous 
strides in the provision of free software in Welsh.

The list of free/open-source software in Welsh is impressive, and can already 
meet the needs of most computer-users, whether at home or at work.  For 
example:
- Mozilla: web browsing and email;
- OpenOffice.org: word-processing, spreadsheets and presentations;
- Scribus: highly-capable desktop publishing;
- GNOME, KDE and Linux: the underlying operating system, offering CD and mp3 
players, image editors, games, etc.

The translation work has been going on for some time, but picked up 
momentum in 2003.  Upwards of 90,000 phrases have been translated so far by 
unpaid volunteers, working either alone or in a loose team, and there is now a 
firm base for a home-grown Welsh desktop running Welsh applications.

Microsoft has never offered an official version of Windows in Welsh (600,000 
speakers), let alone of MSOffice, even though the Welsh Language Act, giving 
Welsh official parity with English, has been law for 10 years.  Microsoft's 
decision now parallels that in other minority language areas which have 
decided to produce their own versions of free/open-source software.  

In Norway, Microsoft, after refusing to provide a version of MSOffice in the 
minority Nynorsk (400,000 speakers) for many years, agreed to do so last 
year.  Nynorsk is supported in Linux, and a version of OpenOffice.org has been 
produced by Norwegian group Skolelinux.

In Catalunya, Microsoft initially produced localised versions of Windows 95 
and 98 in Catalan (6m speakers), but reportedly failed to update them.  The 
Generalitat (Catalan devolved administration) then paid for a translation of 
WindowsXP, but apparently only the business version was translated.  Requests 
for a Catalan version of MSOffice fell on deaf ears until last year, when a 
forthcoming Catalan version of MSOffice was announced.  Again, Catalan is 
supported in Linux, and a version of OpenOffice.org produced by Catalan group 
SoftCatala.

In the UK, Microsoft has yet to offer a version of either Windows or MSOffice 
in Scots Gaidhlig (60,000 speakers), even though a recent consulation exercise 
on a Gaidhlig Language Act for Scotland may possibly, according to Comunn na 
Gaidhlig, result in a stronger legal status for the language.

It remains to be seen whether Microsoft's new commitment to the Welsh language 
is real, or merely a ploy to take the steam out of the growing 
free/open-source software movement in Wales.  In particular, will the 
localised versions be kept up-to-date, and will Microsoft continue to pay for 
that itself?  The key question for policy-makers is: who is more likely to 
show continued commitment to the Welsh language - Welsh speakers themselves, 
or a multinational which has been forced to belatedly support the language 
for commercial reasons?

Notes:

1.  Free/open-source software offers a compelling package of benefits 
(flexibility, security, stability, responsiveness to local needs), as is 
increasingly being recognised worldwide.  Further information is available 
from http://www.kyfieithu.co.uk/sections.php?lg=en&section_id=3, and at sites 
such as the Free Software Foundation (http://www.fsf.org) and LinuxToday 
(http://www.linuxtoday.com).

2.  Welsh translation projects: 
KDE (Kevin Donnelly, Owain Green and others) - www.kyfieithu.co.uk
GNOME (Dafydd Harries and others) - http://muse.19inch.net/~daf/gnome-cy/
Abiword, Mandrake (Rhoslyn Prys) - www.meddal.org.uk
Mozilla (Dewi B Jones, Rhoslyn Prys) - www.gwelywiwr.org
Scribus (Kevin Donnelly) - www.kyfieithu.co.uk
OpenOffice.org (Rhoslyn Prys, Dewi B Jones, David Chan) - www.meddal.org.uk

3. Nynorsk and Catalan:
General - http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/archive/28980.html (bottom of 
the page)
Skolelinux - http://www.skolelinux.org/
Softcatala - http://linux.softcatala.org/

4.  Scots Gaidhlig
Some initial work on a Gaidhlig OpenOffice.org has in fact already been done.  
The consultation exercise on a Gaidhlig Language Act has just been completed, 
and attracted some 2,500 submissions.

5.  For further information, contact Kevin Donnelly (telephone: +44 (0)1248 
715925, email: kevin dotmon com).

ENGLISH VERSION ENDS

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