The web, a multilingual encyclopedia Part 2

[Summary]

Launched in 1995 by the WorldWide Language Inst.i.tute (WWLI), an inst.i.tute providing language instruction via the internet, NetGlos -- which stands for "Multilingual Glossary of Internet Terminology" -- was compiled as a voluntary collaborative project by a number of translators and other language professionals worldwide. In September 1998, NetGlos was available in 13 languages (Chinese, Croatian, English, Dutch/Flemish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Maori, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish). As explained by Brian King, director of the WorldWide Language Inst.i.tute, in September 1998: "Before a new term becomes accepted as the 'correct' one, there is a period of instability where a number of competing candidates are used. Often an English loan word becomes the starting point -- and in many cases the endpoint. But eventually a winner emerges that becomes codified into published technical dictionaries as well as the everyday interactions of the non technical user."

NetGlos -- which stands for "Multilingual Glossary of Internet Terminology" -- was compiled as a voluntary collaborative project by a number of translators and other language professionals worldwide.

NetGlos was launched in 1995 by the WorldWide Language Inst.i.tute (WWLI), an inst.i.tute providing language instruction via the internet. Three years later, NetGlos was available in 13 languages (Chinese, Croatian, English, Dutch/Flemish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Maori, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish).

As explained by Brian King, director of the WorldWide Language Inst.i.tute, in September 1998: "Much of the technical terminology on the web is still not translated into other languages. And as we found with (...) NetGlos, the translation of these terms is not always a simple process. Before a new term becomes accepted as the 'correct' one, there is a period of instability where a number of competing candidates are used. Often an English loan word becomes the starting point -- and in many cases the endpoint. But eventually a winner emerges that becomes codified into published technical dictionaries as well as the everyday interactions of the non technical user. The latest version of NetGlos is the Russian one and it should be available in a couple of weeks or so [in late September 1998]. It will no doubt be an excellent example of the ongoing, dynamic process of 'russification' of web terminology."

How about the future? "As a company that derives its very existence from the importance attached to languages, I believe the future will be an exciting and challenging one. But it will be impossible to be complacent about our successes and accomplishments. Technology is already changing at a frenetic pace.

Lifelong learning is a strategy that we all must use if we are to stay ahead and be compet.i.tive. This is a difficult enough task in an English-speaking environment. If we add in the complexities of interacting in a multilingual/multicultural cybers.p.a.ce, then the task becomes even more demanding. As well as compet.i.tion, there is also the necessity for cooperation -- perhaps more so than ever before. The seeds of cooperation across the internet have certainly already been sown. Our NetGlos Project has depended on the goodwill of volunteer translators from Canada, U.S., Austria, Norway, Belgium, Israel, Portugal, Russia, Greece, Brazil, New Zealand and other countries. I think the hundreds of visitors we get coming to the NetGlos pages everyday is an excellent testimony to the success of these types of working relations.h.i.+ps. I see the future depending even more on cooperative relations.h.i.+ps -- although not necessarily on a volunteer basis."

1995 > VARIOUS LANGUAGES ON OUR SCREEN

[Summary]

In December 1995, Yos.h.i.+ Mikami, a computer scientist at Asia Info Network in Fujisawa, j.a.pan, created the website "The Languages of the World by Computers and the Internet", also known as the Logos Home Page or Kotoba Home Page, "to summarize there the brief history, linguistic and phonetic features, writing system and computer processing aspects for each of the six major languages of the world, in English and j.a.panese". As a second step, Yos.h.i.+ Mikami was also the co-author (with Kenji Sekine and n.o.butos.h.i.+ Kohara) of "The Multilingual Web Guide" (j.a.panese edition), a print book published in August 1997 by O'Reilly j.a.pan, and translated in 1998 into English, French and German.

In December 1995, Yos.h.i.+ Mikami created the website "The Languages of the World by Computers and the Internet", also known as the Logos Home Page or Kotoba Home Page, "to summarize there the brief history, linguistic and phonetic features, writing system and computer processing aspects for each of the six major languages of the world, in English and j.a.panese".

Yos.h.i.+ Mikami was a computer scientist at Asia Info Network in Fujisawa, j.a.pan. As a second step, one year after launching his website, he was also the co-author (with Kenji Sekine and n.o.butos.h.i.+ Kohara) of "The Multilingual Web Guide" (j.a.panese edition), a print book published in August 1997 by O'Reilly j.a.pan, and translated in 1998 into English, French and German.

Yos.h.i.+ explained in December 1998: "My native tongue is j.a.panese.

Because I had my graduate education in the U.S. and worked in the computer business, I became bilingual in j.a.panese and American English. I was always interested in languages and different cultures, so I learned some Russian, French and Chinese along the way. In late 1995, I created on the web 'The Languages of the World by Computers and the Internet' and tried to summarize there the brief history, linguistic and phonetic features, writing system and computer processing aspects for each of the six major languages of the world, in English and j.a.panese. As I gained more experience, I invited my two a.s.sociates to help me write a book on viewing, understanding and creating multilingual webpages, which was published in August 1997 as 'The Multilingual Web Guide', in a j.a.panese edition, the world's first book on such a subject."

As for multilingualism, Yos.h.i.+ added: "Thousands of years ago, in Egypt, China and elsewhere, people were more concerned about communicating their laws and thoughts not in just one language, but in several. In our modern world, most nation states have each adopted one language for their own use. I predict greater use of different languages and multilingual pages on the internet, not a simple gravitation to American English, and also more creative use of multilingual computer translation. 99% of the websites created in j.a.pan are written in j.a.panese."

1995 > GLOBAL REACH, PROMOTING LOCALIZATION

[Summary]

Ten years after founding Euro-Marketing a.s.sociates, a company based in San Francisco and Paris, Bill Dunlap launched in 1995 Global Reach, a marketing consultancy helping U.S. companies to expand their internet presence into an international framework.

This included translating a website into other languages, actively promoting it, and using local online banner advertising to increase local website traffic. Bill Dunlap explained in December 1998: "Promoting your website is at least as important as creating it, if not more important. You should be prepared to spend at least as much time and money in promoting your website as you did in creating it in the first place. With the Global Reach program, you can have it promoted in countries where English is not spoken, and achieve a wider audience... and more sales."

In 1995, Bill Dunlap launched Global Reach, a marketing consultancy helping U.S. companies to expand their internet presence into an international framework. This included translating a website into other languages, actively promoting it, and using local online banner advertising to increase local website traffic.

Ten years earlier, Bill Dunlap founded Euro-Marketing a.s.sociates, a company based in San Francisco and Paris. He wrote in December 1998: "There are so few people in the U.S. interested in communicating in many languages -- most Americans are still under the delusion that the rest of the world speaks English. However, in Europe, the countries are small enough so that an international perspective has been necessary for centuries. (...)

Since 1981, when my professional life started, I've been involved with bringing American companies in Europe. This is very much an issue of language, since the products and their marketing have to be in the languages of Europe in order for them to be visible here.

Since the web became popular in 1995 or so, I have turned these activities to their online dimension, and have come to champion European e-commerce among my fellow American compatriots. Most lately at Internet World in New York, I spoke about European e- commerce and how to use a website to address the various markets in Europe. (...)

Promoting your website is at least as important as creating it, if not more important. You should be prepared to spend at least as much time and money in promoting your website as you did in creating it in the first place. With the Global Reach program, you can have it promoted in countries where English is not spoken, and achieve a wider audience... and more sales. There are many good reasons for taking the online international market seriously.

Global Reach is a means for you to extend your website to many countries, speak to online visitors in their own language and reach online markets there."

Bill added in July 1999: "After a website's home page is available in several languages, the next step is the development of content in each language. A webmaster will notice which languages draw more visitors (and sales) than others, and these are the places to start in a multilingual web promotion campaign. At the same time, it is always good to increase the number of languages available on a website: just a home page translated into other languages would do for a start, before it becomes obvious that more should be done to develop a certain language branch on a website."

1996 > ONELOOK DICTIONARIES, A "FAST FINDER"

[Summary]

Robert Ware launched OneLook Dictionaries in April 1996 as a "fast finder" in hundreds of online dictionaries covering various topics: business, computer/internet, medical, miscellaneous, religion, science, sports, technology, general and slang. He wrote in September 1998: "On the personal side, I was almost entirely in contact with people who spoke one language and did not have much incentive to expand language abilities. Being in contact with the entire world has a way of changing that. And changing it for the better! (...) I have been slow to start including non-English dictionaries (partly because I am monolingual). But you will now find a few included." OneLook Dictionaries could browse 2 million words from 425 dictionaries in 1998, 2.5 million words from 530 dictionaries in 2000, 5 million words from 910 dictionaries in 2003, and 19 million words from 1,060 dictionaries in 2010.

Robert Ware launched OneLook Dictionaries in April 1996 as a "fast finder" in hundreds of online dictionaries covering various topics: business, computer/internet, medical, miscellaneous, religion, science, sports, technology, general and slang.

He wrote in September 1998: "On the personal side, I was almost entirely in contact with people who spoke one language and did not have much incentive to expand language abilities. Being in contact with the entire world has a way of changing that. And changing it for the better! (...) I have been slow to start including non- English dictionaries (partly because I am monolingual). But you will now find a few included."

Robert Ware also wrote about a personal experience showing the internet could promote both a common language and multilingualism: "In 1994, I was working for a college and trying to install a software package on a particular type of computer. I located a person who was working on the same problem and we began exchanging email. Suddenly, it hit me... the software was written only 30 miles away but I was getting help from a person half way around the world. Distance and geography no longer mattered! OK, this is great! But what is it leading to? I am only able to communicate in English but, fortunately, the other person could use English as well as German which was his mother tongue. The internet has removed one barrier (distance) but with that comes the barrier of language.

It seems that the internet is moving people in two quite different directions at the same time. The internet (initially based on English) is connecting people all around the world. This is further promoting a common language for people to use for communication. But it is also creating contact between people of different languages and creates a greater interest in multilingualism. A common language is great but in no way replaces this need. So the internet promotes both a common language *and*

multilingualism. The good news is that it helps provide solutions.

The increased interest and need is creating incentives for people around the world to create improved language courses and other a.s.sistance, and the internet is providing fast and inexpensive opportunities to make them available."

OneLook Dictionaries could browse 2 million words from 425 dictionaries in 1998, 2.5 million words from 530 dictionaries in 2000, 5 million words from 910 dictionaries in 2003, and 19 million words from 1,060 dictionaries in 2010.

1997 > 82.3% OF THE WEB IN ENGLISH

[Summary]

The internet was born in 1974 in the U.S. before spreading to the English-speaking community and then worldwide. This explain why it took a little while for other languages than English to be distributed. The first major study about language distribution on the web was run by Babel, a joint project from the Internet Society and Alis Technologies to contribute to the internationalization of the internet. The results were published in June 1997 in seven languages on a webpage named "Web Languages. .h.i.t Parade". The main languages available on the web were English with 82.3%, German with 4.0%, j.a.panese with 1.6%, French with 1.5%, Spanish with 1.1%, Swedish with 1.1%, and Italian with 1.0%. Three years later, in spring 2000, non-English-speaking internet users reached 50%, with a percentage steadily increasing then.

The first major study about language distribution on the web was run in 1997 by Babel, a joint project from the Internet Society and Alis Technologies to contribute to the internationalization of the internet.

The internet was born in 1974 in the U.S. before spreading to the English-speaking community and then worldwide. This explain why it took a little while for other languages than English to be distributed. People from all over the world began to have access to the internet, despite a connection that was far from cheap in a number of countries, and to post webpages in their own languages.

The percentage of webpages in English slowly decreased from nearly 100% in 1983 to 85% in 1997.

"Towards communicating on the internet in any language..." was the subt.i.tle of Babel, launched in 1997 as a plurilingual website in seven languages (English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish), with information about the world's languages and a typographical and linguistic glossary. A section named "The Internet and Multilingualism" gave information on how to develop a multilingual website, and how to code the "world's writing".

Babel ran the first major study relating to distribution of languages on the web. The results were published in June 1997 in seven languages on a webpage named "Web Languages. .h.i.t Parade". The main languages of the web were English with 82.3%, German with 4.0%, j.a.panese with 1.6%, French with 1.5%, Spanish with 1.1%, Swedish with 1.1%, and Italian with 1.0%.

According to Randy Hobler, a consultant in internet marketing for language translation software and services, interviewed in September 1998: "85% of the content of the web in 1998 is in English and going down. This trend is driven not only by more websites and users in non-English-speaking countries, but by increasing localization of company and organization sites, and increasing use of machine translation to/from various languages to translate websites."