Globalization and language barriers

There is no doubt that the world in which we live is increasingly globalized and that the engine of this phenomenon has been the arrival of technologies such as the Internet, IP telephony, fax, satellite television or mobile phones. Although the cause may be apparent, the effects continue and no one can yet predict where they will lead us; however, the most obvious trend so far is that globalization is highlighting language barriers.

Globalization, perhaps for the first time in history, has brought together many disparate cultures, which to date may never have had any degree of intercultural interaction. The first and most immediate manifestation of this meeting of cultures has been the sudden increase in the need for bilingual and multilingual staff.

This stage in cultural interaction can be illustrated in microcosm, with the example of the European Union. The European Union has some 20 officially recognized languages ​​and when the European Parliament is in session it requires the services of some 60 interpreters to be able to communicate with all its members. The entire organization actually employs about 2,000 translators and interpreters in total, to keep it running.

Although we are in the initial stage of the meeting of cultures… which needs translators and language professionals, evolution suggests moving to another stage… that of a common means of communication… and for its first manifestations we need look back in the past.

A common second language as a universal means of communication was first developed by LLZamenhof in 1887 with his publication of Esperanto. It was formulated from all the common European languages ​​and had a strong revival in the 1950s and 1960s. However, it never gained universal popularity, but to this day, it still has a following of up to 2 million speakers.

However, what didn’t happen by design might as well be happening by default. Looking at the two most popular internet languages, we find that English and Chinese are topping the league, we also find that these two languages ​​are gaining ground globally. English is, of course, possibly the de facto language for international business and finance and, along with German, the language of science and technology.

However, Chinese, or more accurately the Mandarin dialect, is gaining ground. China has become the main engine of world trade and with its expanding global partnerships and trade agreements, comes the expansion of Mandarin. The two continents where this is most evident are South America and Africa, but increasingly, Mandarin is a fundamental requirement for many global companies establishing themselves within China or hoping to do business with China.

Whether we will witness the evolution of a common linguistic medium remains to be seen. That languages ​​can gain such ascendancy is a matter of historical record… I cite the use of Latin throughout the ancient civilized world. But until that time comes, we will continue to need the capacity of bilingual and multilingual professionals who can pave the way between today’s linguistic diversity and possible linguistic homogeneity.