Science & Tech · Big Tech & Internet · 6 hrs ago
Apple Adds More Indigenous Languages to iPhone and iPad Keyboards
Apple’s iOS 27 and iPadOS 27 updates added keyboard support for Blackfoot and other Indigenous languages.
The keyboards let people type and send messages in those languages on iPhones and iPads.
The update also builds on Apple’s support for Cherokee, which was added in 2010.
Cherokee has about 1,500 fluent speakers worldwide, and its written syllabary uses 85 characters.
Cherokee educators in Oklahoma use technology to help students learn the language and practice pronunciation.
These tools matter because they can help keep languages and cultural knowledge alive for younger generations.
The story does not say whether Apple plans to add more Indigenous languages in future updates.
Apple added several Indigenous languages, including Blackfoot, to keyboards in iOS 27 and iPadOS 27.
The software update was released in September.
Cherokee, which has about 1,500 fluent speakers worldwide, has been available on Apple devices since 2010.
Teachers at Oklahoma’s Cherokee Immersion School use technology to help students learn and practise Cherokee.
Apple worked with Cherokee artist Roy Boney Jr. to bring the Cherokee syllabary to its devices.
- Who
- Apple added Indigenous languages to its iPhone and iPad keyboards.
- What
- The keyboards support languages including Blackfoot and Cherokee.
- When
- The languages were added with iOS 27 and iPadOS 27, released in September.
- Where
- On Apple devices; teachers at Oklahoma’s Cherokee Immersion School also use the tools in classrooms.
- Why
- The tools support learning and the revitalization of Indigenous languages and culture.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Apple first added Cherokee to iOS.
Olivia Daugherty graduated from the Cherokee Immersion School.
Apple released iOS 27 and iPadOS 27, adding several Indigenous languages to the device keyboards.
- New keyboard languages
- Blackfoot and other Indigenous languages
- Software update
- iOS 27 and iPadOS 27
- Cherokee speakers
- About 1,500 fluent speakers worldwide
- Cherokee writing system
- 85 characters
- Cherokee keyboard history
- First added to iOS in 2010
What people are saying
The technology that we utilize with Apple has allowed us to take everything that we really are trying to achieve here, which is the perpetuation and the revitalization of Cherokee language and culture, and use that same technology to make it relevant to the young people that are learning here
In Cherokee language, every sound is so important
A big part of being Cherokee is you ensuring things like language and culture survive and continue
I was worried about my language and culture, and the way I might lose my community, and I might lose my language
Sources
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