The Middle East is one of the fastest growing regions in the world and is experiencing a youth bulge while the rest of the world is aging. In fact, young adults (ages 15-29) constitute over 40% of the total adult population in most Middle Eastern countries. However, Internet access is not as widespread for Arabic-speaking countries as it should be. According to the article, “Arabic content is less than 1 percent of world totals though speakers constituting 5 percent of the global population.” Internet access is taken so for granted in the Western world; other areas of the world need to have the same access.
Microsoft and Google executives have taken note of the necessity to integrate Arabic language into both the Internet and technological ventures. I am glad that there is more focus on making the Internet more “local” – many Arabic-speakers would benefit from Internet access. I love the suggestion in the article that Arabic users can engage in more e-commerce and access news sites.
Last year’s decision to allow non-Latin script domain names should also help expand Internet access. This step will remove the language constraints of the web. ICANN’s decision of allowing IDNs (International Domain Names) will allow domain names to be written in native character sets (ie Arabic or Chinese). Non-English speakers can now engage in the World Wide Web as the language barriers have fallen. The next step is to fill more Arabic websites with up-to-date content.
For further information about the changing demographics in the Middle East, check out this publication from Stanford’s Center on Longevity.
More information about internationalized domain names can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internationalized_domain_name and http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10387139-93.html.
Article: Microsoft, Google eye Arabic web growth potential
Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE63N0V120100424
I found another great article in Saturday’s NYTimes about the future of the French language and the impact of French immigrants on French literature.
“The future of French is now in Africa,” or so claims Abdou Diouf, the former president of Senegal and current secretary general of the francophone organization. Today, there are some 200 million French speakers in the world but only 65 million are actually French. The majority of French speakers are from former colonies, mostly found in Africa.
However, native French people have fears about multiculturalism and its ability to tarnish the French language. President Sarkozy has a campaign that stresses the preservation of French national identity and the cultural exceptionalism of the French. I think that it is important to remember that many of France’s literary heroes were not from France or were immigrants.
The phrase “l’exception culturelle” refers to the legal exclusion of French cultural products from international free trade agreements in order to distinguish the French brand from the globalized or “American” brand. In France, globalization “really means ‘Americanization.’” France is one of the strongest (and most often cited) examples of nations that try to preserve their culture and language.
My favorite quote from this article was: “Culture is always about politics in the end.” As much as President Sarkozy may claim that he has the nation’s interests at heart in rhetoric of “l’exception culturelle,” what he really cares about most is maintaining his power.
Article: Pardon My French
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/25/arts/25abroad.html?src=me&ref=general
Your discussion of Arabic language internet content highlights the advantage people have when technology is developed by people who speak their language. Because the Internet was developed using Western script, users of other alphabet systems had to be familiar with the basics of the Latin alphabet in order to use the technology. It is good to see that this barrier to access is finally eroding, but it still shows the importance of what language innovators and inventors are using.
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