When I published two separate Open Letters to Apple less than two weeks ago (links ahead), I didn’t expect to be publishing a third to the same company so soon. With the “update” to iTunes 11.02, Apple has just downgraded a function in the iTunes which I have previously applauded here in ProVideo Coalition magazine. What Apple unexpectedly removed from iTunes 11.02 (Castilian video subtitles and soundtracks) is directly associated with one of my passions, and the topic of one of my upcoming books.

Links to the two prior Open Letters to Apple from 2013

• Why does FCP X still deal with pro i/o interfaces haphazardly?
• Why does the Mac still deal with connected HDTV monitors haphazardly?

I published both of those on February 20, 2013 here in ProVideo Coalition magazine.

The way the iTunes playback preference dialog has appeared previously

As indicated above via the green arrow, iTunes previously recognized the term Castilian in its preference tab (in an English-language system).

As indicated above via the green arrow, iTunes previously recognized the term castellano in its preference tab (in a Castilian-language system).

As I documented back in September 2010 (and illustrated above), before now, Apple has made proper recognition of Spain’s linguistic diverse modalities by including the proper term (Castilian) in iTunes menus for subtitles and soundtracks. In fact, I have personally checked that this has remained intact with every subsequent version of iTunes that Apple has released since that date, until this latest version 11.0.2.

How it appears (unfortunately) in iTunes 11.0.2

As indicated above, in version 11.0.2, Apple has unfortunately removed any references to Castilian/castellano in the updated dialog.

Why is the removal of the references to Castilian/castellano damaging to society?

The removal of the terms Castilian/castellano in iTunes is both imprecise and damaging to society. You will find a full explanation at TruthAboutSpanish.com, including citations of the Spanish Constitution and those of countries like Colombia, Perú, and Venezuela.

Why did Apple do this?

Has Apple somehow fallen under the influence of some Francoist group that wants to re-ignite linguicide in Spain .e. the wiping out of other languages which are spoken natively there, i.e. Catalán, Euskera (Basque), Galician, and Valencian], as Franco attempted to do during his regime? Is it a simple bug that Apple will immediately fix? I asked Apple’s public relations department and will update this article or publish a new one as soon as I receive a response.

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My latest ebook

My most recent ebook is available in two languages. The format is Kindle, but even if you don’t have a Kindle device, you can read Kindle books on many other devices using a free Kindle app. That includes iPad, iPhone, Android phones, Android tablets, Mac computers, Windows computers, some Blackberry phones and Windows 7 phones.

In English:

In English, it is currently available in the following Amazon stores, depending upon your region:

• At Amazon.com (for all of the Americas and the Republic of India)
• Amazon.co.jp (Japan)
• Amazon.co.uk (United Kingdom)
• Amazon.de (Germany)
• Amazon.es (Spain, pero a lo mejor lo prefieres en castellano, a continuación)
• Amazon.fr (France)
• Amazon.it (Italy)

If you’re going to buy a Kindle book as a gift, you must do so via the Pan-American Amazon store (the first one listed above), regardless of where you live or where the recipient lives.

En castellano:

En castellano, está disponible actualmente en las siguientes tiendas Amazon, según tu región:

• Amazon.com (todas las Américas y la República de la India)
• Amazon.co.jp (Japón)
• Amazon.co.uk (Reino Unido)
• Amazon.de (Alemania)
• Amazon.es (España)
• Amazon.fr (Francia)
• Amazon.it (Italia)

Si vas a comprar un libro Kindle como regalo, debes hacerlo vía la tienda panamericana de Amazon (la primera de la lista) sin importar donde vivas tú o donde viva la persona que recibirá el regalo.

Allan Tépper’s books, consulting, articles, seminars & audio programs

Contact Allan Tépper for consulting, or find a full listing of his books, articles and upcoming seminars and webinars at AllanTepper.com. Listen to his TecnoTur program, which is now available both in Castilian (aka “Spanish”) and in English, free of charge. Search for TecnoTur in iTunes or visit TecnoTur.us for more information.

Disclosure, to comply with the FTC’s rules

No manufacturer is specifically paying Allan Tépper or TecnoTur LLC to write this article or the mentioned books. Some of the other manufacturers listed above have contracted Tépper and/or TecnoTur LLC to carry out consulting and/or translations/localizations/transcreations. Many of the manufacturers listed above have sent Allan Tépper review units. So far, none of the manufacturers listed above is/are sponsors of the TecnoTur programs, although they are welcome to do so, and some are, may be (or may have been) sponsors of ProVideo Coalition magazine. Some links to third parties listed in this article and/or on this web page may indirectly benefit TecnoTur LLC via affiliate programs.

Copyright and use of this article

The articles contained in the TecnoTur channel in ProVideo Coalition magazine are copyright Allan Tépper/TecnoTur LLC, except where otherwise attributed. Unauthorized use is prohibited without prior approval, except for short quotes which link back to this page, which are encouraged!