A Multilingual Internet

As both European and Asian markets use the Internet more and more to conduct business, there will be an increasing need for language choices for the different markets.

English is so often used on the Internet that it might make you think that everyone in the world speaks English, or at least give you the impression that it is the world’s most widely-spoken language. If this were true, it would, of course, bring benefits for worldwide communication and understanding, though that it could also possibly become a threat to cultural diversity. English certainly seems to be everywhere, from films to pop music and TV, and from business to science and other fields.

Information varies, but suggests that about 75% of the pages on the Web are in English. Yet English is the mother tongue for only 5.4% of the world’s population, while further 7% of the world’s population are proficient speakers of English. This means that only around 12% of the world’s population can communicate well in English. This figure is nowhere near the total number of people speaking Chinese languages, which, at 20.7%, is much higher.

More and more people are accessing the Internet nowadays, including many companies wanting to conduct e-business. As a consequence, the position of English is beginning to change. Both Europe and Asia are growth areas, with businesses increasing their use of the Internet and people would apparently rather buy things online if they can order in their own language.

It has been predicted that by 2003 only one third of Internet users will be speakers of English. As a result, companies wanting to reach world markets are beginning to realize that they will have to translate their websites for the various customers.

However, creating a multilingual website is not an easy task. Companies wishing to translate their sites for different markets basically face both technical and linguistic problems. They are unable to use automated translation systems, which already exist in the market, simply because the quality is not good enough for professional use. Businesses all over the world are now faced with this huge challenge.

Moreover, translating websites is only the beginning. Customers with questions or problems will need to discuss matters in their own language, for example, while prices will need to be in the local currency. Dates will also need to be in the right format to avoid confusion. Companies will need to adapt their advertising materials so as not to offend different cultures. They may also have to change their way of doing business to suit certain customers-in Japan, for example, as the Japanese do not tend to give their credit card details over the Web. There are also legal issues to take into consideration.

Such vast changes will not happen overnight. It is impossible to say exactly how many texts there are on the Web as the number is changing all the time. One thing which is certain, however, is that a growth in the use of Internet is guaranteed. Companies doing e-business simply need time to translate their sites into the various languages necessary to do business. Meanwhile, more and more material in different languages is being added to the Web at a fast pace.

While all this is happening, local companies, with few employees, doing e-business only in the language of their target market and who are aware of the cultural aspects of that market, will certainly be at an advantage. The problems of language and culture could well limit larger companies from expanding and so offer more opportunities to smaller businesses in poorer areas of the world.

Virginia Evans, Linda Edwards, Upstream Advanced