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<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>Just a small clarification concerning a reference in the article.
ASCII actually uses 7 bits and has 128 characters (of which 94 are printable,
one is the space, and 33 are "control characters"). 8-bit (1 byte)
encodings include 256 characters of which the added 128 have been used
variously for accented characters and other alphabets. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>Unicode, which is not mentioned in the article, can use up to 4
bytes (but with the utf-8 implementation may use only 1 byte for a lot of
needs). It covers all writing systems in a single coding system. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>In practice the additional "computing resources"
necessary to use Unicode are not that significant, esp. related to computing
power today (photos, videos, etc. use a lot more resources than any text). In
fact, Unicode is the accepted industry standard now, and the number of webpages
with text in Unicode (mainly utf-8) has vastly increased in recent years.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>In principle, Unicode levels the field for all writing systems,
which would have interesting implications for the evolution of information
technology and the relative roles of languages using different scripts in
computing and on the internet.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>Don<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>From:</span></b><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>
owner-lgpolicy-list@ccat.sas.upenn.edu
[mailto:owner-lgpolicy-list@ccat.sas.upenn.edu] <b>On Behalf Of </b>Harold
Schiffman<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Friday, October 17, 2008 3:44 PM<br>
<b>To:</b> lp<br>
<b>Subject:</b> Word Domination<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<div>
<h1>Word Domination<o:p></o:p></h1>
<h4>October 17th, 2008 · by David Bradley <o:p></o:p></h4>
<div>
<p>If you are reading the original English version, albeit with a
quasi-transatlantic twang, then you probably think of English as being the <em>lingua
franca</em> of global communications. After all, in almost every sphere of
human endeavor, the world over, it seems that English is the <a
href="http://www.ghacks.net/2008/10/16/convert-between-alphabets-on-the-fly/"><span
style='color:#0060FF'>predominant language</span></a>. However, if you are
reading a translated version of this page in Portuguese or Spanish, Russian or
Chinese, you probably don't think of English as being the default setting for
information systems at all.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>Indeed, with increasing globalization and the rapid re-emergence of Asian
regions from Beijing to Bangalore as major players, native English speakers
wherever they are now recognizing that there are many more people "out
there" who have this linguistic perspective. There are some "subtle
and not so subtle implications" for whichever language is the dominant
language, whether that is, for instance, English or Chinese. So say Carol
Saunders and Madelyn Flammia of the University of Central Florida, writing in a
forthcoming issue of the research journal IJEB. Those with their hands at the
controls of information systems, they say, need to understand the implications
that face them as citizens of an increasingly global world.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>As such, the researchers address the issues facing those involved in <a
href="http://www.sciencetext.com/web-site-translated.html"><span
style='color:#0060FF'>managing translation</span></a> and offer guidelines
about website design that are <a
href="http://www.netmechanic.com/news/vol6/design_no15.htm"><span
style='color:#0060FF'>sensitive to cultures</span></a> that do not use English
as their primary or official language. The choice of language has implications
as far reaching as the digital divide but also as localized menu and icon
layout in website design. As the advertising slogans of one bank (cough)
suggests: "Global Needs to Think Local".<o:p></o:p></p>
<p><img border=0 width=500 height=528 id="_x0000_i1025"
src="http://www.sciencetext.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/internet-languages.jpg"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><em>Over a decade ago, the importance of learning Japanese was stressed.
However, knowing Japanese does not seem as critical to the manager of today.
Rather, as the world is becoming increasingly aware of China as an
(re)awakening giant, the advantages of speaking Chinese seem manifold. That is
why managers around the globe are starting to learn Chinese, challenging
English in some territories for educational resources and policy attention.</em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p>Language certainly has implications for the power struggle at the regional,
national and international level. "Within a given language, certain
dialects or accents are privileged over others," explains the Florida
team. This association with privilege is not an intrinsic property of the
language or dialect but merely an artifact of the way those in authority and
power at a particular time and place speak. C'est la vie, one might say…<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>More seriously, of course, the incredibly widespread use of English can
subtly promote certain cultural values while essentially suppressing others.
The same will no doubt be said of any successor language as one inevitably
emerges when the current status quo becomes ancient history.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p><img border=0 id="_x0000_i1026"
src="http://www.sciencetext.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/ascii.jpg"
alt=ASCII>The English language is nevertheless still in a privileged position,
not least because of the technology underpinning the internet, the researchers
say. English can be represented by the 128-bit American Standard Code for
Information Interchange (ASCII). ASCII is ubiquitous and many other standard
codes are built around ASCII. But newer codes that accommodate characters in
other languages require up to 256 bits, which means more computing resources
are needed to get your message across in languages that don't use a Roman
script, such as Arabic or Chinese.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>More importantly, critical internet systems such as the Domain Name Systems
(DNS), Usenet news and internet Relay chat work only with a subset of ASCII.
The rest of the world is marginalized by the geekery of the net. Although China
came into conflict with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
(ICANN), a private non-profit organization, when it created three top-level
domains (TLDs based on Chinese characters: .gongsi (.com), .wangluo (.net), and
.zhongguo (China). The 22-nation Arab League has begun a similar system using
Arabic suffixes. But the English-speaking world, more specifically the US, has
veto on all domain names, although ICANN has been <a
href="http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9042479&source=rss_topic16"><span
style='color:#0060FF'>testing language domains</span></a>.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>Khaled Fattal, the Arab American Chairman of the Multilingual Internet Names
Consortium (<a href="http://www.minc.org/"><span style='color:#0060FF'>MINC</span></a>),
<a href="http://wsjclassroom.com/archive/06apr/onln_alternet.htm"><span
style='color:#0060FF'>laments</span></a>, "There is no such thing as a
global internet today… You have only English-language Internet that is
deployed internationally. How is that empowering millions of Chinese or Arab
citizens?"<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>With over 1.3 billion of Earth's inhabitants speaking Chinese as their
native tongue and many more learning it as a second language is English likely
to dominate on the internet? Saunders says, "there are actually more
people who have gone online who speak Chinese as their native language than any
other language, [according to a Nielsen/NetRatings <a
href="http://www.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUSSHA29750720080313"><span
style='color:#0060FF'>study</span></a> done in conjunction with CNNIC and
Beijing internet company BDA]" So, what will be the flavor linguistic
flavor of the globalization of which we hear so much and how will that affect
the internet in the long-term?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>Flammia and Saunders offer a few thoughts on web design sensitivity.
Terminology and jargon, words like nuke and abort, may seem harmless to
Mountain Dew drinking western programmers, but how are such terms perceived by <a
href="http://webdesign.about.com/od/color/a/bl_colorculture.htm"><span
style='color:#0060FF'>other cultures</span></a>? Icons, <a
href="http://mrjavo.com/choosing-the-best-colors-for-your-website/"><span
style='color:#0060FF'>colors</span></a>, words - there are many that are
consider inappropriate at best by other cultures and seriously offensive at
worst. The ring shape between thumb and index fingers formed as an OK by
Westerners is offensive to some cultures. As are flat hands, upturned feet, the
depiction of human beings, animals, geographic landmarks, maps, taboo symbols,
and color…the list goes on. All traps an unwary international web
designer may fall into.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>What about the notion that democracy is the best approach to government? Not
all cultures, particularly hierarchical ones would agree, even those at the
foot of the pyramid see their position there as valid, something that is
difficult to comprehend for individuals empowered by their right to vote and
freedom of speech. Maps too represent a serious point of contention, why
shouldn't my country, you might ask, be at the centre, with North at the top?
Ask any Australian for a response to that. And yes, Western web design takes
many of these things as given and assumes that the resst of the world accepts
them too.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>Even the direction we move our eyes when reading a web page courts
controversy. Website design itself generally follows the left to right, top to
bottom approach of English-speaking readers, but millions of people read right
to left or bottom to top. There is even evidence that left-to-right is not the
most efficient approach for our brains, but that's a different story. At the
time of writing, Google was continuing to address the <a
href="http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2008/10/helping-you-break-language-barrier.html"><span
style='color:#0060FF'>language issue</span></a> and <a
href="http://www.multilingual-search.com/"><span style='color:#0060FF'>Multilingual
Search</span></a> has much to discuss on the subject.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>"The first step in mindful communication is an awareness of and respect
for other perspectives," the researchers say, "While it is true that
the use of English as the language of the internet impacts power at a societal
level and privileges one class of internet users, it is also possible for
English to be used with awareness and cultural sensitivity."<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>Language has power so website design has to be culturally sensitive. Of
course, the same principles apply regardless of whether the <i>lingua franca</i>
is English or Mandarin.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p><img border=0 id="_x0000_i1027"
src="http://www.sciencetext.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/research-blogging-icon.png"
alt=research-blogging-icon><span class=z3988>Carol S. Saunders, Madelyn Flammia
(2008). A subtle war of words on the internet <i>International Journal of
Electronic Business, 6</i> (4) DOI: <a
href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1504/IJEB.2008.020673"><span style='color:#0060FF'>10.1504/IJEB.2008.020673</span></a></span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><br clear=all>
<a href="http://www.sciencetext.com/word-domination.html">http://www.sciencetext.com/word-domination.html</a><br>
-- <br>
**************************************<br>
N.b.: Listing on the lgpolicy-list is merely intended as a service to its
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the list as to the veracity of a message's contents. Members who disagree with
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message are encouraged to post a rebuttal. (H. Schiffman, Moderator)<br>
*******************************************<o:p></o:p></p>
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