Display and Input Requirements for Non-Traditional Multilanguage Markets
Intended Audience: |
Manager, Software Engineer, Marketer |
Session Level: |
Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced |
In the last year, several sources of data have become available concerning users or
potential users of multilanguage technology. The U.S. Census has released figures from
the 2000 census on such users (e.g., it records 31,844,979 million people in the United
States 5 years old and over who speak a language other than English at home, of which
13,982,502 do not speak English "very well"). Moreover, for the first time, the census
tracks the revenue of translators and interpreters. This presentation uses these and
other data sources (e.g., survey results from the Localisation Industry Standards
Association) to describe non-traditional markets for localized products, including
multinational corporations, libraries, governments, universities, translation bureaus,
expatriates, and people in the U.S. more comfortable in languages other than English.
It also describes special requirements of these markets, and provides suggestions for
better implementation of Unicode and foreign language features in products for such
users.
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