Today is International Mother Language Day, and Microsoft is seizing on the occasion to announce greater support for Indian languages (opens in new tab) across several of its services. Starting today, Microsoft says it will support email addresses in multiple Indian languages across its various email apps and services.
All told, the move adds support for 15 languages, including:
- Hindi
- Bodo
- Dogri
- Konkani
- Maithili
- Marathi
- Nepali
- Sindhi
- Bengali
- Gujarati
- Manipuri
- Punjabi
- Tamil
- Telugu
- Urdu
Indian language email addresses are now supported across Office 365, Outlook 2016, Outlook.com, and the Outlook apps for Android and iOS. Exchange Online and Exchange Online Protection also support addresses in the above languages.
Speaking on the addition of support for these languages, Microsoft India COO Meetul Patel said that the move represents a step forward in eliminating language as a barrier to the adoption of technology and communication tools. From Patel:
Ensuring that language is not a barrier to the adoption of technology is key for digital inclusion and growth. Making email addresses available in 15 languages is an exciting step to making modern communications and collaboration tools more accessible and easier to use for all – something we have been relentlessly working towards," said Meetul Patel, COO of Microsoft India. We're making technology use the language of people, and not requiring people to first learn the traditional language of technology.
If you have an email address in one of the above languages, Microsoft has a step-by-step guide to configuring Outlook (opens in new tab) to work with an Indian language user account and email address.
