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Article

23 Nov 2006

Author:
Gideon Long, Reuters

Chilean Mapuches in language row with Microsoft

Mapuche Indians in Chile are trying to take global software giant Microsoft to court in a legal battle which raises the question of whether anyone can ever "own" the language they speak. The row was sparked by Microsoft's decision last month to launch its Windows software package in Mapuzugun, a Mapuche tongue spoken by around 400,000 indigenous Chileans, mostly in the south of the country... Microsoft declined to comment on the case, saying they could not do so until it is legally resolved.