The Language of the Web
Increasingly, it isn't English, and Computer Economics says languages from the Asia Pacific and Latin American regions will lead the way.
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By 2002, Internet users will be predominately non-English speaking, according to research by Computer Economics, and by 2005, 60 percent of Internet users will speak a language other than English.
“The growth of the non-English speaking market will mean that it will become imperative that companies offer multiple language choices on their Web sites,” said Computer Economics VP of Research Michael Erbschloe. “It will also mean that on significantly more Web sites, English will not be the default language option, and in many instances, English will not be offered at all.”
There will be a 60 percent increase in Internet usage among English speakers during the next six years. At the same time, the non-English speaking market will grow by 150 percent. The language groups that most significantly affect the dominance of English on the Internet are those in Asia Pacific and Latin America, according to Computer Economics.
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