There is a growing awareness that more and more people who surf the web don't use English as their first language. Their cultural outlook and value system is different from the system predominant on the web. Content providers are wondering if they should adapt sites content to suit different tastes in different markets.

Two Sides

Basically, there are two sides to this argument. One side claims that anybody who accesses the web will understand English anyway, since English is the language of the computer literate, and to have mastered the use of a computer implies a working knowledge of English. I think this is no longer true. Maybe in the past it was, but these days, most software comes in different languages. The other side claims that the Internet is a great opportunity to localize content since additional cost is minimal. And even though people may grasp basic English, they still wouldn't fully understand everything.

Localize

Beware when translating your pages, though. Visitors who have seen both Beebop's English page and Dutch page will have noticed a substantial difference in style and tonality. You cannot simply translate directly from one language to another. Even though it would be grammatically correct, it would probaby sound funny. Unless you are bilingual, I'd say - Hire a professional translator; one who can adapt and not only translate.

Cost

Now to the question, of whether it is worth the money. That of course depends on the product or service you provide. For me, the extra cost of creating a page in my mother tongue is minimal, so that it outweighs the risk. If you are not sure, one way to test interest from different audiences is to have "language" buttons on your website intro page. You could have a links for Spanish, for Swahili and for Japanese, which would then lead you to the appropriate page in that language.

Yahoo

As an example, Yahoo is currently "localizing" its content, with a Japanese, French, German and British/Irish version. I checked some of these Yahoo sites, and they all have local advertisers. Apparently it works! On my Beebop site, I know that most of my visitors come from Thailand. But do they understand everything I am trying to say in English? I don't know. Soon, Beebop's home page will be available in Thai, localized for the Thai situation. The page is already available in Dutch, and sure enough, since then, more subscribers from Holland have subscribed to this newsletter.

Links

If you are interested, here are some links about site localization for the do-it-yourselfer:

The preservation of a language
It is, says Jacques Chirac, a "major risk for humanity". AIDS? The bomb? Over-eating? No: what frightens the president of France is what the Internet may do to language, not least his own country's language

Translation tools
This is a listing sorted in alphabetical order of translation and localization tools. You can choose a tool based on your specific needs. You may need a project management tool to coordinate your localization projects or you may be interested in a desktop utility that can automatically translate letters and small documents to and from a number of languages.

Multilingual browser plug-in
The Accent website has been translated in 15 languages. Accent offers a multilingual plug-in for Netscape to view Web pages in over 30 languages - including Arabic, Chinese, Greek, Hebrew, Japanese, Korean, Russian, and Turkish (to name just a few) under any language version of Windows 3.1x Windows 95.

The bias towards western writing on the web
The World Wide Web currently has a severe bias toward English and western-european writing systems. But modern business, research, and interpersonal communication is increasingly conducted in other writing systems and languages. The Web must be enhanced to meet the needs of the global community.

By Derk Wilken derk@beebop.com, Beebop Internet Solutions.

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Last revised on 23 Oct., 1998
URL: http://www.euromktg.com/eng/ed/art/whethertranslate.html