On Thursday, June 1st, the Welsh Language Board will be launching a public trial of a brand new computer application.

The Language Control Centre (see screen grabs below), which is available to download free of charge from the Board’s website, facilitates the use of Welsh in bilingual households and workplaces by offering a language choice to all. It allows users choose the either Welsh or English as interface language for Windows XP and Office 2003, provides tutorials on how to type accent marks and to spell-check in Welsh and includes a handy vocabulary list of technology terms in Welsh and English.

There’s no need to worry if the technician at work or the staff at the local PC shop don’t speak Welsh. Now you can flick between Welsh and English at will – it’s only a couple of clicks!

One of the aims of the Board’s recently published IT Strategy for the Welsh Language is to facilitate switchability between Welsh and English in technology. This is part of the Board’s wider commitment to further developments in Welsh Language Technology as technology plays an increasingly important part in all of our lives.

We would be grateful for your feedback by e-mail to post@byig-wlb.org.uk on the Language Control Centre.


Notes to editors

1. As so many of Wales’s households and institutions are bilingual, technology must be able to be switched between Welsh and English with ease. Welsh speakers and non-Welsh speakers may share the same terminals at home or in work, which further emphasises the need for trouble-free UI (user interface) switching
2. The Language Control Centre (LCC) [see screen grabs below] is compliant with the Welsh Language Board’s recently launched Bilingual Software Guidelines and Standards (standards).
3. The LCC is fully bilingual and its interface switchable in any state between Welsh and English.
4. The LCC contains a spreadsheet of the standardised information technology terms contained in the Welsh Language Board’s Welsh National Database of Terms.
5. The LCC contains a tutorial on how to type accent marks, including those on ‘w’ and ‘y’.
6. The LCC is started by clicking on the Welsh Language Board’s Working Welsh logo which automatically appears on the desktop on installation.
7. The LCC has two levels. The top level has three functions: (1) a link to the terminology described above (2) a link to the tutorial on accent marks (3) a simple language choice to switch the entire user interface between English and Welsh (both Office 2003 [if installed] and Windows XP). The second level provides more detailed system choices.
8. If ‘user profiles’ are not enabled on the machine, the LCC will offer to link to the user profiles section of Windows help. When any user logs on to a profile for the first time (and only the first time) after the application has been installed, the application will fire up and offer a language interface choice to the user.
9. The Welsh Language Board shall not be responsible for any loss or damage whatsoever or howsoever caused, arising directly or indirectly from the use of this software or data by any person. No warranty is given that the software is free from all viruses and the user is solely responsible for virus scanning the software. The Language Control Centre is provided ‘as is’ and no support whatsoever can be provided for it by any party.
10. The LCC was developed by Draig Technology Ltd and the Welsh Language Board.
11. Your comments on the Language Control Centre are welcome via e-mail to post@byig-wlb.org.uk